Arvin Saufkie
Mocker
12" total
height
"Kwikwilyaka is the Mocking
Kachina. As a clown he has little personality of his own but
fastens like a leech onto any activity that catches his eye.
With mirror-like accuracy he will reflect every action of the
unfortunate whom he decides to mimic.
He drives the other kachinas
such as the Ho'-e to strong measures to rid themselves of this
unwanted echo. Should a person in the audience become the focus
of this undesired attention, he must wait until something diverts
the attention of this kachina.
But the wait is very difficult
without inadvertantly making some movement, and the rapidity
of the mocking usually produces gales of laughter from the rest
of the audience.
During the Bean Dance procession
he is a foil for the Ho'-e and an annoyance to others."
- Barton Wright, Kachinas: a Hopi
Artist's Documentary (37)
The literal translation of
his name, Kwikwilyaka, means "striped over," referring
to his nose and eyes.
Arvin Saufkie was born April
28th, 1977 at Tuba City.
His parents are Jenny Roy and Andrew Saufkie. His mother is of
the Coyote Clan and his father is from the Bear Clan. Murphy
comes from a family full of fine artists.
His mother’s family are
well known for their fine Kachinas. Her brothers are Coolidge,
David and Silas Roy. Andrew’s father is the famous Hopi
artist, Paul Saufkie.
Arvin has two other brothers who carve Kachinas. They are Murphy
and Ruben.
Arvin learned to carve by
watching his uncles carve. He says that he learned from Silas
Roy and that Silas gave him his first piece of wood. He use to
sand for Silas and began carving his own Kachinas in 1995.
Arvin says “You see a
little bit of my uncle’s dolls in my dolls.” Arvin
likes to try new things and his favorite Kachina doll to carve
is the eagle.
