Hopi Indians, Arizona, U.S.A.
(Crow Mother Kachina doll)
Carved wood (cottonwood), natural pigments
Height: 8 ¾ in. (22.5 cm)
Kachina dolls (or katsinam) represent spirits or gods from the pantheon of the Pueblo Indians in the American Southwest. Given to children, kachina dolls constituted a pedagogical tool allowing them to familiarize themselves with the spiritual world and perpetuating knowledge of the founding myths on which their society was based.