USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Kachinas are also depicted in small, heavily ornamented carved-wood dolls, which are traditionally made by the men of a tribe and presented to girls; boys receive bows and arrows. These wooden dolls are used to teach the identities of the kachinas and the symbolism of their regalia.

Detailed explanation-2: -For the Hopis, one of several pueblo Indian tribes in the Southwest, the kachina dolls are integral parts of religious life, representing the supernatural beings (also called kachinas) that govern everything from crop success to the health of their children.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Kachina doll of the Hopi, which so many of us admire and collect, is the representation of a Hopi spirit or deity. Kachina dolls originally were, and still are, made to be given away as gifts to Hopi children so that they may learn the different Kachinas and the stories and religious significance attached to them.

Detailed explanation-4: -Kachina cults probably made their first appearance among the pueblos of the Southwest around the 13th and 14th centuries, according to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology’s On-line Exhibition Internet site, although their prototypes may have arrived considerably earlier, some archaeologists have argued.

Detailed explanation-5: -In Native American culture, a kachina is the spirit of a deity, natural element, animal, or ancestor. The American Indian people believe that kachina spirits come to earth every year at the start of the winter solstice until mid-July.