02.03.24 Hopi Kachinas

The Dolls, Dances and Songs
Of Hopi

By Rebekah Powers | February 2024

The dolls stand together looking out, each with their own headdress, or mask, or accessory, a neutral expression and an intrinsic message. Carved from cottonwood root by Chester Poleyestewa, the charm of the kachina is that they carry forward the values, symbols and beliefs of an ever evolving Hopi culture. Once there were over 500 different entities, but over time, most have been lost to the collective memory and among the 150 remaining, some are so rare as to be endangered. It is the mission of Poleyestewa to protect the lineage of some of the oldest kachinas, and carry their stories and origins into the future.

Originally made for little girls, the dolls are carved by young boys after an initiation in which they learn the larger context and understand its importance. The dolls represent the men who assume the many kachina identities and dance in the village plaza. There is a season to the dancing, and a schedule of appearances beginning with the Morning Singer. He appears on the rooftop at the end of January with a bell in one hand and a sprig of blue spruce in the other, announcing the beginning of the season when the new kachinas will come. It is time to sprout beans and capture a rabbit for the traditional stew, which will be served after the initial “Bean Dance”.

At the heart of it all lies the belief that spiritual messengers from above (the original, actual Kachina) visited and interacted with Native American peoples in Arizona and New Mexico, imparting the wisdom of the ancestors to help them. The dances and elaborate costuming honor their teachings, along with Kiva ceremonies which women and girls are not allowed to attend, hence the carvings become a teaching tool. Most Pueblos of New Mexico had their own versions of kachinas and because famine caused Hopi to leave their original home and migrate from Arizona to New Mexico, where they encountered these alternate forms of kachinas which, in many cases, they absorbed them into their own repertoire to honor tribes that had taken them in when they needed shelter the most.

The last dance in July is by the Jemez kachina, the “Going Home Dancer” who signals that the kachinas are returning to their mountain home until the following year, when Morning Singer will announce their symbolic return.

Chimayo Trading del Norte welcomes the new kachinas and the delightful work of master carver and Hopi historian, Chester Poleyestewa. Choose from among your favorites to continue the song, to carry the tradition, and to honor the original meaning of the kachina.

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