Native American Hopi Carved Butterfly Maiden Dancer Kachina Doll (Katsina Doll)

Description

Native American Hopi Carved Butterfly Maiden Dancer Katsina Doll by Eloy Talahytewa

Palhik Mana is a Butterfly Maid, not a Katsina, but a woman dancer. Though at the dances the Butterfly Maid is not masked or hooded, she generally appears this way when carved as a doll. She generally appears in August, as that is when the butterflies appear. The Butterfly Dance, a traditional social dance of the Hopi, is held in August after the gathering of the harvest and presentation of the Snake Dance. It is a thanksgiving dance for the harvest, chiefly for the corn crop and features dancing by young Hopi maidens wearing elaborate headdresses. This beautiful piece by Eloy shows the Butterfly Maiden with the beautiful tablita as well as butterfly wings. This maiden stands on a base that shows the pueblo and the springs that are so important for the fresh water for the people of the Pueblo.