Navajo Ceremonial Hoop Dancer Kachina Doll By C. Fowler

Early 21st Century

12" H

Hand Carved from Cottonwood Root with 7 Hoops and Adorned with Feathers, Fur, Leather and Fabric

In Very Good Condition

Native American Hoop Dance is one of the individual dances, and it is performed as a show dance in many tribes. It features a solo dancer dancing with a dozen or more hoops and using them to form a variety of both static and dynamic shapes (poses and moves). Most of the hoop dances in tribes across North America belong to modern hoop dance, which was invented in 1930.

Like other native dances, hoop dance is not acrobatic, but restrained. The dancer usually takes small steps when performing the dance. Hoop dance, an individual dance, is a "show dance" in some tribes. They will move either clockwise or counterclockwise as determined by their cosmology and worldview. Native American Hoop dance usually focuses on very rapid moves, but sometimes speed and creativeness balance the scoring between Hoop dancers who use only four hoops but dance to extremely fast songs, versus dancers with 20 or more hoops who danced to a slower drumbeat. Every dance is as individual as the person who choreographs it. Some dancers mimic animals such as birds or working of hunting, fishing, planting and harvesting. In elaborate sequences of moves, the hoops are made to interlock, and in such a way they can be extended from the body of the dancer to form appendages such as wings and tails.

There are usually 28 hoops used in the hoop dance, and they symbolize "a prayer that the promised renewal of the collective human spirit will accelerate and that we will all find our place in one great hoop made up of many hoops." The hoops symbolizes the "never-ending cycle of life," having no beginning and no end. The dancers usually make their own hoops. Modern hoops are made from an array of materials while traditional wood hoops are made of willow. More popular now are reed and plastic hose hoops decorated with tape and paint, according to the dancer's preference. Today, many contemporary hoop dancers will color their hoops in four colors to represent the four directions.

Due to the fragile nature of kachina dolls, we do not guarantee they will not break during shipping. We do our best to pack them well, but due to their fragile nature and even with the best packing, small pieces can break. If you are purchasing kachina dolls, please keep this in mind.