The Kachina and the White Man - A Study of The Influences of White Culture on the Hopi Kachina Cult - Bulletin 35

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan: Cranbrook Institute of Science, 1954. First Edition . Hard Back. Very Good/Fair. 6" x 9. Dockstader, Frederick J. 185 Pages Indexed. Brown cloth with silver spine lettering and silver embossed decoration and lettering on the front. As new book that the dust jacket has protected well. Jacket edges, however, are worn and small chunks missing at the top spine area. The back flap has almost separated but still hanging on. Dr. Dockstader has provided much information to make a reader aware of the scope and complexity of Kachina lore. He has also made clear the enormous diversity of Kachina types as they are represented both by live performers and wooden dolls. Anthropologists have for long tried to interpret the Hopi Kachina cult but it has remained for Dr. Dockstader to bring the material up to date. Up to the present the Kachina cult has been a joyous feature of Hopi life fully enjoyed by all adults. Modern pressures however are hampering the free expression of Hopi Kachina worship and are tending to restrict it to the hands of a few. As the elders continue to lose confidence in the ability, responsibility, of the younger people there will be increasing reluctance to trust such youths with the essential ritual knowledge. This is a gloomy prospect to all who have participated in the joys of a Kachina performance. If the Kachina cult should become extinct. future generations will be able to reconstruct much of its rich variety from books such as this.