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 ELI
TAYLOR -Kachina Carver
Born July 19,1954
Village of Old Oraibi, Arizona
Eli Taylor is known for his collector quality life like Kachina carvings. At
10 years of age, Eli was taught to make thunder sticks by older boys. This was
how he made his first 25 cents and learned the value of money. At age 12, he
was taught how to carve a Kachina doll by an elder who was a judge and a minister.
The first Kachina he carved was a Crow Mother Kachina.
As Eli got older, his uncle, Walter Hamana, who was also a Kachina carver, taught
him to carve basic Kachinas. Eli began developing his own techniques, learning
from his mistakes and improving with each carving.
“
The hardest part of carving”, said Eli, “is deciding what to carve.
I select cottonwood roots carefully to match the Kachina I am going to carve,
visualizing a completed carving inside the wood before I test my carving skills”.
“ I feel there is a spirit that develops in my work and a part of myself
is nurtured into the carving. For this reason, happiness is vital to my work.
As I carve,
I sometimes sing to feel happy, thinking of rain, crops, animals and family.
This gives me a sense of warmth and goodwill. To date, my Kachina dolls are traveling
the world. I often wonder which dolls are in what part of the world. I pray that
they have a good home, and I have not forgotten them. My wife, Judy and I, give
small offerings of food to feed the Kachina dolls, wherever they may be.
My father is Dalton Taylor, Sun Clan, and my mother is Virginia Taylor from the
Greasewood Clan.
I am “happy” that I have 3 children. They are DeAlva, Audra and John.
My grandchildren give me great joy.
Eli Taylor went to school at the Hopi Mission School and graduated from Sherman
indian High School in Riverside, California in 1972. he then worked as an Industrial
Carpenter for 8 years and a bank teller for 1 yr, always carving along the way.
After a lifetime of trial and error, Eli is considered to be one of the top kachina
carvers from the Hopi Reservation. He is from the Greasewood Clan. Therefore,
his trademark is the sharp branch of the greasewood. Eli’s Hopi birth name
is Tuy-Qaw-Va, which means that the sun takes precedence over the land.
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