Katsina : Ahola

Ahola Katsina for sale. Item : Ahola Carver : unknown Origin : Hopi Size : 12" Materials : Wood, yarn, fur and paint. Ahola is an important chief katsina for both First and Second Mesa as he opens the Powamu ceremony with a kiva performance on the first night.  This performance seems to involve mimetic magic to slow the passage of the sun.  At a shrine in the "Gap" of the First Mesa the next day an additional rite is performed as the sun rises.  With daybreak Ahul (or Ahola) and the Powamu Chief deposits pahos (prayer feathers) at Katsina Spring, for he is the ancient one of the Katsina Clan.  As the ancient one he led the people from the San Francisco Peaks eastward as far as the great river and then westward to where they were stopped by the turbulent waters and where their houses still stand.  After going to the Katsina Spring, Ahola and the Powamu Chief then visit all of the kivas and houses with ceremonial associations, distributing the Powamu Chief's bean and corn plants and mark