Description
A Hopi Indian will tell you that a kachina is a supernatural being who is impersonated by a man wearing a mask. Small wooden dolls carved in the likenesses of the more than a few kachinas are used to assist teach Hopi children the tribal religion and traditions. Every child receives a doll made especially for him by his male relatives. He treasures the doll and studies it in order that he can learn how to recognize and respect the host of spirit kachinas that people the Hopi world.
Kachinas are difficult to classify because different Hopi pueblos have different ideas about their appearance and their functions. The late Dr. Harold S. Colton identified 266 different types of kachina dolls, and on this book he describes the meaning, the making, and the principal features of them all. Every form of doll is pictured in a simplified line drawing. There may be an illustrated key to assist the collector identify the more than a few types.