They are an American Indian custom. Something akin to a portative totem pole and/ore Boogeyman character, there are both good and ( Hexy) Katchinas. Katchina, or Kachina, is NOT a tribe, as some have erroneously reported ( I think Herr Von Daniken seems to think they are a tribe akin to Cherokee, Apache, Zuni, etc. They are not. A stuffed (I would assume) Katchina doll is or was used as a prize for a race meeting called the Kathina Doll 200 by the National Association of Women ( air) pilots- popularily called the ninety-Nines. These were custom-made for the air show, so to speak and are not toy store items. Katchina dolls are and were made on Indian reservations.
The Hapi tribe
They used kachina dolls
They made Kachina Dolls. They are dolls that controlled things.Gods to them.
buttons, paint and another matterials
They made Kachina dolls, ceramic and woven pottery, and silver jewelry.
John Wayne collected Hopi "kachina" dolls.
Kachina dolls are very popular on auction based websites, such as eBay. Informational sites, such as About, have a lot of useful information about the dolls as well.
they honor it by dancing and wearing masks facing it and a ceremonie is for the underworld (where they thought they came from)
Kachina dolls..
kachina doll
For there kachina dolls
by carving them