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Navajo Carved Wooden Zuni Kachina Figure - Morning singer
These beautifully hand crafted 8" wooden Kachina Dolls are brought to you by the Navajo artist Elsie Willie who is shown on the accompanying tag and whose initials are on the base of the Kachina. They are carved from pine and are decorated with cloth, feathers and fur.
 
Kachina dancers are part of the Zuni and Hopi traditional way of life.
The morning singer appears on the roof tops and sings songs to wake the people of the village.
 
Kachinas are thought to walk upon the earth at the beginning of each year. They dance to bring fertility, abundance and a good harvest. When the Kachinas return to the spirit world they take the prayers of the Hopi people with them that all may continue to thrive on the earth for another year.

The Hopi were the original Kachina Doll carvers and the dolls were used as a means of educating children about the tradition. They would use a single piece of cottonwood root which they then painted. The Navajo then began carving Kachina Dolls in their own creative way, adding leather, feathers and fur.
 
Kachina dolls are now often given as gifts designed to bring abundance and health.
 
Measures approx 8" (20cm) tall and 4" (10cm) wide. Each Kachina has it's name written on the base.
 
This Navajo product is an authentic  item purchased from a company trading locally on
Navajo Nation land in New Mexico.