Katsinam: The Spirits Return

In December when clouds fill the skies, the Hopi people greet the return of the Katsinam. After a six-month absence, a lone figure makes his way slowly and unsteadily into Oraibi (on the Third Mesa). Following an ancient path, this first Kachina of the Hopi year enters – singing a song too quiet to be heard by those around him while dancing like a feeble old man. After visiting a kiva (where he places prayer feathers and sprinkles cornmeal), he makes his way through the plaza and leaves the village. Thus begins the new Kachina season.

The Katsinam are mystical beings and are a part of the Hopi Kachina religion. They bring the life-giving rain and sunlight and teach the Hopis about humility, cooperation, respect and proper stewardship of the earth. In return the Hopi people provide the Katsinam with the things that they desire – prayers and offerings.

In addition to providing aid to the Hopis, the Katsinam also entertain and educate. Hopi men take on the appearance of the Katsinam for ceremonial dances from December through July. At these ceremonies they would hand out gifts to young boys and girls. Although only men are allowed to portray the Kachinas, all tribal members play vital roles in ceremonies playing various supportive roles.

The Katsinam come in many forms and are primarily benevolent entities, although some are demons that help teach Hopi children about the consequences of bad behavior. Images of the Katsinam have appeared in Pueblo pottery and kiva murals as far back as the 1300s. Now they are primarily depicted in the form of Katsina (or Kachina) carvings.

After the Summer solstice the Katsinam return to the spirit world, celebrated by the Niman ceremony - a sixteen-day ritual where the Kachina dancers are given prayer feathers, fed and offered blessings in the form of sprinkled corn meal, medicine water and puffs of tobacco. After singing the final song of the season, the Kachinas are beseeched upon to intercede with their relatives in the spirit world to bring rain for the Hopi crops. They then depart until the following November.

Hopi Katsina carvings are crafted from the root of the cottonwood tree and are as varied and colorful as the Katsinam themselves. We have a spectacular collection of Katsina carvings by many award-winning artists; including Aaron Fredericks, Arthur Holmes Jr. and Stetson Honyumptewa (who was named Artist of the Year at the 2010 Santa Fe Indian Market). Visit our web site to discover our remarkable collection.

- Mark Miller

Sources:

• Kachinas, A Hopi Artist’s Documentary

By Barton Wright and Cliff Bahnimptewa

• Rainmakers from the Gods, Hopi Katsinam (An Online Exhibition)

Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, Cambridge, MA

• Hopi Katsina Dolls, 100 Years of Carving

Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ