Facts on Sun Kachina Dolls
Hopi culture celebrates and acknowledges its spirits with kachina dolls. The spirits, known as kachina or katsinam, come down from the mountains every spring to help the Hopis flourish in every aspect of their lives. There are more than 200 Hopi kachina, with one of the most prominent and important being the sun kachina.
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Names
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The sun kachina, which represents the spirit of the sun, has a number of other names. Tawa is one of his most common, but he also goes by the sun shield kachina.
Features
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The most prominent features of the sun kachina are his head and headdress. A circle of feathers frames his face, which is covered with a colorful, round mask. The bottom half of his mask is blue, featuring a black triangular mouth and black rectangular eyes, while his mask's upper half is divided into an orange half and a yellow half. Red, yellow and blue appear in various areas around his body, which is cloaked with a white kilt and brown dance sash. He can be holding a number of different items, such as a spruce tree, bell or flute, all relating to the myths surrounding him.
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Myth
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The sun kachina has an important part in Hopi myth, as the sun god was one of the founders of the Earth as we know it, according to the Stav Academy website. Tawa appears in a number of myths about creation. One myth explains sun god Tawa and the Earth goddess Kokyanwuhti were the only two beings that existed, with the former controlling the powers above and the latter in charge of the magic below. They created the Earth, to be in the middle of their two power zones, and all its inhabitants. Tawa would come up with the ideas for the living beings and Kokyanwuhti would make those beings out of clay.
Role
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The sun kachina is a regular feature in the Hopi mixed dances, usually standing off to the side with his instruments or other items. While some dances are for a specific purpose, like the bean dance, mixed dances contain a variety of different elements. Tawa often joins other mixed dance regulars including the flower kachina and the mocking kachina.
Varieties
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Not all sun kachinas are created equal, although all authentic versions are made by Hopi artists. Artists usually carve full-figured kachinas out of cottonwood and paint the details. Sculptures are a free-form variation on the carvings, where artists use a variety of different wood and other material and have more leeway for personal interpretation and expression. Miniature kachinas are smaller versions of the carvings. Old style kachinas are simpler versions of the carvings, usually flat and largely two-dimensional, before the white man influenced Hopi culture. The sun kachina can range from the highly elaborate, with real eagle or turkey feathers surrounding his head, to the very simple, with a simple circle around his face.
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References
- Photo Credit sun image by Bube from Fotolia.com
