Lean Monongye
Gourd Dancer
8 3/4"
total height
Lean Monongye is a young carver,
probably in his early thirties, from Third Mesa.
His work is very distinct,
and he is well known for his smooth finish and fine detail. Generally
Lean tries to incorporate additional details into the base of
each doll - this particular piece features a village scene, perhaps
indicative of the village where the original story took place.
He is one of my personal favorites,
and I have yet to see a kachina by Lean that I wouldn't like
to have in my own personal collection. I feel that his work is
upper-middle tier and still represents a good value as an artist
with a lot of potential.
This figure, the Squash or
Patung kachina is a favorite among many collectors and
appears primarily on First Mesa as a runner. It is thought that
he may have derived from Zuni. Here is is depicted with flowers
in both hands, but generally appears with a set of yucca whips
in one hand.
Another intriguing aspect
of this carving is the detailed base that Lean is so well known
for. A gourd garden with its leaves of green wrap all the way
around.
Lean has done a nice job presenting
this figure as he might appear in Sichomovi at First Mesa. His
use of bright color is unabashed and causes this kachina carving
to stand out.
As a "runner," the
Patung belongs to a class of kachinas who are not dancers
but rather run races with the men and boys of the village. "They
come in the late spring, either as a group or as individuals,
during a pause in a Mixed Dance or Plaza Dance.
Usually they will select one
end of the Plaza and , assembling there, will endeavor to have
an individual race them. If there are many runners, or Wawarus,
there will be a great churning about with one or another racing
down the length of the Plaza and other prancing up and down to
ready themselves for the coming contest.
Quite often they will lure
some unwary clown into racing and will immediately catch the
hapless individual and perpetrate their peculiar form of punishment
on him. They quickly tire of this and will gesture or hold up
a reward to some young man in the crowd of bystanders.
If he accepts, they will allow
him about ten feet of space in which he can move about as he
pleases. But the minute he leaves the area he runs as if instant
disaster were behind him, and it usually is, for some of the
punishments are quite unpleasant.
Win or lose, he will receive
payment with some kind of food from these racers. No one is safe
from the oldest man to the youngest boy; all, including white
members of the audience can receive the attention of these kachinas.
The kachinas are expected to pay for whipping the young men,
and this they do by sending water when it is needed for germinating
the crops." - Barton Wright,
Kachinas: a Hopi Artist's Documentary (218)
