Name: Navajo Clown Dancer Katsina
SKU: Alfred Benally--8709
Availability: InStock

Navajo Clown Dancer Katsina

$375.00

Navajo Clown Dancer Katsina

Navajo Clown Dancer Katsina by Alfred Benally has a complex ceremonial role, giving wisdom and advice as well as poking fun at unacceptable behavior. They are generally amusing and do things that no Hopi or anyone else would want to be caught doing.

2 in stock

Navajo Clown Dancer Katsina

Native American Navajo Clown Kachina Doll by Alfred Benally

Navajo Clown Dancer Katsina. A very popular Kachina, he is easily recognized when painted with horizontal black and white stripes over his entire body. He is usually shown in a humorous pose, gorging on watermelon or some other food. There are many varieties of this Kachina. The Clown’s primary function is one of amusement for the audience during pauses in Kachina dancing or as a leavening for the seriousness of a major ceremony. Oftentimes there is an object lesson on improper behavior or a social commentary present in their skits and actions. This Clown is a harvester. He has his hoe and is watching over his corn and showing off his watermelons that are ripe.

Dimensions:

15.25 in tall

SKU

Alfred Benally–8709

Native American Hopi Kachina Dolls:

Hopi Katsinam are crafted to acknowledge celestial beings, significant animals to the Hopi people, and the ancestors who help with their harvest, raising their spirits as well as raising their children. The Hopi people believe that the Katsina dancers possess supernatural powers, though they are men from the village wearing masks and feathered costumes.

There are hundreds of Hopi Katsinam, “personations” of supernatural beings, important animals and ancestors who help the Hopi people raise their crops, their children, and their spirits. The Katsina dancers are men wearing masks–each of which represents a particular Katsina–and paint and feathered costumes. Everyone in the village, aside from the children, knows that the Katsina dancers are actually men from the village, though Katsinam are still believed to have supernatural powers. Much of the value in these dances is found to be instructing the young. Hand carved and collector items. Signed and numbered.

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https://nativeamerican.giftsofnativespirit.com/kachinas