Craig Bahnimptewa
Mudhead with
Grandmother
10 1/2"
H with 3/4" base
"Koyemsi or Mud-head
Kachinas are probably the most well known of all the Hopi kachinas.
They appear in almost every Hopi ceremony as clowns, interocutors,
announcers of dances, drummers, and many other roles.
"The nearly always accompany
other kachinas; probably the only time when they do not appear
with other personages is during the Night Dances.
"Koyemsi are usually
the ones that play games with the audiences to the accompaniment
of rollicking tunes. These games are generally guessing games,
or simple attempts to balance objects or performances of some
common act. They most closely resemble our parlor games and the
rewards are prizes of food or clothing."
- Barton Wright, Kachinas: a Hopi
Artist's Documentary (238)
"This is one of the more
colorful of the Hopi kachinas. She is present in man ceremonies,
Salako, Powamu, Pachavu, Plolokongti, and even the Soyoko.
"Her personality is that
of a sprightly Hopi grandmother. She may be found speaking in
her shrill falsetto for the Nataskas on First Mesa. She would
be demanding meat for them, for after all they are her and Chaveyo's
children.
"Failing to get the kind
or quantity of meat desired , she may be heard berating the inconsiderate,
hard-hearted individuals and muttering dire threats. Again she
may be seen in the Salako exhorting those giant bird-like kachinas
through an elaborate ritual.
"In yet another guise
she appears in the Third Mesa Pachavu offering the children somiviki,
a Hopi food, and when they reach for it she pours water on their
heads. This is not an idle act but one with ceremonial meaning.
And at yet another time she will be seen as the wet nurse of
the Water Serpents during the Puppet Dances.
"Wherever she appears
she is usually very vocal, an attribute not common among the
other kachinas. In addition to being the mother of the monsters,
she is thought of as mother of dogs, and kachinas. It is her
tihu or doll that is given to the very young Hopi babies and
captive eagles."
- Barton Wright, Kachinas: a Hopi
Artist's Documentary (60)
