Hopi Pueblo A-Ha Chief of Second Mesa Kachina Doll By Raynard Nasingoetewa

ca. 2008

8.5" H Including Stand x 3" L x 3.25" W

Hand Carved from Cottonwood Root with Great Fine Carved Detail and Hand Painted Red, Green, White, Brown, Teal, Yellow, Orange and Black Colors on a 1.75" H Wood Stand

In Very Good Condition

Raynard Nasingoetewa is a Hopi carver known for creating traditional Hopi katsina dolls from cottonwood root and hand-carved and painted with natural pigments.

The Ahola (also spelled A-Ha, Aha, or Ahöla) is a significant Chief Katsina in Hopi tradition, particularly associated with Second Mesa (one of the three main Hopi mesas in Arizona).

This figure is a high-ranking, elder/wisdom-bearing chief spirit who appears primarily during the Bean Dance (Powamuya) ceremony in winter/early spring. He emerges in kiva rites to announce or oversee aspects of the dance, symbolizing authority, guidance, and blessings for the agricultural cycle (like bean planting). Ahola is distinct from other chief katsinam and is specific to Second Mesa traditions in some accounts.