Peace Family,
Got this email and thought since I wore my white and gold Puma shirt today under this devouring Sun, (of which, I’m not accustomed to growing up in the mild-heated North), how befitting it is to pay homage to one of my favorite animal totems, the Panther aka Puma aka Leopard aka Jaguar in all respects to the varying feline species. I can’t help but to take the present while reaching back to the indigenous and ancient pasts, as a way of reconnecting ‘lost’ identities, lineage and legacies from generations and lifetimes.
One Love, Ria
——————————————————————————————————————————————–
NATIVE AMERICAN LEGENDS::CHEROKEE
The Underground Panthers
A hunter was in the woods one day in winter when suddenly he saw a panther coming toward him and at once prepared to defend himself. The panther continued to approach, and the hunter was just about to shoot when the animal spoke.
At once it seemed to the man as if there was no difference between them, and they were both of the same nature. The panther asked him where he was going, and the man said that he was looking for a deer.
“Well,” said the panther, “we are getting ready for a Green-corn dance, and there are seven of us out after a buck, so we may as well hunt together.”
The hunter agreed and they went on together. They started up one deer and another, but the panther made no sign, and said only “Those are too small; we want something better.” So the hunter did not shoot, and they went on.
They started up another deer, a larger one, and the panther sprang upon it and tore its throat, and finally killed it after a hard struggle. The hunter got out his knife to skin it, but the panther said the skin was too much torn to be used and they must try again.
They started up another large deer, and this the panther killed without trouble, and then, wrapping his tail around it, threw it across his back. “Now, come to our townhouse,” he said to the hunter.
The panther led the way, carrying the captured deer upon his back, up a little stream branch until they came to the head spring, when it seemed as if a door opened in the side of the hill and they went in. Now the hunter found himself in front of a large townhouse, with the finest detsänûñ’lï he had ever seen, and the trees around were green, and the air was warm, as in summer.
There was a great company there getting ready for the dance, and they were all panthers, but somehow it all seemed natural to the hunter. After a while the others who had been out came in with the deer they had taken, and the dance began. The hunter danced several rounds, and then said it was growing late and he must be getting home. So the panthers opened the door and he went out, and at once found himself alone in the woods again, and it was winter and very cold, with snow on the ground and on all the trees.
When he reached the settlement he found a party just starting out to search for him. They asked him where he had been so long, and he told them the story, and then he found that he had been in the panther townhouse several days instead of only a very short time, as he had thought.
He died within seven days after his return, because he had already begun to take on the panther nature, and so could not live again with men. If he had stayed with the panthers he would have lived.
Source:
http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/TheUndergroundPanthers-Cherokee.html
——————————————————————————————————————————————–
GIVE BACK::DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE
SAVE THE FLORIDA PANTHER
Dear Ria,
She was one of some 100 Florida panthers left in the wild — truly a rare breed. The young female lived in and around the wilds of the Big Cypress National Preserve and would have likely raised kittens in the area.
But a heartless killer ended this Florida panther’s life with a gunshot to the head.
With your compassionate donation of $25, $50, $100 or another amount, you can help bring the lawless panther killer to justice — and give Florida panthers a fighting chance against extinction in the wild.
Defenders of Wildlife and our conservation partners are teaming up with federal and state wildlife officials to offer a reward to bring the killer to justice in this rare and tragic poaching case. But we need your help.
For a limited time, your tax-deductible contribution will be matched by a generous matching grant from the Earth Friends Wildlife Foundation. This means your donation of $50 becomes $100, $100 becomes $200 and any panther-saving gift (large or small) will go twice as far for Florida panthers and other wildlife.
Florida panthers are one of the most endangered mammals on the planet. There are only around 100 panthers left in their only breeding range in South Florida — and they’re running out of room to live.
Sprawl and over development has squeezed the Florida panther to a fraction of its historic range. In these remaining places, panthers face a crisscross of roads and highways that form deadly barriers for these vulnerable cats. So far this year, seven panthers have been killed on Florida roadways.
Defenders is working on the ground to save struggling Florida panthers. Your generous donation today will also help us…
- Protect vital remaining habitat and ensure Florida panthers have wild places to live.
- Prevent terrible road deaths through smart transportation planning and wildlife-friendly road crossings.
- Build enclosures to protect people, pets and livestock from panthers and other wild predators.
- Educate the public about these struggling cats and help reduce conflicts between Florida panthers and people living near them.
Will you help us bring the Florida panther killer to justice and ensure that Florida panthers have a fighting chance to stay alive?
Thanks for your support to save these ultra-rare great cats. Our programs wouldn’t exist without your help!
 |
Sincerely,
Laurie Macdonald |
P.S. There are only around 100 Florida panthers left — please help. You can make your tax-deductible donation through our secure website. Or to contribute by phone, dial 1-800-385-9712.
Help Us Catch a
Panther Killer
A shot to the head ended the life of a young female Florida panther — we need your help to catch the perpetrator and save these rare cats from extinction.
YES! I want to help catch the shooter and give Florida panthers and other wildlife a fighting chance by doubling my donation through the Earth Friends Wildlife Foundation matching grant.
Please accept my donation of…
 |
$25 becomes $50
|
 |
$50 becomes $100
|
|
$100 becomes $200
|
|
Another Amount to Save Panthers doubles, too!
|
|
|
To help us raise vital funds to save Florida panthers and other wildlife, conservationists Rick Flory and Lee Robert’s Earth Friends Wildlife Foundation will match your donation dollar-for-dollar until June 17th
——————————————————————————————————————————————–
Panther Totem:
As to Indian myth, which most of the totems are taken from, Panther is feared and respected, and in some is regarded as the Protector of the universe. The Zuni believed that he ancient ones wanted the world to be guarded by those keen of sight and scent. The puma (the greatest of them) was the sentinel of the north (the most important position). The Miwoks believed him to be the ideal hunter, while the Apaches and Hualapais thought her wailing was the omen of death. In Navajo myth a hero was wounded by witch objects shot into his body. Puma extracts them and save his life. They also thought that the Puma benefited them by leaving the better part of the portion of its kill for the people to eat. Conversely the Papago and the later white settlers considered the cougar a flesh eating beast. The Inca hunted many animals in great round-ups where they would hunt the hunter. They found it much easier to catch bear and deer in the rounds-ups then panthers. To many Indian societies it was both a Totem and a source of help for hunting and warfare. In fact the Hopi and Zuni took carved mountain lions when hunting deer in hopes that they would be as good at it as the mountain lion was. In many cultures the puma was often deified for its ability to hunt.
Source:
(http://dana.ucc.nau.edu/djw2/panther.html)
Panther as a Totem
The panther is a very powerful and ancient totem. It is generally associated with a particular species of leopard or jaguar although the cougar is also referred to as panther. As with most of the large cats, the panther is a symbol of ferocity and valor. It embodies aggressiveness and power, but without the solar significance. In the case of the Black Panther, there is definitely a lunar significance. The panther has over 500 voluntary muscles that they can use at will. This reflects a lot about an individual who has such animals as totems. It reflects an ability to do a variety of tasks as he or she wills. It is simply a matter of deciding and putting to use those particular “muscles” – be they physical, mental, psychic, or spiritual. As a whole panthers are loners (solitary) although they do associate with others, they are most comfortable by themselves or within their own marked territory. They are drawn to those individuals who are likewise often solitary.
Of all the panthers, probably the Black Panther has the greatest mysticism associated with it. It is the symbol of the feminine, the dark mother, the dark of the moon. It is the symbol for the life and power of the night. It is a symbol of the feminine energies manifest upon the earth. It is often a symbol of darkness, death, and rebirth from out of it. There still exists in humanity a primitive fear of the dark and of death. The Black Panther helps us to understand the dark and death and the inherent powers of them; and thus by acknowledging them, eliminate our fears and learn to use the powers.
In China there were five mythic cats, sometimes painted like tigers or leopards. The black reigns in the north with winter as its season of power, and water it’s most effective element. This is the element of the feminine. This is the totem of greater assertion of feminine in all her aspects: child, virgin, seductress, mother, warrioress, seeress, old wise woman.
When the Black Panther enters your life as a totem, it awakens the inner passions. This can manifest in unbridled expressions of baser powers and instincts. It can also reflect an awakening of the kundalini, signaling a time of not just coming into one’s own power. More so, the keynote of the Black Panther is Reclaiming One’s True Power. In mythology and scripture, the panther has been a symbol of the “Argos of a Thousand Eyes,” who guarded the heifer Io who was loved by Zeus. After his death, the eyes were transferred to the feathers of the peacock. The panther always brings a guardian energy to those to whom it comes.
The panther has also been attributed to Jesus. In the Abodazara (early Jewish commentaries on the scriptures), it is listed as a surname for the family of Joseph. It tells how a man was healed “in the name of Jesus ben Panther.” Because of this the panther often signals a time of rebirth after a period of suffering and death on some level. This implies that an old issue may finally begin to be resolved, or even that old longstanding wounds will finally begin to heal, and with the healing will come a reclaiming of power that was lost at the time of wounding.
In the myths and stories of Dionysus the panther is a symbol of unleashing desires, and thus the awakening of the kundalini forces. The panther symbolizes a time of moving from mere poles of existence to a new life without poles or barriers. The panther in a Dionysic manner awakens the unconscious urges and abilities that have been closed down. It signals a time of imminent awakening.
To the Indians of North and South America, the jaguar especially in the form of the Black Panther – was endowed with great magic and power. The jaguar panther climbs, runs, and swims— even better than the tiger. Because it could function so well in so many areas, it became the symbol of mastery over all dimensions. To the Tucano Indians of the Amazon, the roar of the jaguar was the roar of thunder. Thus the Black Panther was the god of darkness and could cause eclipses by swallowing the sun. This reflects the tremendous power inherent within the feminine forces. To those with the panther as a totem, this power will increasingly be experienced. The Arawak Indians say that everything has jaguar. Nothing exists without it. It is the tie to all life and all manifestations of life (thus ties to the eternal feminine within all life). To them, becoming the man-jaguar was the ultimate shapeshifting ritual. The Olmecs created monuments to the jaguar, and the Aztecs and Mayans spoke and taught about the power in becoming half-human and half-jaguar. One who can become a jaguar is shorn of all cultural restrictions. The alter ego is free to act out desires, fears, aspirations. The Indian shamans would perform rituals to borrow jaguar power. One who could do such could do great good or great ill.
Nietzsche once said that “that which does not kill us makes us stronger.” It is this same idea that is awakened in the lives of those who open to the power of the panther totem. Those things of childhood and beyond that created suffering and which caused a loss of innate power and creativity are about to be reawakened, confronted and transmuted. The panther marks a new turn in the heroic path of those to whom it comes. It truly reflects more than just coming into one’s own power. Rather it reflects a reclaiming of that which was lost and an intimate connection with the great archetypal force behind it. It gives an ability to go beyond what has been imagined, with opportunity to do so with discipline and control. It is the spirit of imminent rebirth.”
Sources:
(Ted Andrews, “Animal Speak”: http://www.greatdreams.com/panther.htm)
http://www.wisdomportal.com/Poems2007/Panther-Mythology.html
