Poupée "kachin-mana" (Esprit d'une jeune fille)
Description
wood (cottonwood root), white clay, polychrome paint, rest., base
The armless figure wears a white girl’s scarf with border stripes and white boots. The head is carved with two large hair scrolls and decorated with real hair braid and down feathers.
“Kachina” in Hopi, Zuni and other Pueblo Indian cultures in the southwestern United States refers to three phenomena: the spirit of a natural phenomenon in the form of an animal, plant, ancestor, etc., the masked dancer who represents this spirit, and the figurative representation (puppet) of the same.
The “kachina” cult was the only Hopi religious institution that embraced the whole people. Almost all Hopi children were initiated into the “kachina” society, and later the male members of this covenant were allowed to actively participate in the “kachina” dances.
The dolls are said to have helped familiarise the children with the spiritual world and the founding myths of their people. According to other sources, they were meant to help prepare girls for their role as mothers through play.