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kachina

 
Dictionary: ka·chi·na   (kə-chē') pronunciation
n.
  1. Any of numerous deified ancestral spirits of the Pueblo peoples, believed to reside in the pueblo for part of each year.
  2. A masked dancer believed to embody a particular spirit during a religious ceremony.
  3. A carved doll in the costume of a particular spirit, usually presented as a gift to a child.

[Hopi katsina, supernatural being, masked impersonator of a supernatural being.]


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Hopi kachina of Laqán, the squirrel spirit,  1950; in the National Museum of the …
(click to enlarge)
Hopi kachina of Laqán, the squirrel spirit, 1950; in the National Museum of the … (credit: Courtesy of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York City)
Ancestral being of the Pueblo Indians. As each tribe has its own kachinas, there are more than 500 of these spirit-beings. They are believed to reside with a tribe for half of each year and can be seen by the community if its men properly perform a ritual while wearing kachina regalia. The being depicted through the regalia is thought to be actually present with the performer, temporarily transforming him. Kachinas are also represented by small wooden dolls that are carved and decorated by the men of the tribe and used to teach children the identities of each kachina and its associated symbolism.

For more information on kachina, visit Britannica.com.

Word Origins: Kachina
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from Hopi
This word originated in United States

The San Francisco Mountains just north of Flagstaff, Arizona, are home to spirits called Kachina by the Hopi Indians who live nearby. The Kachinas make themselves apparent in clouds, mist, and steam, but the Hopi are the ones who make them truly visible in costumes, dancing, and dolls.

Every year, according to the Hopi, just after the winter solstice, the Kachinas visit Hopi villages to renew the world. So that the Kachinas can be more clearly imagined, Hopi men wear Kachina costumes and perform dances in ceremonial chambers known as kivas. The Kachina dancers carve wooden dolls in the likeness of Kachinas that are given to girls and women so that they can have a direct connection with the Kachinas. Infants too are given Kachina dolls, not to play with but to hang on the wall so they can become familiar with Kachinas. Traditional Kachina dolls are simple wooden figures standing stiffly. Recently, in response to interest from non-Hopi collectors, some Kachina dolls have been made as action figures.

Kachinas are respected spirits, but they are not worshipped. Rather, they have a partnership with the Hopi, each giving gifts to the other. One source explains: "The Kachinas have things the Hopi want, such as rain and a guarantee of a fruitful harvest, and the Hopi have things the Kachinas want--prayer feathers, cornmeal, rituals." By one count, there are more than four hundred kinds of Kachinas, representing plants, animals, insects, warriors, runners, guards, clowns, and ogres.

There are about 5,000 speakers of Hopi, most of them living in northeast Arizona. Their language belongs to the Uto-Aztecan family. In addition to Kachina (1888) and kiva (1871), one other Hopi word that has immigrated into English is piki (1889), bread that is given out by Kachina dancers and is also a staple of the Hopi diet.



 
kachina (kəchē'), spirit of the invisible life forces of the Pueblo of North America. The kachinas, or kachinam, are impersonated by elaborately costumed masked male members of the tribes who visit Pueblo villages the first half of the year. In a variety of ceremonies, they dance, sing, bring gifts to the children, and sometimes administer public scoldings. Although not worshiped, kachinas are greatly revered, and one of their main purposes is to bring rain for the spring crops. The term kachina also applies to cottonwood dolls made by the Hopi and Zuni that are exquisitely carved and dressed like the dancers. Originally intended to instruct the children about the hundreds of kachina spirits, the finer carvings have become collector's items. The name is also spelled katchina.


Wikipedia: Kachina
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Drawings of kachina dolls, from an 1894 anthropology book.
Kachina dolls in the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona.
A metal statue signifying a kachina dancer at the Carefree Resort in Carefree, Arizona, US.

A kachina (also katchina or katcina, pronounced /kəˈtʃiːnə/; occasionally katsina /kətˈsiːnə/, plural katsinim /kətˈsiːnɨm/; Hopi: qacína) is a spirit being in western Pueblo cosmology and religious practices.[1] The western Pueblo, Native American cultures located in the southwestern United States, include Hopi, Zuni, Tewa Village (on the Hopi Reservation), Acoma Pueblo, and Laguna Pueblo. In later times, the kachina cult have spread to more eastern Pueblos, e.g. from Laguna to Isleta. The term also refers to the kachina dancers, masked members of the tribe who impersonate kachinas in religious ceremonies, and kachina dolls, wooden dolls representing kachinas which are given as gifts to children.

In Hopi, the word qatsina means literally "life bringer",[dubious ] and can be anything that exists in the natural world or cosmos. A kachina can represent anything from a revered ancestor, to an element, a location, a quality, a natural phenomenon, or a concept. There are more than 400 different kachinas in Hopi and Pueblo culture. The local pantheon of kachinas varies in each pueblo community; there may be kachinas for the sun, stars, thunderstorms, wind, corn, insects, and many other concepts. Kachinas are understood as having humanlike relationships; they may have uncles, sisters, and grandmothers, and may marry and have children. Although not worshipped, each is viewed as a powerful being who, if given veneration and respect, can use their particular power for human good, bringing rainfall, healing, fertility, or protection, for example.

Contents

Origins

  • Kachina was the most widespread and practiced religion by the Pueblos two hundred years or so before the Spaniards came to the West.

Zuni kachinas

The Zuni believe that the kachinas live in the Lake of the Dead, a mythical lake which is reached through Listening Spring Lake located at the junction of the Zuni River and the Little Colorado River.

Hopi kachinas

Within Hopi mythology, the kachinas are said to live on the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, Arizona. The most important Hopi kachinas are called wuya.

Among the Hopi, kachina dolls are traditionally carved by the uncles and given to uninitiated girls at the Bean Dance (Spring Bean Planting Ceremony) and Home Dance Ceremony in the summer. The function of the dolls is to acquaint children with some of the many kachinas.

In Hopi the word is often used to represent the spiritual beings themselves, the dolls, and the people who dress as kachinas for ceremonial dances, which are understood to all embody aspects of the same belief system. Among other uses, the kachinas represent historical events and things in nature, and are used to educate children in the ways of life.

Wuya

The most important of the kachinim are known as wuya. These are some of the wuyas:

See also

Notes

References

  • Anderson, Frank G. (1955). The Pueblo kachina cult: A historical reconstruction. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, 11, 404-419.
  • Anderson, Frank G. (1956). Early documentary material on the Pueblo kachina cult. Anthropological Quarterly, 29, 31-44.
  • Anderson, Frank G. (1960). Inter-tribal relations in the Pueblo kachina cult. In Fifth International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, selected papers (pp. 377–383).
  • Dockstader, Frederick J. "The Kachina & The White Man: A Study of The Influence of White Culture on The Hopi Kachina Cult." Bloomfield Hills, Michigan: Cranbook Institute of Science, 1954.
  • Dozier, Edward P. (1970). The Pueblo Indians of North America. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
  • Glenn, Edna "Kachinas," in Hopi Nation: Essays on Indigenous Art, Culture, History, and Law, 2008.
  • Kennard, Edward A. & Edwin Earle. "Hopi Kachinas." New York: Museum of The American Indian, Hye Foundation, 1971.
  • Schaafsma, Polly. (1972). Rock art in New Mexico. Santa Fe: State Planning Office..
  • Schaafsma, Polly (Ed.). (1994). Kachinas in the pueblo world. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press.
  • Schaafsma, Polly; & Schaafsma, Curtis F. (1974). Evidence for the origins of the Pueblo katchina cult as suggested by Southwestern rock art. American Antiquity, 39 (4), 535-545.
  • Schlegel, Alice, "Hopi Social Structure as Related to Tihu Symbolism," in Hopi Nation: Essays on Indigenous Art, Culture, History, and Law, 2008.
  • Sekaquaptewa, Helen. "Me & Mine: The Life Story of Helen Sekaquaptewa." Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona Press, 1969.
  • Stephen, Alexander M. "Hopi Journal." New York: Columbia University Press, 1936.
  • Stewart, Tyrone. Dockstader, Frederick. Wright, Barton. "The Year of The Hopi: Paintings & Photographs by Joseph Mora, 1904-06." New York, Rizzoli International Publications, 1979.
  • Talayesua, Don C. "Sun Chief: The Autobiography of a Hopi Indian." New Haven, Connecticut: Institute of Human Relations/Yale University Press, 1942.
  • Titiev, Mischa. "Old Oraibi: A Study of The Hopi Indians of the Third Mesa." Cambridge, Massachusetts: Peabody Museum, 1944.
  • Waters, Frank. "Masked Gods: Navajo & Pueblo Ceremonialism." Denver, Colorado: Sage Books, 1950.
  • Waters, Frank. "The Book of The Hopi." New York, Viking Press, 1963.
  • Wright, Barton. "Hopi Kachinas: The Complete Guide to Collecting Kachina Dolls." Flagstaff, Arizona: Northland Press, 1977.
  • Wright, Barton, "Hopi Kachinas: A Life Force," in Hopi Nation: Essays on Indigenous Art, Culture, History, and Law, 2008.

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Word Origins. The World in So Many Words, by Allan A. Metcalf. Copyright © 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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