In recent years many Native Americans, including the Navajo, have embraced the creation of Kachina figurines. There are more than 250 different kachinas, each with its own separate attributes, representing everything from animals to abstract concepts. Kachina Dolls are models of the Kachinas and represent their likeness and traits. The dolls are gifts given to children and families in hope of future abundance and health as well as tools for education. The Kachina dolls of today's art market are a bridge not only between the spiritual world and mortals but also between Hopis and non-Hopis. The Hopi were the original Kachina doll carvers, using a single piece of cottonwood root. Their traditions were not isolated and soon the Navajo began carving in their own creative way, adding leather, feathers, fur, beads, and turquoise. Each year Kachinas come, they walk upon the earth and they dance to bring life and renewal, distribute gifts to the children, and reinforce the connection between the spirit world and the people. When the Kachinas return to the spirit world at the end of the planting, they return with the prayers of the Hopi that we might all continue on this earth for another round in the circle of life.
