On Wings of Eagles

The watermark that you find in the lower right corner of the images are for protection purposes and will NOT appear on the your final print!... more

by L T Sparrow

Buy the Original Painting

Price

$1,000

Dimensions

8.500 x 11.000 inches

Title

On Wings of Eagles

Artist

L T Sparrow

Medium

Painting - Watercolor

Description

The watermark that you find in the lower right corner of the images are for protection purposes and will NOT appear on the your final print!

About the image: "On Wings of Eagles"

This is image is from my book "All My Relations, A Prayer" and is the illustration that goes with the words, "And others sitting, making smoke". To read the poem in it's entirety click on the cover image at the beginning of this gallery.

ABOUT THIS IMAGE:
Here you see a Native American woman praying with her pipe or chanupa. She is sitting on a prayer rug under a cedar tree. Her bundle, a leather pouch in which the pipe is stored is on her left. There is a small leather pouch in front of her that holds the ceremonial blend of smoking mix with often contains barberry as well as tobacco and other sacred herbs that are non-hallucinogenic. On her right is an abalone shell and feather. The shell is used as a container in which to burn a few leaves of dried sage. The feather is then used as a sort of fan to direct the smoke from the sage over and around the person’s body. This assists in clearing the mind of negative thoughts and cleansing the aura, if you will, before the prayers begin. In addition, each item used in the prayer ceremony is also cleansed. This purification process called smudging, has a calming and focusing effect. These items are all placed on a red cloth and wrapped in that same cloth when not in use. The red cloth represents what Native Americans refer to as “The Good Red Road”, or a spiritual journey. The Eagle is believed to carry the prayers to Great Spirit and so you see the smoke, which contain her prayers, ascending to the Creator on the wings of eagles. For this reason, the smoke is not inhaled, it is not for the body therefore, it is said that a person in prayer is “making smoke”. When the pipe is not in use, the bowl and stem are stored separately. The bowl is the symbol of all that is feminine in the Universe and the stem is the symbol for all that is masculine in the Universe and they are only put together for ceremony.

The woman who allowed herself to be photographed in her native attire used for this illustration is from the Swinomish Reservation across the channel from La Conner in Washington State. Mt. Baker can be seen from her home which is surrounded by large majestic cedar trees. Cedar is also held sacred by the Native people and its aromatic leaves are also used in ceremonies as a cleansing and blessing smoke.

Excerpt
All My Relations, A Prayer
L. T. Sparrow

“My skin is light, my eyes are green
And so the native lies unseen
Beneath a skin that’s soft and pale
There lives a dark skinned warrior, male.
With arrows sheathed and bow in hand,
He stands as guardian of the land.
His weapons now beseeching words
He thinks perhaps they go unheard
So sits in council everyday
And all relations come to pray.
Some lying prostrate on the earth,
Some kneeling begging for rebirth,
Some standing garbed in heavy cloaks,
And others sitting making smoke.”

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Copyright (Fine art and photography by L. T. Sparrow) All Rights Reserved.
It is illegal to copy, scan or duplicate in any form.

Uploaded

July 31st, 2013