Hopi Summer Traditions

Niman - The Going Home Ceremony
and Katsina Carvings Associated with the Summer Season

Niman Katsina carvings

The Katsinam that these carvings represent are often presented at Niman (sometimes called the Home Dance)

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Katsina carvings are representations of deities that bestow their songs and blessings upon the Hopi villages in northeastern Arizona. Katsina carvings or Tihu, as they are called in Hopi culture, are gifts given to Hopi children at infancy and later to Hopi girls as they mature into womanhood. Tihu are important educational tools to learn about specific deities and the procession of Katsinam that begin to visit the Hopi villages beginning at Winter Solstice and concluding with the Summer Solstice. The concluding ceremony is Niman. Niman is also a time when Hopi people living away from their home village, return home to help with the ceremony and reunite with relatives and friends. Niman is central to Hopi religious thought and practice.

Katsin Mana (Maiden) carvings

Katsin Mamant (Maidens) accompany the male Niman Katsinam in the Niman ceremony

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Other Hopi Summer Traditions: The Butterfly Dance