For the last couple of months I have – on and of – communicated with Dalva Lamminmäki, a shamanic practitioner from Finland, who is now coming to Canada to visit and teach for a month.
Dalva’s Blog:
http://dalvalamminmaki.wordpress.com/
Her visit here has inspired me to reminisce about my own stay in Finland soooo many years ago >> see: https://shamanicdrumm.wordpress.com/2013/02/03/my-kalevala-summer/
It also encouraged me to create a special shamanic piece to commemorate Dalva’s stay here, the similarities of the rupestrian art (petroglyphs and pictograms) in her home land, my ancestral homeland, Siberia, and our chosen homeland Canada. Not only do we share similar – if not identical rock art / Medicine drawings, we also share a vision – as shamans always have.
Our stories and legends may be slightly different and now is the time to compare them and rejoice.
The shamanic piece that created itself through my hands is a Medicine Pouch in honour of the ancestors:
This is the Finnish/ Siberian site 🙂
… and here is the Canadian site 🙂
Medicine Pouch
“Symbols
of the Ancestors”
Deer-leather: Shishkeshkeshi, the Deer stands for Morning, East, Future, Love-magic, sexual attraction, poise and non-violent means of defence. Deer is grace, swiftness and gentleness It lives in the dawn of morning.
The Celts see the Doe quite similar as female allure and beauty
Reindeer and the mythical antlered Doe travelling the sky of Northern Europe and Siberia is a bringer of fertility and prosperity
Read more about it here:
https://shamanicdrumm.wordpress.com/2012/12/01/the-deer-as-medicine-animals-spirit-guide/
Deer antler with Sterling silver petroglyph design of Misquadey-she, Mother Earth the Turtle – from Peterborough Petroglyph Provincial Park
Bone carving of Migizze, the Eagle
Wolf fur – recycled from a fur coat given to me Maheengun the wolf stands for endurance, survival skills and family values
For the early hunter/ gatherers in Northern Europe and Siberia, the Wolf was the symbol of powerful Magic, strengths and the teacher of the hunt. From my Siberian indigenous Father’s side I am a member of the Wolf clan.
Rabbit -fur in honor of Nanabush/Nananbhozhou, the Rabbit-Man and trickster-creator of the Anishenabec People
In Celtic lore the Rabbit is seen as the familiar od Ostara, the Spring Goddess that comes forth on the spring Equinox, bringing fresh flowers, painted eggs and baby Chickens
In Siberia Kaltes is our Spring moon Goddess and awakens the frozen Earth to new life. She is always shown either as a Rabbit or with a Rabbit. Deer and also Rabbit is one of the main food sources for Wolves. 
Feathers:
Seagull – messenger of water spirits
Ruffed Grouse = drumming, chanting, ceremony
Hawk – East, morning, future, discernment, vision
Mallard Duck = Family values – In Finish creation legends the Duck laid eggs onto the knee of the primordial Mother of the Waters. One of them fell into the water and out of it the Universe was created
Crow = the sentinel, keeper of the sacred law of balance
Gichi Mooshka, the Heron -stands for order and patience, the pragmatist, leader of the Medicine Circle
Now a closer look at the materials used and close- ups of the 2 panels:
Top and bottom row: Mnemonics customarily drawn onto Sami and Finish drums
Moose: Sakatschi-Aljan, Siberia – showing ribs, innerts and life giving spiral/circle Energy
“Pipi”of Alta, Norway = female shaman with hanging breasts = after childbirth and braids, holding her wisdom
male with antler boats = Birch-bark scroll, Ojibwa
Hotah the Moose – gentleness and strength united within one person
Moose and boat – Lake Onega, Karelia, Russia – across the arbitrary border with Finland. Prehistoric Fino-Ugric boat glyphs often clearly show a large antlered Moose or Deer steering the boat.
Bear with Heartline – Bossecop, Alta, Norway
Elder of Astuvansalmi, Finland
… and here is the Canadian site 🙂
Top row: OjibwayBirch bark song scroll mnemonics: Latice grit = trance, Binese’e’ wok, the Thunderbird, Wolf Clan healer, Spiral of Life
Bottom row: Village, Gineebik, the Snake, shaman with drum, Mide’ leader, gathering place, People of the Pine =Haudenosaunee, Mohawk = 3 feathers, Sun, lightning bolt – Power
main panel:
Upper world- Middle World Lower World Shaman = Stone relief Tübingen, Germany (yes, 🙂 they had them as well!)
From Peterborough Petroglyph Provincial Park:
Birthing Woman, chiselled over a crack in the rock as if giving birth from it with water flowing from her yoni in early spring
Gichi Manitou – Great Spirit/ Great Mystery with enlightened Sun circle and Megis shell sign in head
Spirit Boat: Gichi Manitou and a shaman/ pupil are going on a trance journey (down the River of Life = arrow down) to find a cure to bring back to the peolpe
Nanabush/ Nananboujou, the Rabbit Man and culture heroe of the Anishenabe people
Ma-Qua, the Bear – strengths, goodness, self knowledge and healing with herbs. Circumpolar the Bear was highly regarded as the bringer of healing and herbal Medicines
Shaman with Otter Medicine bag (first year Midewewin teachings) Bloodvein River, NW Ontario.
Clearly seen on this petroglyph panel are the Spirit Boat beneath the shaman – looking identical to all the ones in Siberia, Finland and Karelia. Also again, Gineebik, the Snake – and a Porcupine, with needles were used for wound stitching and – decorating the Medicine Bags…
Bloodvein Otter shaman
When 18 years ago I did a shamanic journey to the shaman depicted on this panel, I learned a lot about the Ancestral spirits of the Land and was given a specific chant to sing, when needing to contact Gineebik. in her capacity as Guardian of the Land. It then to me were “strange words”
Only when I sang them to a hereditary Chief of the Anishenabe from Curve Lake reserve, he told me, that this was Ojibwa, what it means and that it was a Sacred song, that was old and very special, had been lost for a long time and I was not to sing it in “ordinary context“, just to my students and when doing “Medicine Work” He then asked me, if I would allow him, to “bring this song home to his people. Sure I said and taught it to him.
He then gave me a Tobacco Bundle with Eagle down in exchange.
Shamanic Drum 