Hopi Kachina Dolls

Explores and celebrates a cultural legacy by centering female voicesKachina dolls (tithu) represent the Katsinam, the ancestral spirits who bring blessings of clouds, rain, and other gifts to the Hopi people to keep the world in balance. For longer than memory, Katsinam have gifted tithu to Hopi girls and women from infancy to marriage. These gifts are foundational to a Hopi woman's identity, yet previous publications have overlooked this vital and enduring relationship. Hopi Kachina Dolls: Blessings for a Balanced World radically centers the perspectives of women and girls and offers a new model for understanding and appreciating art emergent from this cultural tradition.To showcase kachina dolls' everlasting significance, this book features artworks dating from the nineteenth century to the present, including finely crafted tithu as well as exquisite contemporary ceramics, baskets, and jewelry created by Hopi women artists. Newly commissioned photography and interviews with Hopi community members provide an intimate view into their lived experiences. This volume reframes art historical understandings of tithu, illuminates the powerful role of the Katsinam in Hopi society, and highlights the ingenuity of women creatives whose artwork builds on long-standing cultural legacies.