Hopi Wuyak.kuita Katsina Doll [R]

In every ceremony there are guards to prevent any transgression on the path of the kachinas. In addition, guards or Angry Kachinas were formerly used to enforce community work such as the cleaning of springs. It is to this category that the Wuyak-kuita belongs. Wuyak-kuita is most often seen bringing up the rear of the Bean Dance Procession or circling wide at the sides. He is the one who moves toward the clowns and absolutely terrifies them. (Wright, 1973. 26)

A gentleman who worked for the Department of the Interior in Denver, Colorado, who passed away in the mid-1940s, collected this Katsina doll; therefore, this carving pre-dates that time period.

Condition:  original condition

Provenance: from a gentleman from California