Hopi Miniature Chaveyo (Black Ogre) Katsina Doll [SOLD]

“Chaveyo is one of the more cosmopolitan kachinas.  He is represented in nearly every pueblo, but his original home was probably in the San Juan area of New Mexico.  However, for the Hopis his home is in the San Francisco Mountains, and he is the husband of Hahai-i-Wuhti.  The family of Hahai-i-Wuhti and Chaveyo are the Nataskas, the dreadful Sosoyok’t.  Chaveyo is the Sergeant Snorkle of the kachinas.  Should any Hopi fail to meet his obligations in community work or transgress the unspoken rules of conduct for the village, Chaveyo will show him the error of his ways.

“Chaveyo often appears with Soyoko on First Mesa but can appear for the same purpose anytime during the spring months.  However, he is usually seen in the Powamu or Palölökongti (Water Serpent Dance) being badgered by the clowns who eventually will be soundly whacked for their efforts.  This ‘giant’ kachina is a favorite of kachina carvers and his irritable cantankerousness usually shows in the dolls that represent him.  Those who see him for the first time at a kachina dance usually remember the kachina with ‘all those feathers and a sword.’” Wright 1973

Nate Ahownewa is a Hopi carver but we have not been able to find any published biographical information on him.  We do not know in which village he lives nor his age.  He is an accomplished carver of one-piece katsina dolls as illustrated in this Chaveyo Katsina doll.  An examination of this carving indicates that it is basically a one-piece carving with the feathers and ears possibly having been added separately.

Condition: original condition

Reference:  Kachinas: a Hopi Artist’s Documentary by Barton Wright with original paintings by Cliff Bahnimptewa.  This book is currently not available from Adobe Gallery. 

Provenance: from the collection of a family from New York who purchased it in the 1990s.