Palhik Mana (Butterfly Maiden) Dancer
by Bryce Quamahongnewa, Hopi
cotton wood, pigment
11" high x 3.5" wide x 3.5" deep
Palhik Mana is a Butterfly Maid, not a Katsina, but a woman dancer. Though at the dances the Butterfly Maid is not masked or hooded, she generally appears this way when carved as a doll. She appears in August, as that is when the butterflies appear. The Butterfly Dance, a traditional social dance of the Hopi, is held in August after the gathering of the harvest and presentation of the Snake Dance. It is a thanksgiving dance for the harvest, chiefly for the corn crop and features dancing by young Hopi maidens wearing elaborate headdresses.
