Totem Pole in Pioneer Square, Seattle, WA

How can one visit the Pacific Northwest and not take a photo of a totem pole? (True, Chicago has one located in a park on the Lakeshore, in the North Side neighborhood of Lakeview, as well as one in the Field Museum, but it's not the same thing.) I love totem poles and the mythical stories they relate. Walking around Seattle as much as I was doing, trying to get in as much as possible within a short timeframe, I didn't think to see if an informational plaque was provided at the bottom of this totem pole, but that should not stop us from enjoying its beauty.

Many types of birds are represented in the totem poles of the Pacific Northwest Native peoples, but I feel reasonably certain that the bird depicted above is that of a raven. I love ravens, which are also populous throughout the Southwest, especially in northern New Mexico, and feature in the mystical beliefs of the Native peoples there, but I especially love the trickster raven of Pacific Northwest folklore. Check out Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth and Art by Lewis Hyde, which is an excellent book I've read on the meaning of trickster myths in cultures around the world, including the Pacific Northwest raven myth.

The biodiversity of the land is represented here.

Here is an overview of the same totem pole, in the context of the park at Pioneer Square.

Greetings from the Dead (Grateful and Otherwise)

Day of the Dead Storyteller

Yeah, this is totally dorky on my part (but I am going to do it anyway!) Some of you might already know, but I have a love for and fascination with the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos). I also love Halloween. This Day of the Dead figure is also a Storyteller, which is a popular Southwestern Native American figure. Throughout the Southwest, you can find Storyteller figures on sale, especially at Native American arts and crafts stores. Originating from the Pueblo cultures, the Storytellers symbolize the oral transmission of traditional beliefs and rituals through the art of the narrative. While the Storyteller usually comes in the form of a human being, often a woman with children attached at her side listening to her narrative unfold, I have also seen Storytellers come in the form of animals. There is even a Jewish adaptation of this theme that can be found in some Southwestern art stores, with a Storyteller rabbi, complete with tallit and kippah and with children at his side, transmitting Torah to a new generation of Jews. Very cool.  I happen to like the Day of the Dead version myself, and with Halloween being today and the Day of the Dead also this week, I thought a photo of this was completely appropriate. Have a hauntingly happy Halloween and a festive Day of the Dead celebration.