Manuel Chavarria
Aya / Rattle
20 3/4"
total height
(12 3/4 without
feathers)
This new batch of traditional
kachinas includes a series of antiqued kachina carvings
by Manuel Chavarria Jr. who won First Place for his elaborate
Hemis Kachina at the 2005 Hopi Tuhisma Art Show.
This new style gives these
great carvings the rustic appeal of the original vintage carvings
from the turn of the 19th century.
The early traditional style
kachinas have bodies that are carved to approximate human proportions.
For example, the arms are usually at right angles and are pressed
against the body. A static kilt and sash resemble the lower part
of the body and the legs are usually short. The head however,
is carved and painted correctly to identify each specific Kachina.
These dolls exhibits a pronounced spirituality because of their
strong stylization and abstractness.
We are delighted to featured
the award-winning work of traditional Hopi kachina carver Maneul
Denet Chavarria. Manuel is considered one of the "winningest"
old-style carvers of his time.
Manuel is from First Mesa.
He has influenced many of today's younger traditional carvers.
Along with his numerous awards, he has been featured in many
publications, including Arizona Highways and Tradition Hopi
Kachinas: A New Generation of Carvers by Johnathon Day.
As a "runner," the
Aya belongs to a class of kachinas who are not dancers but rather
run races with the men and boys of the village.
"Usually they will select
one end of the Plaza and , assembling there, will endeavor to
have an individual race them....
Quite often they will lure
some unwary clown into racing and will immediately catch the
hapless individual and perpetrate their peculiar form of punishment
on him. They quickly tire of this and will gesture or hold up
a reward to some young man in the crowd of bystanders.
If he accepts, they will allow
him about ten feet of space in which he can move about as he
pleases. But the minute he leaves the area he runs as if instant
disaster were behind him, and it usually is, for some of the
punishments are quite unpleasant.
Win or lose, he will receive
payment with some kind of food from these racers. No one is safe
from the oldest man to the youngest boy; all, including white
members of the audience can receive the attention of these kachinas.
The kachinas are expected to pay for whipping the young men,
and this they do by sending water when it is needed for germinating
the crops."
- Barton Wright, Kachinas: a Hopi
Artist's Documentary (218)
