HOPI KACHINA FIGURE

George Terasaki, New York, acquired in the 1970s

Alexandra Pascassio and George Terasaki, Kachina: George Terasaki Collection, Paris, 2008, n.p., cat. no. 38

Tasap or the "Navajo kachina" assumes dancing behaviors that the Hopi associate with the neighboring Navajo people. Among these behaviors is an exaggerated slowness to their dancing. They often sing Navajo phrases, and their costume bears a resemblance to those worn by actual Navajo dancers (Wright, Hopi Kachinas: The Complete Guide to Collecting Kachina Dolls, Flagstaff, 1977, p. 68).