Snake_dance Apr 2026

Dancers typically work in groups of three: a carrier who holds a live snake (often in their mouth), a hugger who strokes the snake with an eagle-feather whip to keep it calm, and a gatherer who retrieves the snakes once they are released on the ground.

For four days, clan members venture into the desert to collect various snakes, including venomous rattlesnakes and non-venomous bull snakes. snake_dance

Contrary to outside perceptions of "snake worship," the Hopi view snakes as "elder brothers" and messengers to the spirit world. Dancers typically work in groups of three: a