Victoria Zangotsis

LBST 2102-338
20 October 2016

Mini Paper: Hopi Snake Dance

Indigenous people can be described as, People who are the original inhabitants of a
territory and who seek to maintain political control over their resources and cultural heritage,
(Religion and Globalization, PPT). It has been estimated that about 370 million self-identified
indigenous people still exist throughout the world. Among these peoples that exist are the
Hopituh-Shi-nu-mu tribe, meaning The Peaceful People, a part of the Pueblo Indian tribe, also
known as the Hopis ("Hopis", Gale Encyclopedia).
The Hopis are located on a reservation in the northeastern part of Arizona, east of the
Grand Canyon. The reservation is almost 2.5 million acres, being made up of seven villages.
These villages are set up on three rocky mesas ("Hopis", Gale Encyclopedia). The three mesas,
First Mesa, Second Mesa, and Third Mesa, can rise above 600 feet off the ground. Although
influenced by the outside society, in 1990, about 7,360 still lived on the reservation, in these
villages, while 1,000 Hopi people lived in society as we know it. Like most indigenous people,
the Hopis are very religious, have many rituals and many cultural traditions. The Hopi tribe is
considered one of the oldest and most traditional tribes within the continental United States
("Hopis", Gale Encyclopedia).
One of the most famous rituals, as an act of worship, that the Hopi people act upon is
called the Snake Dance. The ritual is an elaborate prayer for rain and crops but overtime also
included the honoring of the Hopi ancestors (Zimmerman, "About). This type of ritual is

technological because the Hopi people seek to have a change in nature so they will benefit, i.e.,
more crops and rain (Religion and Globalization, PPT). In regards to the prayer for rain, the
dance was once believed to have originated as a complete water ceremony because snakes were
known as the guardians of the springs. The addition of the focus for crops and ancestors is fairly
new. This ceremony is held in late August every other year in five of the seven villages (Weiser,
Native American Dances). Two of the villages do the ceremony on the odd years while the
remaining three do the ritual on the even years. However, it is only several days prior to the
ceremony that the actual date of the ceremony is determined. The date is determined by the
leading men that perform the ritual. However, how the men decide and determine the date is not
known. The Snake Dance requires two weeks of ritual preparation that include singing, making
sacred bahos (prayer sticks), praying and gathering several other sacred objects used within the
ceremony. Altogether, the Snake Dance requires two full weeks of preparation. The celebration
lasts eight days, and on the last day, the Snake Dance is performed (James, "The Hopi snake
dance"). During the days of preparation, the snakes are watched over and gathered by the
children of Hopi. The snake can be of any type, however, the majority of snakes used during the
dance is the rattlesnake. The tribe sees the snakes as part of the family, brothers, and the
people of Hopi rely on the snakes to carry their prayers for rain and crops to the spirits of the
Hopi ancestors (Weiser, Native American Dances).
On the day of the Snake Dance, the participants drink a significant amount of emetic (a
sedative herb or hallucinogen) before any contact with the snakes (Weiser, Native American
Dances). The participants then gather around the Snake chief priest, a priest who assists with the
dance. When the priest receives the snake, he places it on the participant, who then carefully
places the snake in its mouth. This is done with each of the participants. If the participant needs

assistance in holding and balancing the snake while performing the ritual, a gatherer will be
provided (Crystal, Hopi-Crystalinks). Once the snake is in position, a prance or dance is
performed around the plaza. Around the perimeter of the plaza, matrons and girls stand with
baskets in hand that are full with a sacred meal to sprinkle on the snakes and dancers. When the
participant is two-thirds the way through the dance, he throws the snake onto the ground. The
gatherer then picks up the snake. This circuit of dancing, throwing the snakes down and
gathering them continues until all snakes go through the process. The Snake chief priests stand in
a line and sing throughout the whole dance. In the final stages of the dance, the Snake chief
priest make a circle with the sacred meal and when the participants are signaled, all of the them
throw the snakes in the middle of the circle. Water and the sacred meal is sprinkled onto the
snakes while prayers are being said. Finally, the priests grab the snakes, take them into the valley
and deposit them after a prayer. They are released in four directions. This concludes the Snake
Dance ritual until the next two years (James, "The Hopi snake dance").
The Snake dance today, once open to the public, is now preformed privately within the
village due to illegal photographs and outsiders lack of respect for the ritual and other ceremonial
practices (Weiser, Native American Dances). Not only is the Snake Dance being performed
privately, but almost the whole tribe (traditions, ceremonies, rituals, history, living and etc.) is
powered off of secrecy to keep outsiders out. However, globalization continued to played a huge
part in the change of the Hopi tribe overtime. Globalization can be defined has the product of
growing interdependence of cultures through emerging global techno-economic and
sociocultural networks, (Esposito, page 3). A Hopi Tribal Council, a city-state form of
government, was established in 1950 to act as representation for the Hopi tribe. The Hopi people,
in 1955, received federal recognition. This recognition allowed the tribe to be available to several

social services and funding opportunities. This act of globalization changed the tribe, it allowed
the tribe to be have access to coal, natural gas, oil and other resources, things that were not
available before globalization intervened ("Hopis", Gale Encyclopedia). Although the access to
several resources emerged, the Snake Dance is still done traditionally, and there has not been an
account of change within the process of the ritual.
Indigenous peoples have many traditions, rituals, and ceremonies, along with a wide
array of different tribes. The Hopi tribe, located in Arizona, is well recognized by the famous
Snake Dance, a technological ritual that brings the rain and crops for the people of Hopi.
Although a very traditional ritual, the tribe itself, like all other tribes, has changed its way of life
due to globalization.

Works Cited
Crystal, Ellie. Hopi-Crystalinks. Hopi. Crystalinks, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.crystalinks.com/hopi.html>.
Esposito, John L., Darrell J. Fasching, and Todd Lewis. World Religions Today. New York:
Oxford UP, 2002. Print.
"Hopis." Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America. Encyclopedia.com. 27 Oct.
2016 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
James, George Wharton. "The Hopi snake dance." Sans musique.) Outing 36 (1900): 302-310.
<http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/Outing/Volume_36/outXXXVI03/outXXXVI03p.p
df>.
Katsanos, Tina. Religion and Globalization. Lecture. Fall Semester 2016. Powerpoint
Presentation.
Weiser, Kathy. "Native American Dances - History and Information." Native American Dances
History and Information - Page 3. Legends of America, Aug. 2015. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-dances3.html>.
Zimmerman, Fritz. "About the Hopi Snake Myth and Dance." About Native Americans: Hopi.
BlogSpot, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016. <http://aboutnativeamericans.blogspot.com/p/abouthopi-snake-dance.html>.