Lono and Laka
Lono and Laka were commissioned by Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MassMoCA) in North Adams Massachusetts for their Tiki Dance Party of 2004.
Lono and Laka puppets were modeled after Polynesian pre-creation Gods known by a variety of names on different pacific rim islands. Lono was the God after which the original tikis were created. Laka became the goddess of hula dancing. Lono is the God who legend has it, descended from a rainbow to create the islands and then married Laka, a Polynesian princess. Imagine… must be a universal girl’s dream: to be a princess, then marry a god to become a goddess!
Laka and Lono puppets joined the Tiki Dance Party festivities at MassMoCA, dancing in their grass skirts amongst the revelers in Hunter gallery and outside at the tops of MassMoCA’s upside down trees, heating up that chilly New England evening in March into a hot tropical luau atmosphere.
Lono is retired now and sits high up on the studio shelf overseeing all troupe movements of the Mortal Beasts & Deities.
Laka has since been adapted many times for performance in other puppet ensembles, such as with Nymph Phoebe and Nymph Ruth as contrasting foils for puppet Satyr, or sometimes she joins Phoebe as a duo of flower girls at fairs and festivals in improvised walk-about.
