Chapter 2 – The Rare and Well-known Kachinas
These five Kachina dolls on diagonal and diagonal opposite lines in the carré wear the headdress tabletas. The headdress tableta is a wooden head tablet covered with deerskin or cloth with a pad inside to protect the dancer’s head. A deerskin strip is attached to the tableta from ear to ear across the head’s crown and ties under the chin to secure, just like the modern helmet.
Hopi Shalako Taka Cloud Man – Cloud Man and Cloud maiden are the tallest kachinas that make their dance striking. They represent deities of clouds in the sky and would bring moisture to crops. These personages appear so rarely; they have only been seen four times in the last hundred years. The original dolls were carved by Lowell Talashoma.
Hopi Shalako Taka Mana Cloud Woman – Cloud Maiden looks pretty similar to the Cloud Man; both costumes have eagle plumage. The eagle is a symbol of the sun or sky god. Over the years, the painted wooden feathers have replaced the necessary bird feathers. She wears a pair of white colour boots and has more white colour on her face.
Sio Hemis Kachina stands at the opposite corner of the Hopi Cloud Man and Cloud Woman in the carré. The beautiful and best-known Sio Hemis wears an eye-catching tableta headdress with flower symbols and a Hopi embroidered rain sash; he is a dancer who invites abundant rain, hope, and prosperity to the village.
Nakiachop, Shalako Warrior, is a rare and brave Kachina. He would climb to the top of a long pole, swing and descend to the ground, and then climb up other poles to repeat the action in the ceremony. The National Museum of the American Indian has a similar one in its collection.
Water drinking girl, Palhik Mana, is not a kachina but rather a maiden’s dance personage who brings rain and is often seen grinding corn with colourful plants and birds. Palhik Mana wears the tableta with cloud, butterfly and corn symbols.
Musee de CloudWei 
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