Hopi kachina dolls

Kent McManis started collecting Hopi kachina dolls ("katsina" is the correct word) at age three, and his fascination with them has never waned. His book, Guide To Hopi Katsina Dolls, covers a wide range of topics, including the history of katsina doll carving, the ceremonial context in which the katsinam (plural of katsina) themselves appear, and how katsina dolls are carved. At Grey Dog Trading Company, we carry exceptional Hopi katsina dolls by award-winning artists.

The Hopi Indians are deeply religious and respectful of nature's cycles. Their primary cultural focus is the need for precipitation. The Hopi believe that, their best efforts notwithstanding, their survival as a people depends upon maintaining proper relationships with inhabitants of the spiritual realm, for only the katsinam (plural of katsina) have the power to bring rain and bestow blessings.

Given the remarkable transformation in the art of katsina doll (kachina doll) carving that occurred in the twentieth century, many people wonder where the art form might be headed in the twenty-first. Buyers should take the time to study and appreciate the religious traditions on which these carvings are based. --From Guide To Hopi Katsina Dolls.

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