Hopi Pueblo Kwasa-itaka, Dress Katsina Doll by Wilbert Talashoma, Sr. [SOLD]

This all-wood katsina doll by by Wilbert Talashoma, Sr. is the Hopi Pueblo version of the Koroasta of the Zuni people.  He is sometimes called the Dress Katsina because he wears a woman’s dress, without a belt around his waist.  He is also sometimes called the Ota Katsina from the first words of his song.  The most typical feature of this katsina is the three little corn husk packets that make up his nose.  The lines running around his face are to represent the rainbow colors. The belt usually worn around the waist of the dress is worn around the neck in this katsina.  The ends hang down his back.

This katsina has influence over the growth of corn and carries seeds in a bag.  Spectators are eager to receive these seeds and plant them. He is consistently seen in the Third Mesa Powamu.  This katsina used to carry sheep scapulae in his right hand but now carries a Hopi gourd rattle instead. He also carries a digging stick for use in planting the seeds.

Wilbert Talashona carved the doll without the inclusion of the seed bag, rattle or digging stick.

Wilburt Talashoma was once commissioned to carve twenty-one dolls for a travelling exhibit organized by the California Academy of Sciences, an honor bestowed on an outstanding carver.

Wilburt Talashoma, Sr. was the father of also famous Hopi carver Lowell Talashoma, Sr. Both father and son have passed away but both have left a legacy of some wonderful carvings of katsinas. Wilburt was the son of Jennie and Willie Quotskuyva and was born in the Hopi village of Bacavi on Third Mesa. In World War II he served in the U. S. Army in France and Germany. He was a Hopi, a farmer and a carver all his adult life.

Condition: this Hopi Pueblo Kwasa-itaka, Dress Katsina Doll by Wilbert Talashoma, Sr. is in very good condition

Provenance: from the extensive collection of a family formerly from Oklahoma

Recommended Reading:  Kachinas - a Hopi Artist’s Documentary by Barton Wright with original paintings by Cliff Bahnimptewa

Reltative Links: Lowell Talashoma, Sr., Hopi Pueblo, Katsina Dolls, Wilburt Talashoma, Sr.