Trusting Cougar Elk Reciprocity

When predator and prey are in right relationship with one another they are not opposing forces, but the same force exchanging energy in the web of... more

by Robin Aisha Landsong

Buy the Original Drawing

Price

$800

Dimensions

20.000 x 24.000 inches

Title

Trusting Cougar Elk Reciprocity

Artist

Robin Aisha Landsong

Medium

Drawing - Color Pencil And Pastel

Description

When predator and prey are in right relationship with one another they are not opposing forces, but the same force exchanging energy in the web of life. Elk's gifts are stamina and endurance. In this image Cougar receives this gift for her body and for the health of her young. Cougars move in powerful bursts and tire quickly. Here she receives nourishment and strength from Elk enabling her to carry out her decisive movement. Fully receiving and giving what we have to offer one another keeps the cycle of reciprocity in balance.

I participated in a Naraya Dance, a ceremony that begins at sundown and goes until all the songs have been sung. On the third night of my first dance, at two or three in the morning, many of us were staggering with fatigue. The circle of dancers had grown smaller as dancers fell into vision or simply laid down for needed rest under the center tree. The people who attend to dancers that are having a vision determine when the song is complete. This means one song might be sung anywhere from twenty minutes to over two hours.

That night, when the Dance leader finally called last round for the singing, there was an experienced male dancer dancing a step ahead of me. He and I were the only ones still singing in a way that could be heard. We put everything we had left into our voices for a strong last round. When the last syllable was sung we both literally fell to the ground from fatigue.

Without knowing of my drawing Trusting Cougar Elk Reciprocity, that was back home almost finished on my drawing board, he put his hand on my shoulder and said, "You have the stamina of Elk. Your endurance helped me keep going." I was amazed he perceived this in me. I shared with him that I had visualized I was an Elk during my runs in the woods training for the dance. We both laughed. I put my hand on his heart and said, "It was the power of your voice and your skilled pronunciation of the Native songs that kept me going." We laid back on the ground looking up at the stars, feeling in right relationship with each other and all that was around us.
�Robin Landsong 2011

Uploaded

December 3rd, 2014