K495 Gambler/Corn Boy Kachina
Gambler Kachina by Hopi carver Sandra Suhu. The 18" kachina is carved from cottonwood root.
The Laguna Gambler is also known as the "Laguna Corn Kachina.” The Hopi believe that there are also kachina deities representing other tribes, as the Laguna Gambler/Corn Boy does in this case.
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This katsina has regularly been called Gambler. It is not known where that name originated. It is a Hopi Katsina and its Hopi name is Sotungtaka. Barton Wright, in his Complete Guide to Collecting Kachina Dolls, calls the Sotungtaka, “Laguna Corn Kachina” so there is some confusion regarding the proper translation.
The Laguna Gambler is found carrying a game hoop, which is decorated with a feather, and he will also carry a game stick.
“This Gambler/Corn Boy appeared quite recently, apparently within the last twenty years. There are two main varieties that appear with each other. One is clothed and acts as the side dancer for the other who appears bare chested. He dances gracefully gesturing with the objects in his hands. This form is sometimes called the Laguna Gambler.”
About the artist
Sandra Suhu
Hopi Kachina carver Sandra Suhu has been carving Kachinas since 1995. She is a member of the Rabbit/Tobacco Clan and is one of the only female Hopi kachina carvers. Her greatest influence was her grandfather who recognized her talent and offered her encouragement. This continued encouragement of Sandra’s grandfather was a major deviation for a Hopi woman and for a man of his traditional background.
Sandra is an only child and a mother of twin girls (Auri and Lakayah Roy). Born in Gallup, New Mexico and having grown up in Hotevilla, Arizona (Third Mesa) Sandra now makes her home in Phoenix and supports her family as a computer electronics assembler but her true vocation is as a kachina carver.
Sandra graduated from Hopi Jr/Sr. High School, Trade School at Pine Medical Institute and the Hopi
& High Tech Institute.
Her kachinas are highly collectible and she has a piece in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma (James T. Bialec Native American Art Collection).
She has participated in:
…The “Kachina Doll Market Place and Gathering of Carvers” at the Heard Museum
…Tuba City Unified School District: “Cultural symposium focuses on teachings from female perspective”
…Cabot’s Pueblo Museum First Hopi Kachina Weekend, Desert Hot Springs, California
…Plus numerous Hope tribal symposiums, and causes.
