Zuni Pueblo Wilatsukwe (Feather String) Katsina Doll [SOLD]

The Wilatsukwe, or White Mountain Apache Dance, was presumably introduced into the Zuni pantheon in 1898 according to Elsie Clews Parsons in a publication in 1918.  Informants in the 1920s stated that the dance costume was copied from a picture.  The dancers do not wear body paint but are otherwise ceremonially attired.  The dancers arrive two by two but they dance in a single line.  The female equivalent katsinas accompany the male dancers.

This is the Ko’ko that represents the Apache people and is so named due to a string of eagle down feathers that is in back of the head which this doll, of course, cannot display any longer.  It could be called Wilatsukwe Peyennokwe if it had his typical spear and bow in his hands.   Peyennokwe is the song leader who dances in the center of the plaza and helps start the song verses. 

The dance step differs from the usual katsina one in that the right foot is stamped three times before the beat is picked up again with the left foot and continued.  A choir accompanied by a drummer sings for the group, and yet the dancers also sing.  The words are in Zuni but are very hard to sing because they must come out loud and harsh like the Apache speak.  The dancers also sing as they leave the plaza and as they give away presents.

This katsina doll is carved from a single piece of wood, probably pine, and has articulating arms.  He is exquisitely dressed in leather and fabric and has long black hair draping down his back.  He wears an old turquoise and shell necklace.  There is a print fabric skirt under the leather skirt.  The doll is magnificent and certainly must date to the early 20^th century.

Condition: very good condition with normal wear due to age and a linear crack in the wood

Provenance: from the private collection of a Santa Fe resident

Reference Document:  Kachinas of the Zuni by Barton Wright, 1985