I have been thinking of a way to incorporate open threads into this blog for those times when life is busy and there is no time to post and also because bloggers love an open thread. I thought of using cartoons or music like many of the blogs I read but it just didn't feel like the right fit. I decided to check out some artwork we could use. Tonight I spent about an hour googling artwork - spiritual art, native art, westcoast art, huna art, hawaiian art etc. I was looking for something that would be interesting, pertinent to this blog and that would promote some lively dicussions about Huna. Well, I found lots I liked and then I couldn't make a decision on which ones to use. Then it hit me (slow learner :=] ). Let Ku decide.
This artwork is Ku's pick for the open thread. It is Spiritual Beings painted by Roy Thomas an Ahnishnabae-born artist who resides in Thunder Bay, Ontario. I confess to knowing little about the symbolism behind native art but this for me, is the three-part self. The fish swimming under is Ku, the bear with his feet on the earth is lono and the bird rising above is the Aumakua. They are encircled by a red line that incorporates the yellow sun which the three are moving towards. As our friend Sakawa would say, "What think you?"
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Monday, February 4, 2008
OPEN THREAD - Ku's Pick
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8 comments:
There are three figures walking on the bear's spine as well as three figures swimming on the fish's spine.
Thomas,
I just sent you an email re: the attachments - if you are reading here.
Joy
Thomas said...
Wow, great find. I have not spent to much time looking at other native indian art because the West Coast Totem art has so captivated me.
It is one of my assumptions that cultures of old, often without written language encoded their basic understanding of the three part self in their art work. This is similar to Christians who wear a cross necklace as a symbol of their beliefs. Because it was so natural for them to incorporate their basic understanding in every day articles, this art work has often been considered decorative rather than educational by academics who study early cultures.
The art work, in my opinion was so generic that individuals and tribes literally forgot their basic meaning which is a psychological description of what and how man is composed. With this understanding we can reconstruct models of therapy, psychic development and spiritual growth that are an accurate reflection of who and what we are.
I would ask all readers to share any artwork that they believe represents understanding of the three part self. Show me what you got?
"The art work, in my opinion was so generic that individuals and tribes literally forgot their basic meaning which is a psychological description of what and how man is composed."
I was contemplating what the artist's thoughts were on his painting. Would he have envisioned the three-part self? I'm thinking because it is called spiritual being it is more likely these are meant to be spirit guides or like in Casteneda's books where Don Juan calls them Allys (sp).
What do you think the sun and the red lines represent?
Thinking about the circle around the three figures leads me to consider the possibility that the circle represents the dimension in which Earth and our solar system exists.
The three figures within the bear could represent the three part self which exists within the human body.
The three figures within the fish could represent the three attributes of ku, body instinctive mind, memory and the aspect which I call the Universal Part of ku which represents the unique ability of ku to communicate with Aumakua, all other ku's and everything that exists.
I would draw your attention to figure posted on the left of the page. Starting at the very top, we see a small face which I believe represents the "grandfather aumakua" or as Seth would describe it as Seth 2.
The next figure below represents Aumakua.
The human figure below Aumakua represents Lono which is of the same energy as Aumakua. In this case, the figure of man is represented by a smiling happy face which would indicate a harmonious tri-self. You will also note the two hands enclosing Lono from the Aumakua which means that Lono is held within the energy of the high self.
The lower portion of the human figure is shaped like a bird and pointed downward. This indicates that for Lono to communicate with Aumakua or any other entity, Lono must go through ku.
The figure below the downward pointing bird represents ku and in this case, ku is smiling which means that ku is a happy and willing servant of Lono.
Therefore this totem could be said to represent a human being on Earth who is in an alignment with with the three aspects of it's total self.
Below ku is a rather dour representation of a primal being which I think represents the body mind aspect of ku and which is intimately connected to Earth and earth energies in the maintenance of the body in time and space.
Any thoughts on this interpretation?
I think you are spot on with your interpretation. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the Grandfather Amaukua. Would this be what could be thought of as the collective or over soul. For instance, in the case of the Group of Four would this be our family grouping of 30 Aumakuas.
The bottom figure representing Ku has what appears to be either two feet or two hands pointing upward ...perhaps pointing the path 'upwards' (from the body in space-time) toward Amakua thru Ku.
The bottom figure certainly is dour! and appears to have horns which would further reinforce the idea of the animal or primal nature of man. There is also what appears to be a feather pointing downwards from Ku towards this primal being.
One more thing, the eyes on all of these are very different. The Grandfather Aumakua looks like an owl to me.
The grandfather Aumakua's is a concept which is not gone into in great depth, though if memory serves was mentioned in Serge King's books. My take on this is more fully explained in the Seth Material of Jane Roberts and I would draw your attention to his concepts of Seth 2.
The other way I have thought of this is that the tri-self, which includes our individual Aumakua, also is the Aumakua of alternates and probable selves as well as other incarnating Lono's in other times or realms.
Vast though this is, there is still the concept of the entity which has been explained in Datre as a container which holds Aumakua's which have evolved and reside within or on the surface of the entity.
One idea expressed is that when all tri-selves evolve, they move to the Entity and from there the evolve as a collective rather than as individuals.
Still, in the Huna information that we received, the focus of development was not on these abstract concepts, rather, we were to focus on developing communication with Ku as the primary stage of growth that would best serve us.
By the way, good noticing re the eyes. I have found that while looking at much totem art that emotional states are very well protrayed. The eyes of the owl have a folklore of wisdom and that would be true for a grandfather Aumakua
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