Artist Unknown
Kachina Gift
Tunei Nili
10 1/4"
total height
This special katsina or tihu
was actually part of a ceremony where it was given as a gift
- bestowed by the Kachina dancers upon a young child who is just
beginning to learn about their role in Hopi culture.
"Tunei-nili is a Navajo-derived
kachina. He is is the individual who looks after the "Navajo"
or Tasap Kachinas and is usually called a side dancer for them.
"However, he may not
always appear with the Tasap. He was inspired by the Navajo Rain
Gods, the Tone-nili, who appear on the sixth day of the Navajo
Yeibichei Ceremony.
"The name Tunei-nili
Bitzai means "little wash" or "little river grandfather."
He sometimes appears with the Velvet Shirt Kachinas also."
- Barton Wright, Kachinas: a Hopi
Artists Documentary (177)
