Willard Mowa

Hello, My name is Willard Mowa and I am from the village of Soongopavi of Second Mesa. I come from the Katsina and Parrot Clans. I've been carving for approximately 11 years. I started carving after I got initiated into the Katsina Society when I was fifteen-years-old. I love making or carving Katsina dolls. I make both the traditional style and contemporary style. I am twenty-six-years-old. When I make or create the dolls I like to sing to them because they all have songs that they sing. I like looking for the pigments I use on my Katsina dolls as I travel through the mesas. Katsina carving makes me feel happy for who I am and where I come from. I enjoy creating the traditional style Katsinas more because that is how the Katsinas were made a long time ago, with the natural earth tone colors and with real feathers. I attended elementary school at Second Mesa Day School, and graduated from Hopi Junior and Senior High School. Besides carving, I also create Hopi overlay jewelry and I weave Hopi quilts.