WHAT IS A KATSINA?
According to the Hopi Indians of North Central Arizona, the word “katsina” has three distinct but inter-related meanings. First are the Katsina spirits, the ineffable beings who support, sponsor, and sometimes chastise the Hopi people (and all humankind). These generally benevolent spirit beings are said to visit Hopiland from January through July each year, bringing with them blessings, fertility, life-giving rain, good health, long life, and other forms of sponsorship. For the remainder of each year, they reside at Nuvatukya'ovi or the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, AZ.
The second meaning of “Katsinam” (plural) is that of “dancers” – perhaps better referred to as participants in the sacred ceremonies of the Katsina religion. These Katsina rituals occur during the cold winter months in the underground kivas and as the weather warms in the outdoor plazas on the reservation. The Katsina participants are sacred figures who embody, personify, and represent the ineffable Katsina spirits of the first meaning.
The third connotation of “katsina” refers to wood-carvings. In the Hopi language, the terms are katsintihu (singular) and katsintithu (plural). These carvings are intended to embody and represent the Katsina “dancers” in wood. Thus, it is a three-tiered system of language regarding the word “Katsina”:
The ineffable, sponsoring Katsina Spirit Beings
The Katsina dancers who embody, personify and represent the Spirit Beings at Hopi ceremonies
The katsina wood-carvings which represent the Katsina dancers or participants
Please note that I use the capitalized “Katsina” to refer to the first two meanings and the lower case “katsina” to refer to the wood-carvings.
Excerpted from The Great Tradition of Hopi Katsina Carvers: 1880 to Present, by Barry Walsh.
Suggested reading:
The Great Tradition of Hopi Katsina Carvers: 1880 to Present, by Barry Walsh, Rio Nuevo Publishers, Tucson, AZ 2019
Southwest Indian Ceremonials, Tom Bahti, KC Publications, Las Vegas, NV 2007
Hopi Kachina Tradition: Following the Sun and Moon, Alph Secakuku. Heard Museum/Northland Press. 1995
Traditional Hopi Kachinas - new generation of carvers. Jonathan Day. Northland Press, Flagstaff, AZ 2000
Hopituy - Hopi Art from the Permanent Collections. University of Oklahoma. 2013