Leo Lacapa
Home Dancer
14 3/4"
H with 1/2" base
"Probably one of the
most beautiful and best known of all Hopi Kachinas is the Hemis
Kachina. Often he is incorrectly called the Niman Kachina from
the ceremony in which he is most often seen. At sunrise, when
the kachinas come to the plaza to dance for the first time, they
bring with them entire corn plants, the first corn harvest of
the year, to distribute to the audience.
"Against the backdrop
of these magnificent kachinas and their Manas can be seen a flurry
of youngsters carrying the whole corn plants and brightly-colored
presents to the sidelines.
"In the Niman or the
Home Dance no other kachinas appear, neither clowns nor side
dancers, only the Hemis Kachinas and their Manas in a double
line rotating slowly in opposite directions, and turning yet
again.
"This final dance of
the kachinas is both stately and reverent. The Hemis Kachina
is presumed to have come from Jemez, a Rio Grande Pueblo. However,
at Jemez Pueblo they have a ceremony in which the Hemis Kachina
appears, and they refer to it as a Hopi dance."
- Barton Wright, Kachinas: a Hopi
Artist's Documentary (214)
Leo
Lacapa is a carver that we recommend for the collector who wants
a quality piece at a reasonable price. Leo is from from First
Mesa, above Polacca.
His
representations are very accurate, his proportions are very good.
One of the reasons that this is so is that Leo regularly participates
in the First Mesa kachina ceremonies. In his early 50s, he is
a long-time carver.
