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Most Amerindian societies in North America lived by hunting, fishing and gathering. In this immense region, three cultural groups have been selected: the Pueblos Indians (Hopi or Zuñi), who mainly occupied the states of Arizona and New Mexico, the Indians of the Great Plains of North America, scattered between Canada and the United States and, further east, the Haudenosaunee, grouping six Iroquois nations.
The term katsina refers to several elements related to Hopi symbolic thought: the masked dancers who personify the spirits, the spiritual entity thus represented, clouds and the dead. The katsinam receive the Hopi’s gifts and prayers for health, fertility and rain, and carry these offerings and supplications to the gods. They are represented by wooden figurines inspired by a repertoire of over three hundred different subjects. Traditionally carved from poplar roots, these figurines are often given to the children to teach them about the spirit world.
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