Kanadi, “The Lucky One”
I started this piece back in October of 2020–which might give you an idea of how long these pieces can take. I’m very particular about how I produce these illustrations because I want to communicate parts of the story so you can see it echoed in the piece itself.
Red is an aggressive color in our tribe–we have the White Council who is in charge of peace times, and the Red Council, who oversees actions in times of war. So when I use the color I try to be very deliberate.
Kanadi was known as the Lucky Hunter. Whenever he was asked, he would go up the mountain with his bow, and roll away a boulder from the mouth of the cave. He would then call the animal out, cleanly killing it with one shot. (Note the single piece of white in the piece–the white arrow–for his merciful killing.)
Now, Kanadi had two sons that he had with his wife Selu. They were very mischievous and always getting into trouble. One day, they decided they wanted to know how to hunt. But Kanadi knew they weren’t ready and that their nature would get the best of them. He told them no.
So, when Kanadi set out next to bring game home, his sons decided to follow him. They followed him up the mountain to the cave and watched as their father rolled the boulder away. Out darted a large buck, who Kanadi killed with a single arrow. As the boys watched, he sang over the deer before picking it up and leaving back for their village.
The boys then decided to try and catch their own deer. Taking out the bows they had made themselves, they rolled the boulder away and out darted a deer. They shot, and missed, and it disappeared into the woods. Then, out came another, and another, and another. Then came the bears, the rabbits, the birds, and all the animals. The boys were so confused what was happening, they began firing arrows wildly, but only one struck a deer’s tail, flipping it up and where it as remained till this very day.
At this point, Kanadi had turned around and stumbled upon the chaos his sons had created. He was so furious, he gave a sharp, trilling whistle and from the caves came the insects. Bees, and wasps, mosquitos, and all the other insects. They fell upon the boys, biting and stinging until Kanadi was satisfied.
Once the insects had left into the world, Kanadi went up to his sons and told them they would now have to hunt their own dinner and could not rely on him. They would need to learn how to track and hunt the animal and learn their songs. This was a time of great chaos, as everyone in the village had relied on Kanadi for their meat. (For the animals, they were now at war with mankind, who hunted them viciously and with no understanding of how to properly hunt. This is why they are colored red.)
As for Kanadi, he left his village for the Darkening Land, where he has lived ever since with his wife Selu. My grandfather told me he sometimes leaves to walk the Earth, appearing to hunters in need or those with a kind heart, to show them the way to game.