Leo Lacapa
Snake Dancers
8 3/4"H
with 3/4" base
"This is the snake dancer
who is one of the social dancers who used to appear in mid-August
at several of the villages. During the dance performance the
Snake priests, accompanied by the Antelope priests, dance with
live rattlesnakes and/or bull snakes in their mouths.
The live snakes are referred
to by the priests as their 'elder brothers.' These are obviously
not dancers with 'faces' and therefore are not 'Kachinas.' Information
in much greater detail can be found in the books Hopi Snake
Ceremonies by Jesse Walter Fewkes, and Moki Snake Dance
by Walter Hough, both from Avanyu Publishing.
In recent years the Snake
Dance has only been performed at the Second Mesa villages of
Mishongnovi and Shungopavi. There is no difference in the costumes
between the First Mesa variety and any of the other mesas. This
dance has been closed to non-Indians since 1986."
- Ricks, J. Brent, et al., Kachinas:
Spirit Beings of the Hopi (114)
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.
