Old Style Hopi Carved Kokopelli Traditional Fertility Katsina Doll

Description

Old Style Hopi Carved Kokopelli Traditional Fertility Katsina Doll by the Katsinam

Kokopelli is the humpbacked flute player in the Mixed Dances. He is considered the god of mist, a seducer of women, a baby maker, and a good luck omen for hunters. Kokopelli is found in all of the Pueblo cultures of the Southwest. It is thought that his hump might just represent a bag of gifts that he uses to seduce the women. This particular Katsina was handed out at a dance. It comes from a private collector who got most of her pieces in the 1970s. The Katsinam carve these pieces and hand them out at the dances. This is a great example of the full figure carvings that are created for the young girls on Hopi. These are identifiable because they have no bases and instead hang on the walls of Hopi homes.