Hopi Kokopellmana Katsina Doll [SOLD]

Kokopellmana is the erotic female counterpart of Kokopelli, the Humpback Flute Player.  She will induce someone to run against “her” and then hoist her skirts and overtake him.  She flings him to the ground and imitates copulation with him to the amusement of the audience and the complete discomfort of the loser.  Kokopellmana is impersonated by a male, as are all Hopi Katsinas.

Kokopelli, the male katsina, is pictured in many petroglyphs in the Southwest.  There is a version on Volcano Cliffs near Albuquerque.  He was the seducer of a beautiful female in Hopi country but because of his hump back deformity would not do so openly but secretly hid and impregnated her.  When she bore a son, the village elders decided to determine who the father was.  She was so beautiful that all the young men claimed to be the father so the village chief decided to settle the question with a foot race.  Each racer would carry flowers and on finishing the race would present the flowers to the child.  The flowers accepted by the child would be that of his father.  The child accepted flowers from Kokopelli and Kokopelli and the young girl married.

All the young men of the village were jealous and determined to kill Kokopelli.  When he learned of this, he implored Spider Woman for assistance.  She provided a magic potion that would change all the enemies into hump back men.  As the men searched in the dark for Kokopelli to kill him, they felt the humps on the backs of the other men and in turn all of them were killed.  Kokopelli and his bride left the Hopi village.

This doll appears to be a pre-World War II carving and is basically all wood.  There is a fabric cape on the back and horse hair at the ears. The paint on the face and dress is a matte finish and the body is white washed.  The musculature of the arms and legs illustrate clearly that the doll represents a male.  There is a string on the back by which the doll could be hung on the wall but there also is a metal stand provided for table display.

Condition: good condition with loss of paint on body and clothing and a repair to the left foot.  This katsina has a uniquely made stand that is included with this doll.

Provenance: from the extensive collection of a Santa Fe resident who is unfortunately moving to another town and found it necessary to greatly reduce her collection.

Reference: Kachinas by Elaine Baran Holien, in El Palacio, Volume 76, Number 4, 1970