Posted 9 months ago
Bekssa
(19 items)
I'm confused about this Kachina. As you can see, the collector added a label "Yoche, Apache Kachina" along the base of the stand.
On the underside, there is another typed label. "Yoche appears in regular Kachina dance. He represents the Savagry (sic) of the Apaches and the Apache Nomadic Tribes."
Handwritten above the typed words, it says: "Artist: Jo-Hi Blue Wolf" and there is also a name "R.S. McKim 1941". I believe that stands for Ruby Short McKim who was a well-known doll collector in this area (K.C./Independence MO) The date seems to fit the period when she was publishing her magazine and collecting dolls from around the world.
So my questions:
1. Is this labeled correctly? If so, why aren't other Yoche figures similar to this one?
2. I thought maybe Yoche and Jo-Hi might be the same name, with Jo-Hi being the phonetic pronounciation. But then I wondered why is this figure red and yet Jo-Hi seems to be Blue Wolf. Is Jo-Hi (Blue Wolf) really the artist and the names are just similar?
3. Is it really Apache? If so, any idea on the actual date it was made?
Hello..Actually, I Was Thought To Believe The Ancient Kachina Tribe Goes Back To The North American Pueblo Indians..I VERY well could be wrong.
Thomas.
Hi Cisum - Thanks for the response. You may be correct. The big problem here is that this information was added by somebody (R.S. McKim in 1941?) who either researched it herself or got the information from another source. It may have already been attached via the paper labels when she received it, which is why her name is added in pencil. If that's true, though, she also added the name of the artist in pencil.
There appear to be many, many different kachina figures. I guess I'm hoping someone in this community is either a collector or is familiar enough with Kachinas to have some insight into how old this doll is and which tribe made it. A real bonus would be finding out the approximate date it was made and whether Blue Wolf is actually the artist.
First, this is not a kachina. Kachinas are the spiritual figures in the Hopi, Zuni, and a few Rio Grande puebloan tribes. No other tribe recognizes them.
There are over 500 known kachinas, each with its own distinct appearance. Kachina "dolls" were originally carved and given to Hopi girls, so they could recognize them in the Hopi dances and ceremonies. Then some Hopi carvers began selling the dolls to collectors.
Recognizing the potential market, by the 1990s Navajo and other non-Hopi carvers were making them for the tourist trade. They carved whatever would attract a buyer, including "fantasy" figures that didn't represent any real kachina.
That's what this is. The Apache tribes do not have kachinas. "Yoche" is just a made up name, and description, and therefore is just a carving that could have been made by anyone. Authentic kachina dolls are carved only by Hopi, and sometimes, Zuni tribal members.
This could have been produced in China, for all we know. It doesn't even vaguely resemble any known kachina, but does look a little like some Asian imported dolls.
Hi! I'm so glad you replied. This is probably why I'm so lost on what this figure is. The biggest mystery is how this ended up on that pedestal. Because McKim was a well known local figure (doll collector) whoc produced her magazine and sold dolls back in the 1930s and 1940s and her name and the 1941 date was on the bottom along with a description on an old typewritten label--I gave it more credence than I probably should have. Anyway, thank you so much for your response. You have so much knowledge and I know I'm not alone in saying thank you for sharing it with all of us.
Thank you for the kind words. After I hit "Post" I was afraid I might have been a little abrupt. It wasn't intentional, just a hard day.