Hopi Pueblo Horo Mana Katsina, Cold Bringing Woman Kachina Doll

This Katsina is Horo Mana or Cold Bringing Woman. It was expertly carved from one solid piece of cottonwood root. This Cold Bringing Woman katsina doll features a feather extending from a full head of snowy hair. An unpigmented shawl creases over her shoulders and meets with a windswept skirt below. The entirety of her regalia moves with the suggestion of the weather she is known for bringing.

On one hand she menacingly taunts with the bundles of reeds used traditionally by the Hopi as a comb, and on the other hand she carries a staff. She is poised in a way that suggests her intent, that of a chill and flurry of movement—a brisk transition of the seasons. White moccasins rest upon a highly decorated stand. Near her feet, a snow-capped mountain rises, carved into sections.

Horo Mana is a katsina from the Tewa Village of First Mesa, sometimes called the Yohozoro Wuhti and she appears during the Powamu ceremonies. She carries a comb in one hand, to muss up people's hair when she appears with Nuvak'china, her grandson. She appears in all white. As her name implies, she brings the whiteness of winter and furthermore, the much-needed moisture of Winter snow.

Hopi Pueblo artist Brian Honyouti had started carving katsina dolls in the 1960s after graduating from high school. He helped his dad paint his dolls and learned to carve his own at that time. According to Helga Teiwes, he was the first carver to use wood preservers and wood sealers as an undercoat for the carvings. She said he was also the first to substitute wood preserver for paint and to use oil paints in lieu of acrylic paints. These innovations provided a mellow tone to his carvings rather than the shiny gloss of acrylics.

When Adobe Gallery was actively purchasing katsina dolls from the Hopi Honyouti brothers (Brian, Lauren, and Ronald) in the 1980s and 1990s, Brian Honyouti (1947-2016) was seriously involved in running a school for the children of his village of Bacavi. He founded the school, was the teacher, and was the principal. He was a strong advocate of education. He, himself, had obtained a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of Arizona in 1971.

What is a Katsina?

Condition: original condition

Provenance: this Hopi Pueblo Horo Mana Katsina, Cold Bringing Woman Kachina Doll was purchased by Adobe Gallery in 1988 from Brian Honyouti. We sold it to a client from whose estate we now have it to offer again.

Reference: Kachina Dolls: The Art of Hopi Carvers by Helga Teiwes

Recommended Reading: BRIAN HONYOUTI Hopi Carver by Zena Pearlstone

TAGS:  Hopi Pueblo, Lauren Honyouti, Ronald Honyouti, Katsina Dolls, Brian Honyouti