Katsina: Commodified and Appropriated Images of Hopi Supernaturals

This volume chronicles the commodification of the Hopi Katsinam (plural of Katsina or Kachina) over the last 150 years. Once known only to the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest, these carvings have been transformed into international symbols and are now found decorating designer scarves, T-shirts, coasters, and a host of other products. In the course of this heavily illustrated study, the authors confront the consequences of inter- and intracultural perception, definitions of sacred and secular, colonialist thought and postcolonial retort. Also included are short statements by thirteen contemporary artists actively carving Katsinam or representing them in their work.