Snake Dance
The Snake Dance is a significant ceremonial event performed by the Hopi, a Pueblo Indigenous group, in late August each year. This dance is rooted in the Hopi belief in maintaining harmony and balance between themselves, nature, and the universe. It is believed that such harmony is essential for ensuring a bountiful supply of food, rain, and successful hunting. The ceremony involves detailed preparation, where male members of the snake and antelope fraternities gather snakes over four days in the desert.
During the dance, which takes place in the village plaza, participants perform intricate movements while handling the snakes and singing in a chorus, symbolizing communication with the underworld and the spirits. The event is marked by a wooden plank representing the entrance to the underworld and concludes with the release of the snakes back into the wild, signifying a return to balance. The Snake Dance is an open ceremony, inviting visitors to witness this rich cultural tradition, which emphasizes the deep interconnection of the Hopi people with their environment.
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Snake Dance
- TRIBE AFFECTED: Hopi
- SIGNIFICANCE: The Snake Dance promotes harmony between the Hopi and the universe and facilitates a bountiful supply of food, rain, and good hunting
The Hopi Indigenous group believes itself to be an integral and interrelated part of nature and the universe. All parts must be kept in harmony, balance, and equilibrium. If the Hopi upset this balance, then it will suffer catastrophe. The Snake Dance is one of several Hopi ceremonial dances that facilitate this harmony and balance. It also enhances the correct succession of the four seasons, an abundant supply of food and rain, and a profitable season of hunting.
The Snake Dance is performed in late August each year by this group of Pueblo Indigenous Americans. A solar observance that begins about four in the afternoon, it is held in different villages during odd- and even-numbered years. This Indigenous American dance is an open ceremony; visitors may attend and observe.
The dance is preceded by extensive preparation. Males of the snake and antelope fraternities leave their kivas in paint and costume. They go into the desert in each of the four directions for four days to gather snakes. The snakes are placed in a cottonwood tower, or kisi, in the center of the village plaza. A wooden plank covering a hole in the ground sits in front of the kisi and symbolizes the entrance to the underworld, or sipapu. Antelope priests line one side of the plaza to await the arrival of the snake priests. Upon arriving, the snake priests jump on the sipapu and so announce to the underworld gods the commencement of the snake dance.
Dance rattles made from gourds are vibrated to imitate the rattlesnake, and a chorus sings. At the end of the song, the snake priests, who have lined up along the side of the plaza opposite the antelope priests, break up and regroup in threes. As they pass by the kisi, one is handed a snake by a priest who is hidden in it and places the snake in his mouth. The second member places his arm over the shoulder of the snake bearer and controls the snake if necessary. The third member walks behind.
Each snake priest dances a circle four times. He then drops the snake to the ground, and the third member picks it up. Depending on how many snakes have been caught and how many priests participate in the dance, a priest may repeat the dance several times with different snakes. When all the snakes have been danced with, they are dropped onto a circular design made of cornmeal drawn on the ground. The snake priests then grab several snakes and run from the village into the desert to release them. The antelope priests jump on the plank so that the underworld knows the ceremony has ended, and the village then celebrates for four days.
Bibliography
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Myers, J. Jay. “What We Know About the Sacred Hopi Snake Dance.” Historynet, 10 May 2018, www.historynet.com/sacred-hopi-snake-dance-impressed-theodore-roosevelt. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.
“The Snake Dance of the Hopi Indians.” Palms Trading Company, 31 May 2019, www.palmstrading.com/the-snake-dance-of-the-hopi-indians. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.
"Hopi Indians Dance for TR at [Walpi, Ariz.] 1913." Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickson State University, www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Research/Digital-Library/Record?libID=o284582. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.