kachina
IPA: kʌʃˈinʌ
noun
- (Pueblo culture) A vaguely ancestral anthropomorphic spirit being, associated with clouds and rain or personifying the power in the sun, the earth, or corn (among other things).
- (Pueblo culture) A wooden doll, as might be given to a child, which represents such a being.
- (Pueblo culture) A masked dancer who represents such a being in a ceremonial dance or masked ceremony.
Examples of "kachina" in Sentences
- "ka", part of the word kachina, the Hopi spirits, of which Masau'u was one.
- The word kachina is a little confusing since it refers to the dolls, which have no power.
- In fact, the owner had requested a kachina tiger sculpture—something he had never done before.
- Phoenix's character chooses to live life in the Nevada desert as a hermit making Navajo kachina dolls that he believes have magical powers (a kachina is a spirit in western Pueblo cosmology and religious practices).