Hopi Pueblo Mudhead Katsina Doll [SOLD]

One of the most recognized Katsinas is the Koyemsi, or as known by another name, the Mudhead. He is simply dressed in a black kilt made from a woman’s old dress.  His body is covered in red clay.  His mask is made of canvas and also covered in red clay.  Interestingly, neither Koyemsi nor Mudhead is a correct name.  Both names are nicknames.  Koyemsi is a Zuni name and Mudhead is an English name.  His correct name is Tachukti, but everyone will continue to use the name Mudhead.

Another mistake often made is that he is a clown, that being assumed because of the knots on his mask and his sometimes antics.  Actually he can be a medicine man (curer), a magician, dance director, warrior, messenger, sage, or a fool.  The legend of the Mudhead Katsina is that he was born of an incestuous union between brother and sister and that their father was so angry that he rolled about and beat his head on the ground, raising great welts and covering himself with dirt, and thus the Mudhead Katsina was created.

Technically, the Koyemsi are not considered Katsinas.  They may appear with the Katsinas as a chorus or as a single drummer.  They also appear where they perform feats of magic, wrestle with the Water Serpents (Avanyu), engage in games with ritualized content, appear as puppets, accompany the Sio Salako or even fetch wood.  At the same time they perform these functions they deliver serious dialogue in their duty of spokesmen for spiritual rules and values.

Logan Dallas has created an excellent example of a Koyemsi.  Dallas was an active carver from around the 1920s to the 1970s.  He lived at the village of Oraibi on Third Mesa (Hopi Pueblo), then later lived in his daughter’s house at Moenkopi, also on Third Mesa.  He was born before the split at Old Oraibi, where the village split between the Traditionalists and those who accepted the Government changes.

Dallas carved his dolls from personal knowledge of the appearance of the Katsinas in the early days at Hopi before influence of non-Indians began to appear in the guise of traders and tourists.  His dolls are accurately presented and traditionally carved.  He used a pocket knife, not any electric tools.  This carving of a Mudhead is simple in design but superior in presentation.  It is one of the best of contemporary Mudhead dolls.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: from the collection of Chuck and Jan Rosenak, collector of Native art and authors of books on Navajo folk art.

Recommended Reading:  Clowns of the Hopi: Tradition Keepers and Delight Makers by Barton Wright