Kachina Doll - Hopi Indians, Arizona - Circa 1960

Kachina doll representing Kwikwilyaka 
Also known as Mocking Kachina 
Hopi Indians, Arizona 
Circa 1960
Cottonwood, pigments, skin and vegetable fibres
H. 18 cm, L 9 cm

Monoxyle wooden doll featuring a black helmet mask with a large burr and a pair of tubular eyes and mouth with white stripes. The cheekbones and forehead are marked with painted symbols in two horizontal stripes. He wears a bundle of plant fibres - referring to cedar bark - on top of his mask and holds a dancing stick and a rattle in each of his hands. 

Koyemsi appears during the Powamu procession. Marie-Elisabeth Laniel-Le-François, a doctor of ethnology, describes him as follows: ‘He imitates to perfection the actions of all those who catch his eye, provoking the wrath of the Kachina-Guards. To force him to leave, the unfortunate Hoe, who is his favourite victim, pretends to set fire to his hair, an action immediately mimicked by Kwikwilyaka, who actually sets fire to the cedar or juniper drumstick placed on his head.

Kachina dolls were given to children at the end of ceremonial dances. They would take them home and hang them on the wall, teaching them about the pantheon of divinities.

Reference H. S. Colton, Hopi Kachina Dolls, N°107.

Provenance: Former private collection in Paris, France.

Text and photos © FCP CORIDON

Ref : 5316