Native American Hopi Carved Butterfly Maiden Dancer Katsina Doll

Description

Native American Hopi Carved Butterfly Maiden Dancer Katsina Doll by Reuben Honahnie

Palhik Mana is a Butterfly Maid; not a Katsina, but a woman dancer. At the dances the Butterfly Maid is not masked or hooded, though she generally appears this way when carved as a doll. She appears in August, 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 is a really nice piece by Reuben, combining the traditional with the feathers on the tablita and in her hands as well as the carved feathers.