**Originally Listed At $150**

Southwestern USA, Arizona and New Mexico, Hopi Peoples, 20th century CE. A Tasap Mana Katsina (kachina) doll, bright painted and standing in a solid pose, with white boots, yellow skirt, blue shirt, and pretty belt at waist. Her mouth extends in a short peg shape. Some katsinam represent other tribes, and are made by the Hopi to represent their neighbors. Tasap, the Navajo, are dressed like Navajo dancers and are given birdlike characteristics, specifically a long nose/mouth. Barton Wright, in Kachinas: a Hopi Artist's Documentary, writes, "The Navajo Maiden dances alongside the Tasap Kachina in the regular kachina dance, but she may also appear at odd intervals during the kachina season. The mask of the Tasap Mana is a Hopi caricature of the Navajo and their manner of gesturing with the lower lip. Despite this she is part of a group that is very popular with the Hopis." Size: 4.5" W x 10.2" H (11.4 cm x 25.9 cm)

The Katsinam, supernatural beings who live in the high mountains of the San Francisco Peaks above traditional Hopi territory, speak to the Hopi through costumed dance and song. These dancers emerge from the round ceremonial kivas that are at the center of their communities, singly or in groups, and dance to the music of drums, rattles, and song. In imitation and representation of them are Katsina figures (katsina dolls, katsin-tihu), made of cottonwood root. Cottonwood is culturally symbolic because the cottonwood tree, once abundant in traditional Hopi lands, grows where water flows - thus, looking across a landscape, lines of cottonwood trees denote a water source in the desert. After carving, the figures are painted all over with whitewash, made from kaolin clay, and then painted in brilliant colors. Originally these were done using yucca brushes. Many of them are then decorated with other materials, like feathers, cloth, or fur. Katsina dolls are often given objects to hold which indicate their roles. Kachina dolls are not toys, but are given to young girls, representations of benevolent spirit beings.

Provenance: Ex - Himrod estate, Anaheim, CA

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#117741

One arm broken and missing below elbow. Very slight chips to paint.