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]