Kachina Butterfly Girl - Pahlik Mana Katsina (variant) - Lot 11

Kachina Butterfly Girl - Pahlik Mana Katsina (variant) Hopi, Arizona Cottonwood root, polychromy H. 23 cm (without base) Mid-twentieth century Provenance : - Néret-Minet sale, Drouot, Paris, October 25, 2002, lot 50 - Collection Léo Scheer & Nathalie Rheims, acquired at the above sale The female character Pahlik Mana (Young Butterfly Girl) appears at ritual dances in February, and in the kivas (underground ceremonial chambers of the Hopi), where she prepares the sacred corn that is then offered during the dances. Its role is to bring rain, the promise of abundant harvests and growth for the animals. Both male and female dancers can embody Pahlik Mana (customs differ from one Hopi village to another). The female figures Pahlik, Poli and Salako Mana share many common symbols, ritual functions and responsibilities, which is why they are often confused in Kachina literature. The carved ornament that crowns the figure is known as a tabletta. It consists of finely cut terraced motifs. These "stairs to heaven" symbolize clouds and the rain that falls from them. Numerous corn and rain motifs complete the tabletta's painted ornamentation. The decoration around the mouth and chin features a rainbow. It should be noted that the covering texture of the painted decoration on this Kachina does not correspond to natural pigments produced locally, but rather probably to paints purchased in the trade or from trading posts near Hopi villages.