FIVE KACHINA DOLLS FROM PUEBLO NATIVE TRIBES PRIMARILY THE HOPI AND ZUNI. Set of five Kachina Dolls (or Katsina dolls or Qatsina dolls) from the Pueblo Native tribes primarily the Hopi and Zuni. They are carved decorated figures that represent the spiritual beings, or Kachinas (Katsinam), who act as messengers between humans and the gods. Traditionally, these dolls are carved by male family members (usually from cottonwood root) and given to young girls and new brides to educate them about the hundreds of different Kachinas, their masks, and their ceremonial functions. The dolls represent spirit beings who control natural forces like rain, fertility, and harvests, and who also serve as moral guides and disciplinarians.
Signed at the base by artists carvers as follows: (1) ERNEST CHAPELLA AND DATED 1980 (2) BEN SECIWA (1941- ), (3) SHELDON TALAS, (4) LEONARD SHUPLA SR., (5) a member of the TEWA family.
