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• Hopi artist
• About 1900
• Painted wood
• Gift of Frederick Douglas, 1948.321

Sculptures like this like this are popularly known as katsina dolls or katsinam (katsina for singular), the preferred Hopi name for these figures is tithu (or tihu for singular). Often mistakenly called “ dolls”, these carved figures represent benevolent spirit beings and are given to Hopi girls at specific times in their youth to encourage virtuous behavior and their well-being. Hopi religion includes hundreds of supernatural beings, each with its own role in Hopi ceremonial life, and each recognized by distinctive facial features.