Sheldon Talas, Koyemsi Katsina carving

Koyemsi or Mud-head Katsinas are probably the most well known of all the Hopi kachinas. They appear in almost every Hopi ceremony as clowns, interlocutors, announcers of dances, drummers, and many other roles. They nearly always accompany other kachinas; probably the only time when they do not appear with other personages is during the Night Dances. Koyemsi are usually the ones that play games with the audience to the accompaniment of rollicking tunes. These games are generally guessing games, or simple attempts to balance objects or performances of some common act. (Wright 1973: 238)