The Midnight Wings of the Raven at High Noon

 Since I became a resident of the Southwest, Native American folklore, philosophy and their influence on artwork have become one of my ongoing interests and fascination.

At the center of all the folklore are two animals that I see on a regular basis – the raven and the coyote. The open spaces of Arizona’s high desert are happily populated with coyotes, and the urban areas with the raven. The latter, a large bird with amazing intelligence, seems always around my house or the roads surrounding us. Its call, heavy yet gracious flight and night dark plumage lead me to read extensively about the raven in Native American cultures.

Magic is most commonly associated with the raven. And it is magic beyond our daily lives – the raven is believed to be the portent of messages from the cosmos. I have heard the raven be called a keeper of secrets, of being a healer, and foremost a creature of immense curiosity.

I experienced the latter character trait lately when two ravens decided to “test” if the builders of a new house had done a good job with the wrapping and insulation of the chimney. For more than half an hour two of them flew, dove upon and landed atop the chimney, then systematically tore every piece of wrapping and insulation and shredded them!

I took a few photos with my 1970’s Nikon F2 and Vivitar Series One 70-210mm lens of the same period. This one may have captured the metamorphosis characteristics of the raven as expressed in many a Native American folklore. It is a photo that, for me, captures more than a bird in flight: it captures a philosophy of change.

August 10, 2016

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2016

PS/ I have written about the raven and its role in the Southwest and Native American philosophy in previous post:

https://liveingray.blogspot.com/2016/01/tehachapi-and-surrounding-ghost-towns.html

https://liveingray.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-raven-in-native-american-cultures.html