Monday, September 20, 2010

NETDIMKODOM: THE LAND OF DREAMS/ Concow Maidu Indian Culture/ Hiki the Snake/ Nem Yani/ The Yeponi/ Mt. Konocti/ MYTHOGRAPHIC ART by Eric Whollem/ EARTH PIGMENTS AND AQUEOUS MEDIA on paper/ A PICTOGRAPHIC ABSTRACTION that interprets the rock art of prehistoric California in light of modern art




Netdimkodom: The Land of Dreams
1992
by Eric Whollem
earth pigments, India ink, acrylic emulsion,
& plastic emulsion on paper
9" x 6"
copyright by the artist

A Shaman in the World of Dreams
NETDIMKODOM: THE LAND OF DREAMS

I lived off and on for thirty-five years on Maidu Indian family land in
Feather Falls, California.  I was privileged to have known Bob Jackson,
the Maidu patriarch. He was born in a rustic Indian village on what is
now the hiking trail in to Feather Falls. Bob Jack, as he was called by
family and friends, believed that the world is flat to his dying day,
having been raised in the old ways, & having heard all the old stories as
a child.

My friend Robert and I would drive Bob Jack to town once a week to get
supplies. Bob Jack was a jolly fellow with a large collection of old Jazz,
Western Swing and Blues 78's. He kept an old  Victrola to play them. He
would sit for hours out under the old walnut tree to commune with friends
and neighbors who would come to visit.


A STORY OF THE SNAKE CAVES

I have met a number of shamans of the Concow Maidu. The head
shaman of the Maidu is called 'Yeponi.'  One day I picked up an old
white-bearded drunk along the road going up to the Feather Falls
general store. He was hitchhiking.

He was dressed in a plaid shirt and overhauls. He told me: "I am a
doctor; respect that." As the store was closed I offered to give him
a beer down at the house. He related to me much about the world of
dreams. He told me also about the sacred hot springs of Nem Yani,
which connect by a cave system that crosses the Sacramento Valley
and comes up at Clear Lake. He said this cave is guarded by snakes.

Nem Yani is the local name for Stringtown Mountain, so named
because in the old days there was a Maidu settlement there which was
composed of a long line of Indian houses in a row. 'Nem Yani' means
'Big Mountain.'

Interestingly enough, a few weeks later I happened to travel to Clear
Lake, and walking on the shore of the lake, I met a man with a metal
detector. He pulled up a heavy Spanish gold image of Christ right at
my feet.  It must have weighed three pounds. He said he was there
with a group of adventurers who were going over to explore the caves
at Mt. Konocti the next day; he said I could come with him. I asked
him if the cave was filled with snakes. He said, "Yes."

Konocti is an old volcano, actually not that old, as it was created about
10,000 years ago; and is legendary in the tribal history of the Pomo
Indians, as it is said to be made of the bodies of two lovers. The Pomo
story of today contains reminiscences of geological events thousands
of years ago.

As a man in a camp on the shore of the lake had just killed a huge
rattlesnake that had come into camp; and then gotten into a terrible
fight with his wife, I remembered what the shaman had told me about
the guardian snakes. I felt this cave was guarded by snakes wanted
curious humans to keep at a distance. So I never went with the adventurers
to see the cave on Konocti. But the gold image of Christ found in the sand 
seemed to be a symbol of the truth in all that was happening and told to
me.

The Maidu believe the Sacramento Valley was created by a great snake
named Hiki, a creator spirit. Are the tunnels that cross the valley still
protected by Hiki? Cowboys that live in the Willows area, not far from
the Sutter Buttes have stories, I hear, about caves that connect the
Buttes with the Clear Lake area. Some things are better left to the
realm of mystery.

I used to have powerful dreams living in Feather Falls. Often I would
go to Indian dances in my dreams. There used to be a big ceremonial
lodge on the grounds where I lived.


KUKSU DREAM RELIGION

The religion of the Maidu is called Kuksu. It is based on dream
wisdom. See my links below to read more about the Kuksu Dream
Society.

Kuksu is the name of the first man, created by Wonomi, the Earth
Maker. He was born on Table Mountain near Oroville, California.


EXHIBITS

My painting seen here incorporates images based on the Rock Art
of early California. Some of the paint used in this work is earth
paint that I prepared from rough natural earth pigments.

'Netdim' means dreams in Concow Maidu dialect. 'Kodom' means
'country.' Hence the title of the painting on this post, 'Netdimkodom.'

Some of my pictographic abstractions have been exhibited at
the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California. And also
I have shown my works at the Society for California Archaeology.

The Lowie Anthropology Museum in Berkeley, California, houses
a collection of my earth paintings, many of which relate to
the lore of the Native Americans of California.

I have also been a frequent exhibitor at the Mendocino Art Center
on the Northern California coast--from the early 1990's up til 2007.

_______________

Readers interested in my posts on Shamanism should see this link:

My gallery of Abstract Art can be found here:

See my posts about the Kuksu DREAM RELIGION here:


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MYTHOGRAPHIC ART
Earth paints.
Mixed media.
Pictographic abstraction.
Maidu Indians.
Shamanism.
FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION

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POW WOW/ A Pictographic Abstraction Based on Studies of Native American Rock Art/ A mixed media painting on paper by Eric Whollem




Pow Wow
1984
by Eric Whollem
mixed media on paper
copyright by the artist

The Big Time

Among the Concow Maidu Indians of Northern California, the
Pow Wow is generally referred to as a 'Big Time.'  I lived off and
on for quite a few years in the Feather Falls area of the north
state. My neighbors were mostly Maidu. Often Ralph Martin, one
of the last native speakers on the ridge, would stay at Frank Jones'
place next door down the road.

I have exhibited my work at a few Pow Wows over the years. Pacific
Western Traders in Folsom, California, invited me to one of their
Native American pow wows back in the 1980's. I remember especially
having some good talks with Stan Padilla, a Yaqui Indian artist who
now lives in the Auburn area. He enjoyed seeing my use of earth
pigments made into paints. Later I saw him exhibiting in the book
room at the Society for California Archaeology. Marija Gimbutas,
the well known feminist anthropologist, was there with us.

I had a workshop at a Pow Wow in the Municipal Auditorium in
Oroville, California, some time ago. I had a workshop on making
paints from earth. There I met Granny Lou Salzarulo, who was
a good friend of Bryan Beavers, now well known as a historian
of the Maidu.

______________

Readers interested in my art that is based  NATIVE AMERICAN Pictographs should see:

View my gallery of Abstract Art on this link:


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ABSTRACT ART.
Pictographs.

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KAKINIM/ Art based on California Indian Rock Art/ Concow Maidu language/ A GEOMETRIC PICTOGRAPHIC ABSTRACTION




Kakinim
1985
by Eric Whollem
mixed media on paper
9" x 6"
copyright by the artist

Pictographic Abstractions Based on Native American Rock Art

This mixed media work is entitled using a word from the Concow
Maidu language. 'Kakini' means 'spirit.' 'Kakinim' is the plural form.

______________

See my works that are based on studies of preshistoric Rock Art on this link:

BELOW IS A VIDEO
THAT FEATURES
PICTOGRAPHIC PAINTINGS

ERIC WHOLLEM                              


My gallery of Abstractions both figurative and geometric can be found here:


FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONISM                   


Those interested in my interactions with the Maidu may want to see:



CONCOW MAIDU LORE IN THE PAINTINGS OF         
ERIC WHOLLEM                                 



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ABSTRACT ART
Mixed media painting.
Maidu Indians.
Pictographs.

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NEM OOST KOLLEM/ Goddess concepts in the lore of the Concow and Mountain Maidu Indians of Butte and Plumas, Counties, California/ Art by Eric Whollem/ PICTOGRAPHIC ABSTRACTION/ Mythographic Art



Nem Oost Kollem
1984
by Eric Whollem
mixed media on paper
detail from 'Birth of the Eyes of Space'
Copyright by the artist

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

A Goddess With Child
CONCOW MAIDU CONCEPTS IN THE ART OF ERIC WHOLLEM

This image is a detail from a larger work, entitled 'Birth of the Eyes
of Space,' a mixed media work on paper.

The title is derived from the Concow Maidu language. 'Nem' means
'big.'  'Oost' means 'belly.' And 'kollem' is 'woman.'

There is a large granite dome in Butte County, California, named by
the Concow Maidu: 'Oost Ho,' or 'Belly Rock.' It is a symbol of a
great Goddess in pregnancy. Traditionally the rock symbolizes both
birth and death, as the Maidu used to roll the bodies of the deceased
in baskets off this high granite dome that overlooks the Middle Fork
of the Feather River. This river is called Supi Poboku in the local
dialect.

The Concow Maidu have legends of the Great Women Spirits who
were creatrixes in the beginnings. Up on Indian Creek that flows
from Indian Valley in Plumas County there is a rock outcrop that
represents the menses of one of these Goddesses. This site is sacred
especially to the Mountain Maidu.

Some tribal leaders of the Maidu are women. Although the Kuksu
Secret Society was originally for men only, very frequently we find
women in the role of tribal leaders today.

_______________

Readers interested in my posts on the Maidu may want to view:

Much of my Goddess imagery is found in my Ceramic Sculpture. 'Nem Oost Kollem' is a work that was created shortly before I began my serious clay work in 1988. Through much of the 1990's my art was increasingly three dimensional. See my Goddess Art on this link:

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MYTHOGRAPHIC ART
Mixed media painting.
Abstract art.
Goddess.
Pictographic abstraction.
Mythology.
Maidu Indians.

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SUMI MAIDEM/ A pictographic image of Deer Man/ Concow Maidu Language/ MYTHOGRAPHIC ART/ Mixed media art by Eric Whollem/ EARTH PIGMENTS & gouache on paper



Sumi Maidem
1977
by Eric Whollem
gouache and earth pigments in casein on paper
7" x 9.75"
Collection of the artist
Copyright by the artist

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Deer Man

This painting incorporates earth pigments gathered in nature with
gouache paint. The title, 'Sumi Maidem,' translates into 'Deer Man.'
I utilized expressions from the Concow Maidu Indian language.
Sumi means friend in Maidu. This image is of a benign shaman.

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Readers interested in my posts of Abstract Art should view this link:

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

EARTH MOTHER
earth pigments on panel
by Eric Whollem


Those interested in my approaches to Pictographs and Petroglyphs should see:

BELOW IS A VIDEO
DEALING WITH
PICTOGRAPHIC ART

ERIC WHOLLEM                                


My posts on Shamanism can be found here:

Those interested in the Concow Maidu should view my posts:

BELOW IS A VIDEO
THAT TALKS ABOUT
CONCOW MAIDU INDIAN RELIGION

ERIC WHOLLEM                                

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MYTHOGRAPHIC ART
Mixed media painting.
Maidu Indians.
Abstract art.
Pictographs and petroglyphs.
FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION

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