Hopi Early Tasap Katsina Doll with Hopi Villages Label

This katsina doll has all the attributes of a 1930s carving. It is simple, has arms tucked to the body, and paints and pigments of the period. Additionally, pasted to the back is a paper label reading From the Hopi Villages.

The katsina doll represents the Tasap Katsina. Tasap is a Hopi representation of a Navajo God. There are Hopi versions of katsinam that honor and depict other tribes, such as the Navajo, Havasupai, Comanche, Zuni, and other Pueblos.

"It has been incorrectly stated that the Tasap Kachina came from the Navajo. It does only in the sense that the Bee Kachina comes from bees. It was never a Navajo dance figure. But it is instead the Hopis' interpretation of their neighbors. He is a very popular kachina. This popularity is the reason for the variety of Tasap Kachinas and is undoubtedly one of the reasons that he may be selected for the Niman Ceremony instead of the Hemis Kachina. Usually, he performs in the plaza as a regular kachina dance. The actual dance is one of rather monotonous stamping that is broken at intervals by some rather interesting turns and calls." [Wright 1973:180]

What is a Kachina?

Condition: very good condition for its age

Provenance: this Hopi Early Tasap Katsina Doll with Hopi Villages Label is from the collection of a gallery client

Reference and Recommended Reading: Kachinas: a Hopi artist’s documentary by Barton Wright

TAGS: Kachina – Katsina Doll, Hopi Pueblo