Gift of Dr. Werner Muensterberger

Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund

Frank Sherman Benson Fund

Alfred T. White Fund

Alfred T. White Fund

Alfred T. White Fund

Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund

This is a wood mudhead clown kachina with a wool skirt. Koyemshi Kachina (Mudhead) Clowns Koyemshi Kachinas, or Mudheads were created when the Zuni first entered the world. One brother and sister had improper relations so their ten children became Mudheads. Each Mudhead exhibits behavior opposite to what their name is. Thus “The Aged One” acts like a child, “The Invisible One,” thinks he is hiding if he only holds up a feather in front of his face, while the all-important “Speaker of the Sun” is really a witless daydreamer and rarely speaks. A troop of ten different Mudhead Kachinas appear in most Zuni ceremonies performing outrageous behaviors and interacting with the audience, making them laugh but also making people realize how wrong such behavior really is as the clowns are eventually chased away.

This handwoven sash is worn around a man's dance skirt and tied so that the design hangs down on one side in the front. The design is thought to represent an abstract Kachina face.

Plume stick consisting of a wooden handle and two feathers attached to the handle by two cords of white beads.This pin would be stuck into the bunch of owl feathers (08.491.8807). These items are part of the feathered headgear stuck into a hairnet and tied at the back of a dancer's head.