Malcolm Fred
Dress Kachina
12 1/2"
total height
"This kachina is the
Hopi Third Mesa form of the Koroasta of the Zuni. Sometimes he
is called the Dress Kachina, because he wears a woman's dress
without a belt, or the Ota Kachina, from the first words of his
song.
The most typical feature of
the kachina is the little cornhusk packets that make his nose.
The lines running around his face are to represent the rainbow
colors. He has influence over the growth of corn and carries
seeds in the bag in his left hand. Spectators are very eager
to receive these seeds and plant them.
He is consistently seen in
the Third Mesa Powamu. This kachina generally carries sheep scapulae
rattles in his right hand, but in recent years this has shifted
from the Zuni form to the Hopi rattle. The kachina is supposed
to carry a digging stick rather than a cane as sometimes represented."
- Barton Wright, Kachinas: a Hopi
Artist's Documentary
Malcolm comes from a large
family of Kachina carvers which include brothers Jim, Verlan,
Henry, Nathan and Glen. He has been carving and winning awards
since he was a teenager.
His awards include a Zuni
Fire God which he entered into the 1996 Arizona State Fair. He
is married to and has 3 children with a Zuni lady. One of his
favorite kachinas is the whipper which he seems to do most frequently.
Malcolm is of the Greasewood
and Roadrunner clans, and was raised in the village of Bacavi.
He has been carving for 25 years. His motivation comes from his
religion, history, and the freedom of expressing his inner feelings.
Malcolm continues to achieve
incredible realism in his figures, and is known for his large
and well-proportioned figures.
