Kachinas

Kachinas

Kachinas (also spelled Katsina, the plural "katsinam") exist in Hopi and in Pueblo cosmology and religious practices.

In Hopi, the word Kachina (Katsina or Qatsina) means literally "life bringer", and can be anything that exists in the natural world or cosmos. A Kachina can be anything from an element, to a quality, to a natural phenomenon, to a concept.

The Zuni believe that the Kachinas live in the Lake of the Dead, a mythical lake which is reached through Listening Spring Lake located at the junction of the Zuni River and the Little Colorado River.

Kachinas (or katsinas) are actually stylized religious icons, meticulously carved from cottonwood root and painted to represent figures from Hopi and Zuni mythology. For generations, these figures have been used to teach children about their religion; no child has ever teethed on a katsina or taken one to bed, and given their price, I doubt any non-Hopi child has either.

There are more than 400 different Kachinas in Hopi and Pueblo culture.


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