Return of the Kachinas  Hopi (Third Mesa)

The Hopi Kachina new year starts in December, at the fime of the Winter Solstice (21st). The year is brought  in quietly with the entrance into the village of a lone kachina figure. This is Soyal, who appears as an old man  wearing worn clothing. He is the outer manifastation of the times of sleep and the Earth during the winter, when  nothing grows. Once he has quietly chanted his prayers at the kivas, he leaves just as quietly and unannounced  as he came. Much like the Earth comes back to life, quietly, so the Kachina new year opens.