The Bobcat in Native American Mythology

I posted this entry about the influence of the Bobcat in Native American stories and mythology in 2013. Since then it has been widely read by visitors of my blog from around the world. I received many comments and suggestions about things I might have missed in my description.

So, here is an update on how my painting was inspired by what I have learned about the Bobcat, the stealth cat I have seen in the American Southwest but never for too long before it disappeared in the desert brush or the dirt path of an urban setting.

… I was reading about Native American myths regarding the power of various animals and their interaction with human behavior and destiny. He raven, the coyote, the rabbit, the hawk and the lynx have their prominent places in all the stories and myths one finds racconted by various Native American tribes and Nations. These animals, mostly of the Southwest and Northwest, have anthropomorphic and also highly spiritual characters. They can be tricky, they can metamorphose into shapes and concepts, they can be loyal, and they can untrustworthy.

During my inquiry I discovered an animal I knew very little about – the bobcat. This crepuscular cat resembles the Lynx but I think is much more attractive both in appearance and in character. Indeed, while the bobcat is often depicted as a selfish, disdainer of rules and a renegade as the Hopi tribe describes it, others like the Zunis, believed that the bobcat has hunting secrets and prowess. Perhaps my favorite myth about the bobcat is Pawnee mothers’ approach – they wrapped their babies in bobcat fur so that celestial blessings may be bestowed upon the babies.

No matter what, like all cats perhaps, if a bobcat crosses your way, it is believed to be bad luck!

One of my first hare skin sculptures/painting was that of a bobcat. In fact the preserved skin had already the appearance of a cat – I just used the holes for eyes, painted what became its back, and use hare scapula en guise of ears. Here is that work:

And here us the detail:

While the hunting and survival skills of the bobcat are expected to be found in stories sometimes elevated to myth, but this spotted cat seems to go beyond the deserts of South and North Americas and hold spiritual and celestial powers. Indeed, in 1980 burial grounds along the Illinois River contained the full skeleton of a bobcat adorned with a necklace and fetishes. It seems that the Hopewell culture had buried the cat along with humans in belief of celestial blessings.

So, I was ready to paint, always with my painting knife on hare hide, a bobcat encompassing the anthropomorphic attributes described above. It had to have a human posture, perhaps be in a mood like a Native American Medicine Man or Spirit Talker reaching beyond what we know, and still have that cat like attitude of disdain to the rules and traditional thinking.

The photo on top shows that painting I did in 2013. Since I use a palate knife, the application of oil paint on the hare hide is irregular and often coarse. I was attracted to this kind of painting, called impasto after I saw the exhibit of Lucien Freud in Madrid more than a decade ago. Here is a close-up for the painting style and detail:

So, the bobcat is more mysterious than the lynx in the mythology that surrounds it in the Native American cultures as well as in South America. Perhaps it being smaller than a coyote, a lynx or a cougar (mountain lion) makes his prowess even more formidable.

And this brings me to my last update:

Two days ago, just after sunrise, I saw two bobcat kittens in my backyard. I had just come back from my morning walk with my dog, and he was now happy taking a nap. If not, the kittens would have had a tough time with him.

Contrary to the elusive bobcats I have seen before, these young ones were not as cautious as their mama would have wanted. So I was able to take a couple of pictures with my phone. I think their play is just adorable, although I am sure later on mama scolded them saying “You never pose for a man with a beard!!”

Here they are:

July 28, 2020

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2020