quiet bear
11-17-2006, 05:40 PM
I have been working on this since mid September. I bought this drum at the Nanticoke powwow. It was just a plain drum, with no markings, and I wish I'd taken a picture of it then.
I didn't do anything with it right away, just thought about it. I knew this was going to represent what I believe in, spiritually, and i had a great sense of calm as I pieced it together.
Anyway, I've worked on this drum, off and on since I bought it, adding a little to it, thinking about what each thing meant in the scope of my journey. Sometimes having a moment where something I'd been chewing on for a spell would just come clear, and make sense.
Pieces of what I am, culminating in this totem.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a115/jr008/Picture001-2.jpg?t=1163782477
First off, the drum itself represents life. It is made of wood. The roots are in the earth, and live there, as one with earth. The head is sheepskin, which represents all creatures that exist on the earth. Together, the wood and sheepskin, when touched by my hand, make a sound, which fills the air and sky, tying the three together.
The symbol on the head, was a very exciting time for me, spiritually, when I discovered the whole meaning of it.
I dreamed that symbol, early one morning. It came, clear as day, and I heard distinctly, "This is your symbol". I woke up, bolt upright, and went straight out to my truck and sat there, drawing it in my journal. I didn't know what it meant at the time, but I knew it was important.
Not an hour later, I was driving to work, and looked at the moon, which was cresent, but so bright, you could see the outline of the entire thing. The thought struck me, "That's my spirit". And it made sense. The circle was my spirit, and the bright cresent represented what I actually understood so far. The sense of calm I got from knowing I had so much of my spirit yet to realize (the darkened part of the moon), was indescribable.
The other two parts of the symbol, well, they perplexed me for quite a spell. I puzzled over them. When I discovered what they meant, it wasn't a dawning moment, like it was with the circle, but more of a realization, a developement in philosophy that made perfect sense to me.
I've always believed in balance. To have true peace, you must have balance. It occurred to me that my symbol was one of balance. Symmetric. Then I had a DUH! moment when I realized the other two parts of the symbol rperesented my intellectual self (top), and my primal self (bottom), to go along with my spiritual self.
The funny thing is, when I painted it, the colors were exactly as I'd dreamed them. I didn't have to fool with mixing or blending. I knew just how much of each color to use.
Then, in hanging the feathers, I got the feathers from the left wing of a Tom Turkey. I'm left handed, and the turkey is a plain, unspectacular bird. Just like me.
The colored beads represent the Circle of Life.
East is yellow, and childhood. Dawn of life.
South is red, and youth. sowing oats, making mistakes, learning.
West is black, adulthood, gathering knowledge, looking back and learning from your mistakes.
North is white, and old age. A time of wisdom, and sharing your experiences with the other directions, thus completing the circle of life.
Encompassing all that is the green earth and the blue sky.
The purple is me, right in the middle of all of it.
It has been very gratifying, making this drum. I now have something to show, something people can see, that represents me. It is my totem.Something that is uniquely me.
I didn't do anything with it right away, just thought about it. I knew this was going to represent what I believe in, spiritually, and i had a great sense of calm as I pieced it together.
Anyway, I've worked on this drum, off and on since I bought it, adding a little to it, thinking about what each thing meant in the scope of my journey. Sometimes having a moment where something I'd been chewing on for a spell would just come clear, and make sense.
Pieces of what I am, culminating in this totem.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a115/jr008/Picture001-2.jpg?t=1163782477
First off, the drum itself represents life. It is made of wood. The roots are in the earth, and live there, as one with earth. The head is sheepskin, which represents all creatures that exist on the earth. Together, the wood and sheepskin, when touched by my hand, make a sound, which fills the air and sky, tying the three together.
The symbol on the head, was a very exciting time for me, spiritually, when I discovered the whole meaning of it.
I dreamed that symbol, early one morning. It came, clear as day, and I heard distinctly, "This is your symbol". I woke up, bolt upright, and went straight out to my truck and sat there, drawing it in my journal. I didn't know what it meant at the time, but I knew it was important.
Not an hour later, I was driving to work, and looked at the moon, which was cresent, but so bright, you could see the outline of the entire thing. The thought struck me, "That's my spirit". And it made sense. The circle was my spirit, and the bright cresent represented what I actually understood so far. The sense of calm I got from knowing I had so much of my spirit yet to realize (the darkened part of the moon), was indescribable.
The other two parts of the symbol, well, they perplexed me for quite a spell. I puzzled over them. When I discovered what they meant, it wasn't a dawning moment, like it was with the circle, but more of a realization, a developement in philosophy that made perfect sense to me.
I've always believed in balance. To have true peace, you must have balance. It occurred to me that my symbol was one of balance. Symmetric. Then I had a DUH! moment when I realized the other two parts of the symbol rperesented my intellectual self (top), and my primal self (bottom), to go along with my spiritual self.
The funny thing is, when I painted it, the colors were exactly as I'd dreamed them. I didn't have to fool with mixing or blending. I knew just how much of each color to use.
Then, in hanging the feathers, I got the feathers from the left wing of a Tom Turkey. I'm left handed, and the turkey is a plain, unspectacular bird. Just like me.
The colored beads represent the Circle of Life.
East is yellow, and childhood. Dawn of life.
South is red, and youth. sowing oats, making mistakes, learning.
West is black, adulthood, gathering knowledge, looking back and learning from your mistakes.
North is white, and old age. A time of wisdom, and sharing your experiences with the other directions, thus completing the circle of life.
Encompassing all that is the green earth and the blue sky.
The purple is me, right in the middle of all of it.
It has been very gratifying, making this drum. I now have something to show, something people can see, that represents me. It is my totem.Something that is uniquely me.