The author of Hopi Kachinas (page 11), one of Northland's best-selling books, takes an in-depth look at Hopi clowns, their purposes, and their historical backgrounds.

During a Tano kachina ceremony, something in the antics of the dancing koshare, a sacred clown, fills the air with tension. Moments later, the clown is found brutally bludgeoned -- in the same manner that a reservation schoolteacher was killed just days before. In true Navajo style, Officer Jim Chee and Lieutenant Leaphorn of the Tribal Police go back to the beginning to decipher the sacred clown's message to the people of the Tano pueblo. Amid guarded tribal secrets and crooked Indian traders, they find a trail of blood that links a runaway schoolboy, two dead bodies, and the mysterious presence of a sacred artifact.

Features over one hundred handcrafted folk toys made in Mexico, including carved and painted wood figures, puppets, and pinwheels.

The Hopi, which means "good in every respect," largely lived in northeastern Arizona and were an agricultural society that practiced ancestor worship.

Traces the history of Hopi kachina dolls as an art form, explains the role of Kachina dolls in Hopi culture, and profiles twenty-seven modern kachina doll carvers

A short history of the earliest clowns -- The despicable rogue Mr. Punch -- The unnatural nature of the evil clown -- Coulrophobia: Fear of clowns -- Bad clowns of the Ink -- Bad clowns of the Screen -- Bad clowns of the Song -- The carnal carnival: Buffoon boffing and clown sex -- Creepy, criminal, and killer clowns -- Activist clowns -- Crazed caged carny clowns -- The phantom clowns -- Troll clowns and the future of bad clowns