“Kachinas are wooden dolls dressed with fabric, furs, animal hair and feathers and painted in different designs and colours. They can also be masks worn by men who dance so-called ceremonial dances in town squares, mainly on the winter solstice but sometimes also in mid-July. Kachinas are also supernatural beings, but they are neither gods nor people. They are the souls of the unknown, of everything that is unknown, so kachinas represent the unknown in our existence in the universe…”
Ettore Sottsass describes the Kachinas in 2004
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Kachina 4 and 16. Produced by Ernest Mourmans
Kachina (also spelled Katsina or Katchina) refers to a central concept in the spiritual traditions of the Hopi, Zuni and other Pueblo peoples of the American Southwest. The term describes both a supernatural being – often associated with natural forces, animals, plants or ancestral spirits – and the masked dancers who embody these beings during ceremonial performances. It also refers to the carved wooden figures representing them, commonly known as Katsina dolls.
In Hopi belief, Katsinam serve as intermediaries between humans and the spiritual world, carrying prayers for rain and agricultural fertility. In the arid landscapes of the Southwest, where rainfall is essential for survival, they are regarded as powerful and revered spiritual beings. The carved figures were traditionally created as teaching objects, introducing children to the many different Katsinam and their roles within Pueblo ceremonial life.