Original Painting of a Hopi Female Buffalo Dancer [SOLD]

The Hopi ceremonial calendar can conveniently be divided into Katsina Ceremonies and Non Katsina Ceremonies.  The dividing line between the two could be considered the winter and summer solstices. The exception is the Niman Home Dance, which is a Katsina Ceremony, that is conducted in July during the summer solstice period of Non Katsina Ceremonies.

Sometimes, confusion results when there is a Katsina and a Dancer of the same type. As an example, the Buffalo Katsina appears with other masked game animal katsinas as a prayer for the increase of that particular animal.  Generally, there are no female impersonators or women. The Buffalo Dancer is never masked and would appear during a Social Dance along with women Buffalo Dancers.

This painting by Waldo Mootzka features a female Buffalo Dancer during a Social Dance. She is, of course, without a mask.  Her long and full hair represents that of the buffalo as does the horns. She carries a pair of prayer feathers in each hand and wears skunk fur on her heels.  Her black manta is the traditional one formerly worn by women and now usually seen only in ceremonies, not in daily wear. She wears an embroidered vest and a nugget turquoise necklace with jaclas.  

This painting is one of a set of ten similar style paintings by Mootzka which we posted as a group.  Now, we are going to post them separately. The other similar paintings in the group are shown below as a Related Item.

Condition: this Original Painting of a Hopi Female Buffalo Dancer is in very good condition

Provenance: from a gentleman in Santa Fe

Recommended Reading: Southwest Indian Painting: A Changing Art by Clara Lee Tanner