Main Entry: ka·chi·na

Variant(s): also ka·tchi·na or ka·tci·na \kə-ˈchē-nə\

Function: noun

Etymology: Hopi qacína

Date: 1888

1 : one of the deified ancestral spirits believed among the Hopi and other Pueblo Indians to visit the pueblos at intervals
2 : one of the elaborately masked kachina impersonators that dance at agricultural ceremonies
3 : a doll representing a kachina

[kachina illustration]