Many Hopi religious ceremonies center on planting and rain, to support
their farming economy in the arid climate of the Southwest.  Like the
Zunis, the Hopis believed in the presence of kachinas, spirits who came
down to the pueblo and lived among the community.  Hopi dancers
impersonated the kachinas by wearing elaborate masks and headdresses.  The
dancers in this photograph are impersonating Ogre Kachinas, whose fearsome
costumes were designed to frighten children who had been bad.  From left
to right, the spirits represented here are Hahaiwuhti ("Mother of the
Kachinas"), Black Natashka, Soyokmana ("Natashka Kachina Girl"),
Soyokwihti ("Natashka Kachina Grandmother"), White Natashka, three Black
Natashkas, and three Heheya Kachinas, who were clowns.