Kim Seyesnem Obrzut

April Blessings

18''H x 9''W

 
Her body is in the shape of a gourd, the oldest utilitarian vessel known to mankind. The gourd is used as food, to carry water, to shape pottery and as rattles in ceremonies. Corn is the heart of the Hopi diet and has provided the Hopi with life for nearly a millennium. The connection between the people and the corn is pervasive and deeply sacred.

In the month of April is when the Sweet Corn is planted to be finished in time for the Home Dance. The Sweet corn is an important part of the Home Dance ceremony, which is the last dance the Katchinas have before heading back to the San Francisco peaks. She is also holding 3 ears of the Sweet Corn to represent her three stages of life. When you are born, you receive your first ear of corn. Womanhood you receive your second ear. Motherhood you receive your third ear of corn.

She has no face, which symbolizes the egalitarian society of the Hopi people, and not an individual. The Hopi thought is: One Mind, One Body, and One Spirit.

April Blessings
April Blessings