Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability

CAS Anthropology Collections Database


Catalog Number

CAS 0370-1237   CAS 0370-1237; Painting
Category Visual Arts
Object Name Painting
Culture Hopi
Global Region North America
Country USA
State/Prov./Dist. Arizona
County Navajo
Other Geographic Data Hopi Indian Reservation
Maker's Name Waldo Mootzka (Mootska) (1910-1940)
Date of Manufacture ca. 1935-1939
Collection Name Elkus Collection (Native American)
Materials Opaque watercolor on paper
Description Painting entitled "Niman Dancers", depicting 7 Niman dancers in full ceremonial regalia (embroidered kilts, case masks with elaborate tabletas, and spruce ruff collars) facing 2 Hemis Kachin' Mana figures who are kneeling in front of and facing the dancers, each wearing a red, white, and black striped blanket and with her hair in the butterfly whorl pattern; Niman (aka the Home Dance), when the katsinam leave for their spiritual home in the San Francisco peaks, is held in mid-summer for 16 days; Signature "Mootzka" is printed in lower right corner.
Dimensions (cm) Width = 50.9, Length = 33.3