Ma'alo Katsina - Lot 193

Ma'alo Katsina Kachina with stick Hopi, Arizona, USA First quarter 20th century Carved wood (cottonwood), pigments, fibers H. 19.5 cm Provenance: Reportedly acquired from Galerie Jacques Tronche, Paris in the 1970s by Paul Duchein Before being a ritual doll, the Kachina (or Katsina) represented a spirit or deity (the Hopi pantheon counts over 450 different spirits, chiefs or gods). Kachinas appear ritually at masked dances held on the plaza in the center of Hopi villages, according to a very precise schedule drawn up in the secrecy of the kivas, the underground ceremonial chambers. Each Kachina is characterized by a mask, a costume and facial or body paint that allow precise identification. At the end of each dance, the masked dancer would offer one of the village children a doll (also called a Kachina or Katsina) sculpted in his or her image. The child who received the doll treasured it as a souvenir of the dance. In this way, the Kachina doll served as an educational tool for passing on knowledge of the Hopi spiritual world to children. The sculptures were usually hung on the wall of the house with a string around the neck of the carved figure. The figure shown here, 19.5 cm high, is carved from the soft wood of a cottonwood root. Its arms are firmly folded against its belly, carved in relief in the classic position of ancient Kachinas. Her face is divided into two dials separated by a black band adorned with fine white lines evoking raindrops. The left eye is inscribed in an ochre rectangle, the right in a green rectangle surrounded by red. On the top of the mask, extending from the forehead, are motifs of black dots, symbols of flowering. To the right of the mask, the ear is represented by a conical shape, schematically representing a squash blossom. On the left, a small cord is still present, originally used to attach feathers or a horsehair ornament. The kachina's tunic is orange-red. A stylized buckskin pattern covers the doll's shoulders. The sash, the Hopi ceremonial belt that falls on the right side of the kilt, is decorated with painted geometric motifs. On the back of the right foot is an old inventory number "M 150" (?) inscribed in black ink. The sculpture shows numerous marks attesting to its age (faded colors, pigment losses and scratches), which corroborates its hieratic style, characteristic of Hopi works from the early years of the 20th century. This sculpture is a representation of Ma'alo or Malo Katsina - the Kachina with the stick. Ma'alo appeared at the Niman (Homecoming) Dance on the First Mesa and at nighttime ceremonies or on the plaza in other Hopi villages. His coming was a prayer for rain and fruitful harvests (hence the shape of his right ear, reminiscent of a squash blossom). It seems that Ma'alo dances have become increasingly rare over the past century, this spirit being gradually replaced by other pantheon figures playing a similar role.