 Any ceremony, event, object, natural phenomenon, concept or feeling can possess its qatsina. There are qatsinas that represent watermelon, some that represent animals, and others that represent stars. A qatsina may appear in the form of rain clouds over the mesa, or may possibly be the spirit of a dead ancestor. The word qatsina comes from the Hopi language, and is more familiar to modern denizens of the Southwest in its variant spelling "kachina." In Hopi, qatsina literally means "life bringer." The term is used to refer to the dolls, masks, and dancers who dress up as the spirits for ceremonies. The qatsinas are spirits that come down from the mountains to bless crops, bring rain, and protect harvests. They are animators, creators whose abilities extend far beyond the harvest. Hopi folklore asserts that the Hopis are a conglomeration of several different tribes that now identify as one people. Traditionally the Hopi are village dwellers; in fact the most ancient continually inhabited settlement in the United States is the the Hopi village Old Oraibi which was founded around the year 1100. The tribal name Hopi is a shortened version of the tribe's full name Hopituh Shi-nu-mu, which means "The Peaceful Little Ones." Hopi culture, spirituality, and morality is strongly reflected in this name. Hopi religion is anti-war; to be a Hopi is to strive towards peace. This involves an all-encompassing respect for all elements of the world and an effort to be at peace with everything. The religion is in accordance with the instructions of Maasaw, the Caretaker of Earth. The Hopi continue to observe their traditional ceremonies for the benefit of the entire planet, not only the tribe.  The qatsinas are a central element in Hopi spirituality. The Hopi believe that the qatsinas descend from the mountains to live in Hopi villages for six months out of the year, and then go back to the mountains after dancing at the Home Dance which occurs in late summer. These life bringers are extensively represented in Hopi culture and the qatsina dances, in which tribesmen dress as various qatsinas, are believed to be vital for the harmony of the planet. The most proliferate representations of the spirits are the kachina dolls which are traditionally fashioned by older men in the community and are given to young girls at tribal dances such as the Bean Dance or the Home Dance ceremony. More important than the dolls themselves are the stories that are transmitted with them. From a young age, Hopi children acquire their knowledge of the spiritual realm and mortal existence through the stories detailing the exploits of the qatsinas. The qatsina tradition associated with the dolls is more profound and pertinent to a Hopi's life than a mere toy. The dolls are religious icons, more akin to Catholic crucifixes or images of the Holy Mother than they are to toy dolls. The qatsina stories acculturate Hopi children into a system of belief. They are not fantastical characters, but spirits that are vital to the harmony of the planet. The powers of the qatsinas are important to the community, but they can also be dangerous. Among the innumerable qatsina spirits there are those known to take human trophies. Dangerous as they may be, the qatsinas are not all-powerful. The actions of these demi-gods are subject to the scrutiny of gods in positions of power far above them. This collection of stories attempts to offer varying visions of these innumerable spirits. The stories are told from the perspective of a fictional Hopi child, Tiponi Ankti. Tiponi is a ghost and this is reflected in her name. "Ankti" is the Hopi word for "repeating the dance." Like the qatsinas, who annually repeat the tribal dances crucial to harmony and harvest, she is in a way 'repeating the dance' of life by appearing to the narrator and sharing stories of Hopi tradition and beliefs. The stories presented here portray a small spectrum of qatsina power and personality. Some of the tales, such as "The Bloody Hand Print Qatsina," are terrifying and show the destructive tendancies of the qatsinas. Others are beautiful and portray the qatsinas' creative powers. Many of these are origin tales like "The Deer Planter." The qatsinas can be victims, as seen in "The Imprisonment of the Katcinas" and can be hurt by the cruelty of humans, displayed in the story of "The Women's Corn Grinding Society." Tiponi Ankti, the "valuable child that repeats the dance," transmits these tales to the narrator on walks in the mesas and canyons of New Mexico. At first her presence is a shock and a source of confusion, but as the narrator becomes acquainted with qatsina tradition, so she begins to understand that Western dichotomies dividing existence into categories of good and bad, living and dead, are not suitable for expressing the beliefs and the world of the Hopi, and maybe are not appropriate for any use at all. 
As evening begins to overtake a hot afternoon the narrator, a linguist studying Uto-Aztecan languages still spoken in the Southwestern United States, is shocked to find herself face to face with an eerily beautiful young girl. Our stories begin in the dwindling sunlight with the unsettling appearance of Tiponi Ankti.
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I had been aimlessly strolling when she appeared. The sun shone brilliantly against the layers of sandstone, but she seemed somehow in shadow. I assumed she must be from the reservation when she spoke to me in a studied English. "They were dancing the bocat katsena, then the race, and then he took out his thunder knife..." her eyes grew as her sentence trailed off. "Whose thunder knife? Who?" She seemed frantic and was making very little sense. I reached out instinctively to smooth her hair in a comforting gesture. She pulled sharply back and looked at me violently. I would never be allowed to touch her, but she would never allow one of my questions to go unanswered. * The Bloody Hand Print Qatsina * Images: Hopi Village, Library of Congress. 8 Kachina Dolls. Dargate Galleries. Hopi Girl, 1905. Edward C. Curtis. |
