#katsina

▪︎ Hiilili Kokko (Katsina Figure).

Date: ca. 1900

Place of origin: Arizona, United States

Culture: Zuni, Native American

OUTDATED

Tawa, the primordial radiance of the Kachinas. Tawa is the supreme god amongst the Hopi, with everything that exists tracing its origin to Tawa. At the beginning of Time, the only thing that existed was Tawa and the Spider Grandmother. These two came together to birth the Kachinas, the lesser gods. Kokopelli, Masauwu, and Toho, all the Kachinas descend from Tawa’s union with the Spider Grandmother. Tawa used his immense power to create the universe, while the Spider Grandmother used hers to create the mortal creatures. The universe contained a multitude of different dimensions or worlds, the Spider grandmother guided the Hopi through the first three. However the third world was corrupted by the hearts of evil men, so in response Tawa sent a flood to destroy the world that turned to villainy. The spider Grabdmother saved the mortals who held kindness in their heart, sealing them within reeds to weather the storm. Upon the flood’s conclusion a bamboo shoot grew into the sky, with the Hopi climbing it, reaching the fourth world, where humanity now lives. However it’s said that even this current humanity took the Kachinas for granted. So the gods left this earthly plane and entrusted their most faithful with their worship. Once the Kachinas left, humanity realized their mistake and once again took up their practices once taught to them to seek forgiveness and to call upon their aid. A tradition still present today has mothers present their newborns to Tawa, who grants them blessings and protection.

Unlike the eastern tribes of Native Americans, many of the western tribes including the Hopi were able to preserve more of their culture and mythology. This is due to the Pueblo and Hopi resistance against Spanish colonization, successfully pushing out the colonists for a time. And while they were eventually forced under colonist rule again, this resistance allowed the Hopi religious belief system to be recorded and cemented. There are several different tellings of the Hopi’s cosmogenic myth, in some Tawa is credited with the creation of the world and the gods alone, in other myths Spider Grandmother is only his servant and not his consort, in another less common myth life was created by the two Hard Being Women with Tawa only observing them. According to some traditions creation was undergone by Tawa’s son Sotuknang who in turn created the Spider Grandmother, however this myth is the only reference to the deity Sotuknang, possibly implying it was a later and less popular addition to the mythos, however this is purely conjecture. Tawa’s status as a supreme sun god connects him to the many other indigenous mythologies of the Americas, most prevalently in Central and South America as many of their mythologies revolve around the sun, represented in their deities like the Yucatec Mayan Itzamna, the K’iche’ Mayan Q’uq’umatz, the Incan Inti and Viracocha. This archetype also corresponds to deities outside the americas as well, most recognizable among them being the Egyptian Ra. Tawa’s deepest connection is with their fellow Pueblo god, the Zuni Awonawilona, a god also associated with the sun and primordial transcendence. It’s likely that these two are developmentally related, probably branching off from the same ancestor.

A celebratory touchdown dance in carved cottonwood has been quietly occurring at Carnegie Museum of Natural History for more than 22 years. Within the Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians, in the quadrant of the exhibition devoted to conveying information about the Hopi and their culture, a nine-inch high figure of a Pittsburgh Steelers player wearing number 53 holds a football aloft in his right hand. The wide-eyed grinning figure is displayed with plenty of colorful company, and its significance is best understood in terms of this carefully assembled cast.

The carved figures, which are properly called tihus, and more frequently referred to as katsinas, represent the benevolent spirit beings who live among the Hopi on three high mesas of northern Arizona for approximately a six-month period each year. An important role for the carvings is the imparting of knowledge and understanding of these beings or katsinam, and the target audiences for these life lessons are the Hopi themselves.

This aspect of limited cultural sharing was explained to museum educators in the months before the exhibition hall opened in 1998 when Hartman Lomawaima, a Hopi consultant, conducted a training session about the carvings. After a 90-minute presentation that included information about how the katsinas displayed in the hall had not been used in sacred ceremonies, he fielded a particularly pertinent question. “When we take students through the hall we won’t have the time you’ve just shared with us,” explained an experienced interpreter. “What can we tell students about these figures in a minute or two?” “That’s easy,’’ replied Hartman, “just tell them they’re three-dimensional prayers.”

A little more information about the black and gold figure can be gleaned from exhibit text. Here the carving is described as PITTSBURGH STEELER CLOWN KOYAALA, the carver identified as Regina Naha, and the creation date listed as 1992. A reputable reference on katsinas describes the word “Koyaala” as referring to clown figures of the village of Hano on First Mesa, and an internet search under the artist’s name reveals that she is from Hano.

For Steeler fans, and perhaps even for the team’s players, coaches, and administrators, there might be small comfort in knowing a “three-dimensional” prayer clad in their team’s uniform resides under the same roof as Tyrannosaurus rex. For fans of the city itself, the story of how the carving came to be on display offers another example of Pittsburgh Pride. In a font smaller than the rest of the display’s text, the figure is noted to be a “gift of Les and Joan Becker.” Deborah Harding, Collection Manager in the museum’s Section of Anthropology, was able to share some information about the couple. “Les and Joan were long-time and valuable volunteers in this section. During a visit to Arizona they spotted the Steeler carving in the shop at The Heard Museum in Phoenix, and bought it for the museum with the approval of the curator directing the hall’s development. According to the story I heard, Les was able to barter for a lower price by arguing that the figure would be displayed where it belonged, in Pittsburgh.”