PAIR of Hopi Pueblo Rare Powamu Katsina Dolls [SOLD]

These are extremely rare carvings of true Hopi katsinas. The two are Powamuy'so'wuh'tu (Powamuya grandma) and Powamu'taqa (Powamuya man). They appear in the same dance and are well known and important at Hopi, however they are rarely carved.

She measures 9-½" tall in her slightly stooped over position. He measures 9" tall in his even more stooped over position. Judging by the matte finish paint, I would estimate them to date before 1950.

She carries a walking stick to emphasize her older age and frail condition. He, too, carries a walking stick for the same reasons. She is dressed in white and wears a manta over her shoulders. His body paint is red with orange and white on his shoulders. She has a turtle shell on her right leg. He carries a rattle in his left hand. Her hair is gray and tied off in two pigtails. His is gray, cut short on the sides, and the long section on his back is tied off.

According to Barton Wright "The Powamu is one of the most important of the Hopi ceremonies. It occurs in February of each year in most of the Hopi villages. In actuality it is not a single ceremony but a cluster of several important events that are interwoven. Most years the ceremony is presented in an abbreviated form. However, in the years when the tribal initiation of the young men is held, the Pachavu Ceremony will be attached to the Powamu, and the ceremony is in its full, unabridged form." [1973:17]

The Powamu ceremony precedes the coming growing season. The ritual is for promoting fertility and germination. An enormous number of katsinas participate in this ceremony. Some of these appear year after year while others may be present but never be seen by outsiders or by most of the Hopi [ibid]

What is a Kachina?

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this PAIR of Hopi Pueblo Rare Powamu Katsina Dolls is from the collection of a client from the East

Reference: Wright, Barton. Kachinas: a Hopi Artist's Documentary, Northland Press, 1973

TAGS: Hopi Pueblo, Katsina Dolls, Apache Indians