KACHINA DOLLS
KACHINA DOLLS
BY
W. BEN HUNT
MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM
POPULAR SCIENCE HANDBOOK SERIES NO. 7 SEPTEMBER 1957
PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
©1953 MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM
PREFACE
by ROBERT E. RITZENTHALER
Curator of Anthropology
On the sentinel-like mesas in the semi-desert land of northeastern Arizonadwell some 3,500 of one of our most colorful Indian tribes of today,the Hopi. Living in their traditional adobe, multi-storied “apartmenthouses,” called “Pueblos,” they practice many of their old ways and customs,and remain one of the tribes least affected by the white man. Agriculturaliststhey were and agriculturalists they are, filling the fields at the base of themesas, raising corn, beans, and squash, but above all, corn. In this area whereland is good, but moisture is all-important, the Hopi have developed a religionmuch concerned with prayers and ceremonies to bring rain and goodcrops. During the Snake Dance, for example, snakes are held in the mouthsof the dancers and then released into the desert as messengers to the godsto inform them that the Hopi need rain.
Less widely known to the world than the Snake Dance, but very importantto the Hopi as a spiritual means of petitioning for rain, good weather, bountifulcrops, and other blessings, is the Kachina cult. The Hopi believe that theKachinas are a band of supernatural beings who live in the nearby mountainsand pay visits to the villages at intervals during the first half of each year.At these times the men don the masks and costumes representing particularKachinas, and perform dances and ceremonies in their honor. By wearingthese costumes the men not only physically impersonate the Kachinas, butalso assume their spirits. The dances and ceremonies take place both in theunderground chambers, called kivas, where only men are allowed, and out onthe village plazas where all may watch. During the latter, the dancers followthe leader in single file to the plaza where they line up facing east. The leader,at the center, begins the singing to the rhythm of his rattle; then the othersjoin in, and the dancing begins. For the next song the dancers face north,then west, after which they distribute gifts, usually a bow and arrow for a2boy and a Kachina doll for a girl. They then retire to a secluded area tounmask, relax, and prepare for the next set of songs and dances.
In some of the dances 30 or 40 men will be dressed alike; in others a varietyof Kachinas participate. Besides the serious dances there are humorousones put on by clowns, or “mudheads” as they are popularly called. The mudheadsare distinguished by their distinctive, mud-colored masks and