Zuni Pueblo “Pasikiapa” (Wide Sleeves) Katsina Doll [SOLD]

The Pasikiapa Katsina is quite similar in appearance to the Hopi Velvet Shirt Katsina and this is explainable.  It appears that the Zuni adopted this Katsina from the Hopi during the 1930s.  The Zuni Pasikiapa Dance features a line of male Katsinas accompanied by a single female who functions as the drummer.

To quote Barton Wright:

"The Kachinas are led by an impersonation who bears a definite resemblance to the Hopi Tonei-nili, a side dancer for their Navajo Kachinas.  The Hopi Tonei-nili was inspired by the Navajo Gray God, or Water Sprinkler (Franciscan Fathers 1910, 384), and the Zuni Pasikiapa Mosona appears to be closer in form to the Hopi version than to the Navajo (Wright, plate 26c).  The kachinas who make up this dance set are apparently derived from several sources, with the main dancers being of Zuni origin, led by an impersonation originating from the Navajo, and accompanied by a drummer,  Pasikiapa Tese Akenona Okya (Wright, plate 26d), patterned after a Hopi maiden."

So, in summary, the Hopi created a katsina in honor of a Navajo supernatural and the Zuni adopted the katsina from the Hopi and made it one of their own.  This is an interesting display of the inter-relationship of the various Native tribes' beliefs being shared by other tribes.  The Pasikiapa Dance is a very popular dance these days in the winter dance season and is a dance presented by one of the kiva groups after the Shalako Ceremony.

Condition:  whatever the katsina held in his right hand is missing; otherwise it is in very good condition.

Provenance: from the collection of Chuck and Jan Rosenak, renowned collectors and authors of Navajo folk art. 

References:

Franciscan Fathers, An Ethnological Dictionary of the Navajo Language, St. Michaels, Arizona, 1910.

Wright, Barton.  Kachinas of the Zuni, Northland Press. 1985.

Burkhardt, Chad. Personal conversation, 2013.