For your consideration is this Beautiful Signed Sandstone Slab Kachina Dancer Painting, 1979, signed "CK". A spirit being in southwestern US Puebloan beliefs, Kachinas are a central theme within several cultures, including the Hopi, Tewa, Zuni, Acoma and Laguna Pueblos. Also called katchina, katcina, or Katsina, these spirits, or personifications of things in the natural world, may represent anything from rain to crops to various animals, stars, beloved ancestors, and even other Indian tribes. The word kachina derives from the Hopi term kachi, which means “spirit father, life, or spirit.” They believe that spirit beings exist as a way for the great spirits to communicate with them. A Kachina has three aspects: the supernatural being, the man who dresses as a Kachina for ritual dances (he becomes the spirit), and the kachina figures given to young girls. Men from Pueblo tribes perform symbolic dances in elaborate kachina regalia to persuade the beings to visit the tribe and ask for their assistance. This sandstone Kachina painting is of a dancer wearing a feathered headdress, the Sunface Kachina. The Sunface Kachina represents the spirit of the Sun and is considered to be one of the more powerful Kachinas because the Sun is thought to be the brightest and largest of all the stars; represents warmth, shelter for the old, bright future, and playfulness for the young. This beautiful painting features colours of red, white, black, yellow, brown and turquoise. The triangular shaped slab has a thick leather hanging strap attached. Measures 17.25"W at the base, 21.75"L x .5"D, weight 7lb, 14oz.