Niman #AtoZAprilChallenge

[In the Hopi culture] Niman (NEE-mahn) is the annual festival celebrating the departure of the kachinas [spirits]. During the dance, which is an aspect of the festival, the kachinas give out bread, pike, fruit and other gifts to the spectators. Small boys receive bows and arrows; and small girls receive kachina dolls.

from: The Fourth World of the Hopis, Glossary and Pronunciation Guide, by Harold Courlander, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque ©1971

Image: Kachina (tihu) depicting Palhik’ Mana (Water Drinking Girl); Hopi people, probably 1920s; 50.8 x 35.9 x 10.2 cm; Wood, paint, and wool yarn; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas; given in memory of Congressman James M. Collins by his family; object number 1993.71