Hopi Cottonwood Root Butterfly Maiden Kachina/ Folk Art/ Zuni Fetish

Artist:  Hopi Carver Randolph David

Medium:  Cotton wood root, wood burned, hand painted

Size: 3 3/8" H x 2 3/4" Across x 1 5/8" Deep

Beautiful work!

"Palhik Mana" is a Butterfly Maiden, not an actual Kachina, but a woman dancer. She arrives in August, as that is when the butterflies appear. The Butterfly Dance, a traditional social dance of the Hopi, and is held in August after the harvest.  It is a thanksgiving dance for the harvest, chiefly for the corn crop and is performed by young dancing Hopi Maidens. The carvings are beautiful tributes to the women in their culture!