Old Kachina Doll

5 x 7
oil on canvas

Here is another of my Hopi kachinas for the tool theme. As I said in my last post, kachina dolls are tools the Hopi Indians use to teach their children about the Hopi religion, This is an old doll that I received as a birthday present.

Ogre Woman Kachina

Ogre Woman Kachina
8 x 10
oil on canvas

For this month's challenge I'm submitting this painting of a Hopi kachina. The word kachina has many meanings,  the dolls that were originally given to their children,  the masked dancers and the spirits that the dolls and dancers represent. The dolls were played with, of course, but they were a tool to teach the children about their religion. This is a painting I did of a fairly old Ogre Woman kachina, that I bought in a gallery in Albuquerque many years ago. The Ogre Woman comes to the Hopi mesas with other ogres bringing  corn for the girls to grind and traps for the boys to catch mice.  The children are told that the girls must grind the corn well, and the boys catch the mice that eat the Hopi's grain, by the time the Ogres return, or they will take the children away, to eat (hence the scary eyes and sharp teeth.) The purpose of this is to teach the children the roles they will have as adults, the boys as hunters and the girls as grinders of corn who can prepare food for their famalies.