October 2019 THE INDIAN TRADER
Page 10
Fest Parade begins as the Katsinam emerge from the kiva.
The Kachinas Are Coming By Ron Pecina and Isabella Pecina. Art by Neil David Sr.
The Pueblo people live along the Rio Grande Valley, the Zuni region to the southwest, and on the Hopi Mesas, the desolate extremes of Black Mesa, in Arizona. Without a written language, the history and traditions of the Pueblo people were passed to succeeding generations through oral recitations from clan elders and priests, and through the sacred dances and Katsina rituals. The first journals about the pueblo dwellers were written by Christian missionaries accompanying the intruding Spanish Conquistadors who entered the region in 1540. Unfortunately, these first observations of life of the people were biased in favor of Spanish Catholicism and European culture. Pueblo ceremonies, religious beliefs, and Katsina dances were looked on with disapproval as they contradicted Christian doctrine. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, ethnologists Alexander Stephen, Jesse Fewkes, and Heinrich Voth became the first to carefully
document the religious ceremonies and Katsina dances of the Hopi Indians. However, a very limited pictorial account of these events was included. Since the opening decades of the twentieth century photographing the Katsinam and Katsina ceremonies has been forbidden. Paintings and drawings by Hopi artists, prominent among them Fred Kabotie, Raymond Naha, and Neil David Sr., document some of the rarely performed Katsina dances as well as some of the socially important outdoor celebrations of the Hopi. Katsinam, the plural of Katsina (although in general the public says Katsinas), are the Hopis’ Spirit Beings and Messengers of the gods impersonated in performances. Since the Katsina dances are generally closed to outsiders, understanding of the Katsinam is gained primarily from books, paintings, and carvings of kachina dolls. Over 400 Katsinam have been identified; some appear on a regular basis each year, others possibly once
in a generation, while some are near forgotten. Traditionally, kachina dolls, or tithu, are given to the Hopi girls by the Katsinam during the celebrations. Examples of these carvings are seen in museums and are in demand by collectors and tourists. Kachina carvings have become a fine art form and have been a source of income for many Hopi artisans. Exhibits of Hopi arts in art galleries and art and crafts markets offer an excellent opportunity to acquaint us with and extend our understanding of the Katsinam and their role in traditional pueblo life. The Katsina season is rich with ceremonies and dances. It begins in December as winter approaches. Two major multiday celebrations are the Bean Dance, or Powamu, which takes place in late winter, and the Home Dance, or Niman, which closes the annual Katsinam visit to the Hopi in July. Following the Powamu, is the Drama of the Ogres, a disciplinary ritual focused
