Hopi katsina carvings β long known as kachina dolls β are among the most significant of all Native American art forms: representations of the katsinam, the spirit messengers of the Hopi people, carved from cottonwood root and painted in careful regalia. Our Sedona gallery has offered authentic Hopi kachinas since 1972, acquired directly from carvers and presented with respect for the living tradition they embody. Explore figures from the radiant Sunface to the Bear, the sacred Clown, the Warrior Maiden, and the Morning Singer β every carving genuinely Hopi-made in keeping with the Indian Arts and Crafts Act and backed by our authenticity guarantee.
Authentic Hopi katsina (kachina) carvings in cottonwood root, acquired directly from Hopi carvers.
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Hopi
$525.00
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$199.00
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$899.00
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$159.00
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$650.00
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$340.00
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$550.00
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$250.00
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$950.00
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$159.00
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$199.00
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$550.00
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$699.00
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$749.00
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$650.00
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$199.00
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$199.00
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In Hopi belief, the katsinam are benevolent spirit beings who carry prayers and bring rain, growth, and order to the world. For roughly half of each year they are present among the people, embodied by ceremonial dancers in the plazas of the mesa villages. The carved figures β tithu in Hopi β were traditionally given to Hopi girls during ceremonies as instruments of teaching: a way of learning the katsinam by living with them.
Older-style carvings are simple, frontal, and painted in flat mineral colors, closer to the teaching figures of the nineteenth century. Contemporary carvers work sculpturally, coaxing motion, musculature, and flowing regalia from a single piece of cottonwood root, often leaving passages of the wood unpainted to show their knife work. Both styles are collected seriously; the choice between them is one of taste, not rank.
Each carving represents a specific katsina with its own character and role. The Sunface is associated with warmth, growth, and renewal; the Bear with strength and healing; the clown figures teach through laughter and misrule; the Morning Singer greets the village from the rooftops at dawn; Corn Boy carries the essence of the harvest. A good carving renders the regalia of its katsina faithfully β that fidelity is part of its worth.
You will see all three words used. Katsina (plural katsinam) is the Hopi word for the spirit beings themselves; kachina is the long-standing English spelling most collectors know; tithu is the Hopi name for the carved figures. We use kachina where collectors expect it and katsina where precision matters β the carvings themselves answer happily to both.
Katsina carvings are cultural art with living spiritual significance, and we present them accordingly. Every kachina we offer is genuinely Hopi-made β a fact that matters both under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act and to the integrity of the form itself, which is Hopi by definition. Carvings are acquired directly from the carver or their family, and signed work is attributed to its maker.
Cottonwood root is light and soft, and natural pigments fade. Display a kachina out of direct sunlight and away from vents and humidity swings, dust it with a soft brush rather than a cloth, and avoid handling feathers, yarn, and delicate regalia. A carving kept this way will teach for another generation.
