The Angwusnasomtaka,
or Crow Mother, as she is called, "is a figure of great
dignity. She appears on all three mesas, usually in connection
with the initiation of the children, although she also appears
on other occassions.
At the initiation rites she
descends into the kiva bearing a large number of yucca blades
bound together at the base. She takes a position at one corner
of the large sand painting on the floor of the kiva, with one
of her "sons" on either side of her.
As the candidate is brought
to the sand painting she hands a whip to one of the Hu' Kachinas
who gives the child four healthy strokes with the yucca blade.
When the yucca becomes worn it is handed back to the Crow Mother
who then supplies a new one.
When the initiatory whipping
is over, she raises her skirts and receives the same treatment
accorded the children. They are given prayer feathers and meal
and leave the kiva."
- Barton Wright, Kachinas: a Hopi
Artist's Documentary (66)
Born June 16, 1968 to the
village of Moenkopi, Arizona, Jon is the son of a Hopi mother,
and a Cochiti father who passed away 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.
