Buffalo Kachina

Webster dictionary defines a Kachina as “one of the deified ancestral spirits believed among the Hopi and other Pueblo Indians to visit the Pueblos at intervals.”
The Pueblo’s are known to believe that the kachina spirits manifest themselves in performance and dance (Sayre, 2012, pg.21). Male tribesmen will adorn the kachina masks and will “become” the supernatural character. It is believed that through the dances, the represented kachina will embody the tribesman and its power will be portrayed.
One representation of the kachina is an actual Native American Kachina doll. These dolls are often made for the tribes to sale. They are considered items of beauty only. In most cases if an individual is able to find a Kachina doll for sale, the Native Americans consider it to be of no ritual power or significance.
The Kachina dolls history starts with the Hopi people. The Hopi Indians are the only people that make authentic kachina dolls. The carvers must participate in extensive training. Thorough religious studies along with master carving are part of that training. The earliest photos of the Kachina dolls date back to the late 1800’s. The Native Americas of the southwest began creating the Kachina dolls to explain to the children of their tribes the power of the Kachina’s. The dolls were merely an educational tool for the tribes. The Hopi children were instructed that these “dolls” were not to be played with but to be taken very good care of.
There are nearly 250 kachina personalities (Sayre, 2012, pg.21). Each kachina has a particular marking or symbol that identifies it to the Hopi people. One identifiable kachina spirit is the Buffalo Kachina. An example of what the Buffalo Kachina looks like is illustrated on page 22 of our text. This figure is made of wood, cloth, hide, fur, shell, feathers, horse hair and tin cones. There are several forms of buffalo Kachina. The figurine in fig. 1.19 represents the increase in population of furbearing animals in the arid environment of the Southwest (Sayre, 2012, pg. 22). There is also the buffalo dancer Kachina is considered to be the most powerful of all Kachina dolls. This doll is believed to protect and can rid the bad of evil thought. The buffalo warrior dancer Kachina doll is a protector. He protects the food supply. He ensures that there will be adequate food supply for winter.
Many people may see these figurines as art and believe them to be beautiful but the Native Americans believe that they represent something very spiritual.
The Native Americans rely heavily on the kachina spirits for day to day life. The kachina represented in dolls and ritual masks are spirits associated with the annual cycle of birth, death and rebirth of all things.