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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Taupou, post: 3816236, member: 45&quot;]This is not a Hopi kachina doll.&nbsp; This is a Navajo carving.&nbsp; Whenever you see these figures embellished with rabbit fur, leather, fabric, and feathers, it is a sure sign it is Navajo, not Hopi.&nbsp; The Hopi do not make kachina dolls in this style.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>There are 500-600 different Hopi kachinas, each is a spirit figure with a specific look, specific things they carry, and specific ways they act.&nbsp; This carving is a complete fantasy design, and doesn’t portray any specific kachina.</p><p><br /></p><p>Authentic kachina dolls are made to represent a specific kachina, and kachinas are found only in the Hopi, Zuni, and a few Rio Grands Pueblo cultures/religions.</p><p><br /></p><p>So since kachinas are not a part of the Navajo culture/religion, and they don&#039;t believe in kachinas, they usually make no attempt to depict them accurately.&nbsp; They carve figures strictly for sale to tourists, and many Navajo depend on the carving as part of their livelihood. They therefore feel free to create whatever will attract a buyer. </p><p><br /></p><p>There is still a market for them as decorative Southwest art, and as a type of Navajo folk art. They just cannot legally be sold as &quot;Hopi kachina dolls,&quot; (and there is no such thing as a Navajo kachina) so out of respect to the Hopi and other puebloan tribes, they should not even be called &quot;kachina&quot; dolls, since they do not accurately depict the actual kachinas. They should be called Navajo carvings, sculptures, figures, or dolls...but not &quot;kachinas&quot;[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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