Large Hopi Pueblo Mudhead Gourd Rattle By Lyle Lomayma

Late 20th Century

14.125″ H x 7.125″ L x 8″ W

Hand Carved and Painted Gourd with Feathers and a Fur Mustache

In Very Good Condition

Lyle Lomayma is a recognized Hopi carver and artisan known primarily for creating kachina (katsina) dollsintricately hand-carved wooden representations of spiritual beings in Hopi culture. Examples of his work include polychrome pieces like the Heoto Mana Kachina, Talavai Katsina, Fancy Mudhead Kachina (“Toson Koyemsi”), and others featured in museum collections (e.g., Tucson Museum of Art) and auctions.

The Mudhead is a beloved and sacred clown katsina figure. Mudheads are often depicted with knobbed, mud-covered heads, symbolizing fertility, mischief, healing, and community roles in ceremonies. Rattles shaped or painted to represent the Mudhead are traditional ceremonial items used in dances, typically made from a dried gourd (for the head/body), attached to a wooden handle, filled with seeds or pebbles for sound, and often painted with distinctive features like the rounded knobs, earthy colors, and sometimes feathers or other adornments.