Hopi Hahai-i Wuhti Katsina Doll [R]

Hahai-i Wuhti is considered the Katsina Grandmother, who, like Crow Mother, is the mother of all Kachinas. Her children are the monsters Nataskas. This Hopi Hahai-i Wuhti Katsina doll was carved from a single piece of cottonwood root, with the addition of the ears which appear to be rolled pieces of corn husk painted to resemble blue corn *piki.  Hahai-i Wuhti is portrayed as a sprightly grandmother.   It is her representation in doll form that is given to the very young Hopi babies and captive eagles.

Condition:  very good condition

Provenance: from a collector of Hopi Katsina dolls from California

Recommended Reading:  Kachinas: A Hopi Artist's Documentary by Barton Wright

*Note: according to Wikipedia:  Piki (or piki bread) is rolled bread made by the Hopi with nixtamalized corn meal. Blue corn and culinary ash give it a dark grayish-blue color. The light, thin sheets are dry to the point of brittleness and have a delicate corn flavor. It is considered the Hopi version of the tortilla.  Nixtamalization typically refers to a process for the preparation of maize (corn), or other grain, in which the grain is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution, usually limewater, and hulled. The term can also refer to the removal via an alkali process of the pericarp from other grains such as sorghum. Maize subjected to the nixtamalization process has several benefits over unprocessed grain for food preparation: it is more easily ground; its nutritional value is increased; flavor and aroma are improved; and mycotoxins (a toxic secondary metabolite produced by organisms of the fungus kingdom, commonly known as molds) are reduced. These benefits make nixtamalization a crucial preliminary step for further processing of maize into food products, and the process is employed using both traditional and industrial methods, in the production of tortillas, tamales, corn chips, hominy and many other items.