Vintage Hopi Kachina figure. Cottonwood. Multicolor. Handmade. 10". Name: Rugan.

Description

Exact age is uncertain, though it is estimated to be circa 1950. Hand crafted. Excellent condition for its age with slight scattered aging and wear which is mostly o the under sides. Feathers on the head dress are worn. Flat finish paint. The figure wears a twined rope around the neck that ties and falls down the back. The only defect is a crack on the underside of the tail ... typical for any wood figure that has aged. The figure has all its accessories, also, only painted onto it, and it stands 10" tall. Black, white, red, brown, yellow, blue, and green. Impressive looking. Appears to be associated in some way with harvest. Name: Rugan, Corn Dancer.
History: Hopi katsina figures (Hopi language: tithu or katsintithu), also known as kachina dolls are figures carved, typically from cottonwood root, by Hopi people to instruct young girls and new brides about katsinas or katsinam, the immortal beings that bring rain, control other aspects of the natural world and society, and act as messengers between humans and the spirit world.
The katsinas are known to be the spirits of deities, natural elements or animals, or the deceased ancestors of the Hopi. Prior to each katsina ceremony, the men of the village will spend days studiously making figures in the likeness of the katsinam represented in that particular ceremony. The figures are then passed on to the daughters of the village by the Giver Kachina during the ceremony. Following the ceremony, the figures are hung on the walls of the pueblo and are meant to be studied in order to learn the characteristics of that certain Kachina.