Hopi Soyok Wuhti - Ogre Woman Katsina Doll [SOLD]

To quote Barton Wright:

“The awesome figure of the Monster Woman appears during the Powamu ceremony as one of the many Soyoko who threaten the lives of the children.  Dressed all in black, with long straggling hair, starring eyes and a wide-fanged mouth, she carries a blood-stained knife and a long jangling crook—a truly fearsome creature to the children.

“When she speaks, it is in a wailing falsetto or with a long dismal hoot of ‘Soyokό-u-u-u.’ from which her name is derived.  She may reach for the children with the long crook and threaten to put them in the basket on her back, or to cut off their heads with the large knife that she carries in her hand utterly terrifying her young audience.

“On some mesas she may be the ogre that threatens a small child who has been naughty and bargains with a relative to ransom the child, but on others she is not.  In some villages she leads the procession of ogres; in others she remains at the side, content to make threatening gestures.”

This Katsina Doll carving by Kevin Pochoema was completed in 1994, at which time we sold it to the current owner.  It is an all-wood carving with oil base stains highlights.  Kevin illustrated in this Hopi Pueblo doll, completed over 20 years ago, his early ability to carve dolls of great motion with expressive features and flowing hair.  This is an excellent carving in every respect.

Condition: original condition

Referenced material: Kachinas: a Hopi Artist’s Documentary by Barton Wright

Provenance: from the collection of a family from New York to whom we sold this doll in 1994.