Marty Naha

Crow Mother

9" H with 1" base


 

 

We're excited to see this new skill developing for Marty as a kachina carver. We expect to continue to see great things out of him. Be sure to see his younger brothers' old style carvings as well!


The Angwusnasomtaka, or Crow Mother, as she is called, "is a figure of great dignity. She appears on all three mesas, usually in connection with the initiation of the children, although she also appears on other occassions.

At the initiation rites she descends into the kiva bearing a large number of yucca blades bound together at the base. She takes a position at one corner of the large sand painting on the floor of the kiva, with one of her "sons" on either side of her.

As the candidate is brought to the sand painting she hands a whip to one of the Hu' Kachinas who gives the child four healthy strokes with the yucca blade. When the yucca becomes worn it is handed back to the Crow Mother who then supplies a new one.

When the initiatory whipping is over, she raises her skirts and receives the same treatment accorded the children. They are given prayer feathers and meal and leave the kiva."

- Barton Wright, Kachinas: a Hopi Artist's Documentary (66)

 


 

Marty Naha Nampeyo is known together with his wife for their development of the incised redware (introduced by Elvira's father, Tom Polacca), Marty and Elvira have nearly perfected the Kachina element captured in each of their unique pieces.

Both Marty and Elvira come from a long line of artists, and actually share distant relations with Nampeyo. (Elvira being the great-granddaughter of Nampeyo)

His heritage and involvement with daily Hopi culture have given them an advantage. His closeness with the Hopi way of life is represented as each piece nearly comes to life in the hands of an onlooker.

Having shown throughout the Southwest, Marty and Elvira's pottery pieces can be seen in various galleries as well as publications dealing with elaborate Indian art. One such collection resides within the Heard Museum, in Phoenix, AZ. Also featured in the Museum of Indian Arts & Cultures, Santa Fe, NM.

Together they have appeared in publications such as Hopi-Tewa Potters by Gregory Schaaf, p. 101; and Fourteen Families in Pueblo Pottery by Rick Dillingham, pp. 14-15; and Art of the Hopi by Lois Essary Jacka, p. 110.

Gallery Price: $480.00

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