Kachina Doll

Anthropomorphic male figure in multi-colored wood. He wears a helmet-like mask on his head with geometric patterns that symbolize rain. His cylindrical mouth is an outline of an ear of corn. On his right side, instead of an ear, he has a truncated cone which symbolizes a squash blossom. He wears a necklace painted in alternating colors of green and white. His body is painted with the typical body paint of dancers who danced in Kachina ceremonies. He is painted ochre with green and yellow designs. His white skirt has geometric patterns which also represent the rain, and he wears red moccasins on his feet. The Kachinas are supernatural beings who act as intermediaries between the Hopi people and their gods. The Hopi people have approximately 300 Kachinas, the majority being related to rain and crop fertility. Kachina dolls are reproductions of these supernatural beings: they are made so children become familiar with them and learn how to distinguish them. This doll represents the Kachina Ma'alo, also known as Kachina of the Cane, due to the cane that she usually holds in her left hand. Ma'alo appears in the Kachina dances and in the Niman ceremony, in which the Kachinas bid farewell to humans until the following year.