201 - HERMES by Olivier KERMIT

HERMES by Olivier KERMIT "Kashina" shawl, originally released in 1992, reissued in 1997, 2004, and 2012 Cashmere and silk Box (damaged), booklet Very good condition Kachinas are ritual dolls intended for Hopi children, the westernmost of the Pueblo peoples, who inhabit the southwestern United States. Peaceful, as their name suggests (hopituh shi-nu-mu means “peaceful people”), they live in harmony with the spirits. Ancestors, clouds, the gods of fire or rain, and mischievous or benevolent spirits are personified by masks during religious ceremonies in which boys participate as early as age 6, as part of their initiation. Serving as a link between two worlds—the real world and the invisible world—these brightly painted wooden dolls, which convey a variety of symbols, are given to children to familiarize them with ancestral rituals. Kachinas, or small dolls, represent the familiar spirits of the Native Americans of the southwestern United States. There are more than a hundred of them, and each has its own function. One rewards well-behaved children, another punishes mischievous ones, yet another brings rain, and another helps hunters.....