Kachina Dolls

by W. Ben Hunt

Years ago, when starting out boys and girls in whittling, I made it a practice to give them Kachina dolls to whittle, for various reasons. It acquainted them with the feel of wood and the meaning of grain. It taught them how to sharpen a knife, and how to use it. And best of all, they whittled figures without having to worry about human faces, which are the bugaboo of all whittling novices, and a lot of others, too.

This booklet will mainly show how Kachina dolls are whittled and painted, and to what use they can be put. This is not an ethnological thesis, but is written for the craft-minded who like to whittle, and who like Kachina dolls. I do not imagine that anyone will make all of the objects listed and described, but there may be one or more of them that you will enjoy making.

The first thing you will need is a piece of wood. Since it would be rather difficult to obtain cottonwood roots, our next best bet is a piece of straight-grained soft wood. I have used sections of green, knot-free basswood, willow, and poplar saplings or branches with good results. A piece of wood about 1½ inches in diameter is of a proper size to start out with. The green wood whittles easily and, due to the short lengths and deep cuts, it is not likely to check. And of course it is already round.

Also, white pine, sugar pine, and basswood can usually be bought at a lumber yard or millwork shop. It should be cut in rectangular sections and then rounded.

Then, of course, you will need a knife that holds an edge. A good quality of pocket knife is best, and all the whittling I have ever done has been with a small blade, from 1¼ to 1½ inches long. As the knife comes from the store it is not sharp enough for whittling. So get a small abrasive stone, and a piece of leather to strop it on, and sharpen it until you cannot see the edge; as long as you can see a “white” line or spot on the edge, your knife is not sharp. Thereafter, keep it sharp at all times.

You will also need sandpaper to sand down the knife cuts in the wood.

Now for the part that worries most beginners: painting the dolls. If you have a fairly steady hand, and use a good brush, this should not be too much of a problem. I have often said that it a person can pare a potato without wasting it, and can write fairly well, he or she can make a Kachina doll.

We use water colors for painting. That is what the Hopi use, and water colors are not so messy. While any good brand of water colors will do the trick, you will have the best success with poster or show-card colors. They are opaque and cover better than transparent water colors. Although many of the old Kachina makers use brushes made out of yucca leaf stems, chewed and trimmed to the sizes required, you can pick up a couple or three small brushes that will do a better job. Sable-hair brushes are best, but also more expensive.

Painting the dolls is not as difficult as one may think. Remember—you don’t have to paint faces, and the masks are all more or less abstract or symbolic in design. And furthermore you don’t have to do any shading or blending. It is all flat work.

There are two methods of painting. Most of the old-time Kachina makers give the entire doll a coat of white paint first, and the rest is painted over that. But usually, with good poster colors to work with, it is easier to lay out and paint each color directly on the bare wood. The colors dry rather rapidly and, if used rather thick (not too much water), they will not be apt to run or bleed where colors overlap. So don’t let the painting stop you. I have seen cub scouts make some very nice looking dolls.