Jon Cordero
Kachin Mana
8 3/4"
total height
Of all the women who appear
with other Kachinas, the Kachina Maiden, or Kachin' Mana, is
the most prevalent. If she is carrying blue corn, she is known
as the Blue Corn Maiden, similarly yellow corn, etc.
She often appears in regular
Kachina dances with household ware, accompanied by Long Haired
Kachina. Based on this Corn Maiden’s yellow color, she’s
a Yellow Corn Maiden. Her presence is a prayer for corn. She
also honors Mother Earth and her continuing ability to feed her
children. Placing this Kachina in your home, particularly on
an altar, shows respect for the many gifts we receive each day
from Mother Earth. This gentle maiden reminds us always to be
thankful. By the way, a Kachina Maiden often will change her
name to that of the Kachina with whom she is dancing, although
her appearance does not change.
"Yellow Corn Maiden appears
with a variety of kachinas, Angak'china, Ma'alo, Pawik and others.
She may sometimes be seen with the Kocha Mana.
They dance in a line seperate
from the other kachinas but following the same pattern of dance,
turning as the others do, gesturing as they do. Their only deviation
is when they kneel and place large gourds on the ground to rasp."
- Barton Wright, Kachinas: a Hopi Artist's
Documentary (175)
Born June 16, 1968 to the
village of Moenkopi, Arizona, Jon is the son of a Hopi mother,
and a Cochiti father who died when Jon was just a baby.
Although Jon was raised on
the Hopi Reservation, he would always spend a month each summer
with his Cochiti grandmother, the famed matriarch of storytellers,
Helen Cordero. His grandmother tried to teach him to make storytellers,
but it just wasn't his calling.
Instead, when he was in high
school, he learned to carve Kachina dolls from his uncles, Hopi
master carvers Loren Phillips and Tom Holmes. And Loren was not
only his teacher but also continued to encourage Jon in his carving
through the years.
Like the traditional Hopi
Jon continually strives to be, he works very hard all the time
tending to his cattle and his horse as well as planting and tending
his crops of corn, beans, melons and squash. And he participates
in the dances, in respect to the Kachinas.
Yet Jon always finds time
to do what he likes best, and that is to carve. Instead of carving
alone, Jon prefers the company of other carvers. His favorite
carving buddy has always been his cousin and clan brother Leonard
Selestewa, who was also always a great source of encouragement
for Jon. Among the many books on Hopi Kachinas that mention Jon
and his work is Theda Bassman's Hopi Kachina Dolls and their
carvers.
Jon says he is serious about
his carving and wants to carve for the rest of his life. Whenever
he finishes a carving he hopes it will find a good home, and
whoever buys it will admire it for the rest of their lives. Jon
has become well-known for his beautiful, realistic Kachina doll
carvings and his work has become highly sought after.
