Hopi Great Horned Owl Kachina, Mongwa Katsina Doll

Route 66 Souvenir: The Warrior Dance of the Great Horned Owl Katsina

This Hopi Pueblo wood carving of the Great Horned Owl Katsina is of the style popular from the 1950s through the 1960s, particularly by travelers on Route 66 as souvenir items. He stands straight with both arms tucked against his body. He is an all-wood carving, painted with water-based paints. His elaborate wings and his beak were added to the one-piece carving. His presentation is that of a warrior. It is primitive in a way but charming as well. It is not signed with the name of a carver.

The Great Horned Owl Katsina, as a warrior, is relentless in persecuting the clowns. He stands at the edge of the dance circle while the clowns are performing, and he watches disapprovingly of their antics as they perform their un-Hopi-behavior. Near the end of the dance, a group of Mongwa swoop down on the clowns and beat them with yucca whips, douse them with water, and leave them piled up in the center of the plaza in pain.

What is a Kachina?

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Hopi Great Horned Owl Kachina, Mongwa Katsina Doll is from the collection of a gentleman from California

Recommended Reading: Kachinas: a Hopi Artist's Documentary by Barton Wright, Northland Press, 1973

TAGS: Katsina Dolls, Hopi Pueblo, Hopi Kachina Dolls