Switch Owl- Ray G. Brown (Ink Print)
Our good buddy Ray Brown from Wesleyan is a London native. An extremely talent artist, Ray hand carved this owl print. Over time LUA will showcase some of the best Ray has to offer. We have one of his paintings hanging in our hallway. Please visit his website at: www.raygbrown.com. Some really impressive stuff. We wish the best of luck to Ray and can’t wait for his return across the pond. This will be the first of a series of Ray’s work.
This print is a favorite of mine, for some very special reasons. Hawaiian owls are part of my family amakua.
In Hawaii, from before the arrival of the first Polynesians, flies the short-eared brown owl, also named Hawaiian owl, or pueo. Like everywhere else, Hawaii gave the owl a special place in its mythology.
Pueo is sacred. The Hawaiian dictionary lists several meanings and connotations for the word itself: When a certain object or concept is considered important, more layers of meaning are contributed, each level unraveling deeper and deeper symbolic significance. Pueo doesn’t signify only an owl, but also denotes a taro variety, the staff of life. Throughout Hawaii, streets, areas, and valleys bear the owl’s name, with many such places having an intriguing legend attached to them. Pueo’s legacy reaches far beyond brown feathers into the realm of the spirit world.
On a more esoteric level, the pueo, with all its mysterious wisdom, a bird that flew over the islands well before the first Hawaiians sailed in, is among the oldest physical manifestations of the Hawaiian family protectors, the ancestral guardians, the aumakua. It was believed that after the death of an ancestor, the spirit could still protect and influence the remaining family acting through a body such as that of the owl, the shark, the turtle, or even the centipede. Each species channeling the ancestor held unique strengths. The owl as aumakua was specifically skilled in battle.
It is said that Hina, the mother of the god Maui, gave birth to a second child, in the form of the pueo. Later, when the brave Maui was taken as prisoner by enemies and held for sacrifice, brother owl rescued him and led him to safety.
