Loren Phillips
Soyok Wuhti
13" H
with 1 1/4" base
10 1/4" head
to toe
"The awesome figure of
the Monster Woman [Soyok Wuhti] appears during the Powamu ceremony
as one of the many Soyoko who threaten the lives of the children.
Dressed all in black, with long stragling hair, staring eyes
and a wide-fanged mouth, she carries a blood smeared knife and
a long jangling crook - a truely fearsome creature to the children.
When she speaks, it is in
a wailing falsetto or with a long dismal hoot of 'Soyoko'-u-u-u,'
from which her name is derived. She may reach for the children
with the long crook and threaten to put them in the basket on
her back, or to cut off their heads with the large knife that
she carries in her hand utterly terrifying her young audience.
On some mesas she may be the
ogre that threatens a small child who has been naughty and bargains
with a relative to ransom the child, but on others she is not.
In some villages she leads the procession of the ogres; in others
she remains at the side, content to make threatening gestures."
- Barton Wright, Kachinas: a Hopi
Artist's Documentary (74)
This awesome Ogre Woman was
carved by one of the finest Hopi carvers of today, Loren Phillips.
Loren was born in Moencopi, Arizona in 1942. Loren consistently
wins "Best of Show" awards, especially at the annual
Hopi Artists exhibition at the Museum of Northern Arizona in
the past. Because Loren participates in the ceremonial dances,
he knows every symbolic detail that is significant to each kachina
doll he carves.
Loren's tools for carving
are predominately pocket and hunting knives, from which he carves
the finer details of patterns, textures and decorative lines.
He is very particular about the sanding and finishing of his
dolls, especially the last steps of staining and painting. Loren
has developed his own method of applying stains to give the surface
a beautiful luster, through which the grain of the wood is still
visible. All of this is very evident when you look at this kachina.
Loren is very meticulous about
the creation of his dolls, and his hallmark is the motion and
action he puts into every doll. This kachina is truly an action
doll. The posture shows tremendous action, with arms reached
out to warn any who would misbehave!
Loren Phillips is featured
in every book about Hopi carvers, including "The Art of
the Hopi" by Jerry & Lois Jacka, "Kachina Dolls"
by Helga Tiewes, "Kachina Doll Carving" by Erik Bromberg
and "Hopi Kachina Dolls and their Carvers" by Theda
Bassman.
Loren has signed the bottom
of the base: "Loren Phillips, Hopi, Moencopi Village."
