Earl Yowytewa Hopi Pueblo All Wood Carving of Salakomana Katsina [SOLD]

This carving is of the female version of the Hopi Salako katsina, known as Salakomana.  She has a male companion which is designated Salakotaka.  They are almost identical in appearance.  A distinguishing clue between the male and female versions is the color of moccasins—white for the female and blue for the male.  The tablita of both is semicircular.  The body of this eight-foot-tall katsina is covered in feathers, is shoulderless, has a painted chin, and stoops when walking.  This carving is an excellent rendition of the katsina.

At Zuni Pueblo, a Shalako ceremony occurs every year in late November or early December.  At Hopi, Salako ceremony is rarely scheduled, perhaps every ten or more years.  I was attending the Niman ceremony, in the 1990s (I believe) at Shungopavi.  Following the Niman ceremony I was watching, came a surprise—the Hopi Salako ceremony.  It had been scheduled but not announced.  Previously, it had occurred in 1936, 1952, 1957, and 1972.

It is not to be confused with the Hopi Sio Salako ceremony.  The Sio Salako ceremony is a Hopi interpretation of the Zuni ceremony, but the Salako ceremony is a traditional Hopi ceremony.  According to Barton Wright “The basic intent is probably that of bringing the cloud supernaturals to the Hopi mesas and causing them to remain in the general vicinity of the villages and fields of the tribal lands.” [Wright, 1973:245]

What is a Katsina? 

Condition: very good condition with an apparent replacement of the center tablita feather.

Provenance: this Earl Yowytewa Hopi Pueblo All Wood Carving of Salakomana Katsina is from the collection of a gentleman from Chicago

Reference: Wright, Barton. Kachinas: a Hopi Artist’s Documentary

TAGS: Kachina – Katsina Doll, Hopi Pueblo