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A Man Receiving Power from Two Spirit Animals

Wohaw Native American

1877

Not on view

In this drawing by renowned Kiowa artist Wohaw, the earth is portrayed as a solid mass of color that meets an open sky. At center, a man seeks supernatural guidance by offering two pipes in prayer, and a spirit buffalo and a spotted longhorn bull appear on either side of him. In answer to his prayer, the spirit animals breathe their medicine onto his head. The work has been recently interpreted through Kiowa voice as a representation of an Indian warrior who draws power from both the buffalo and domestic bull—blessings from two worlds.

A Man Receiving Power from Two Spirit Animals, Wohaw (Native American, Kiowa, 1855–1924), Graphite and crayon on paper, Kiowa — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: A Man Receiving Power from Two Spirit Animals

Artist: Wohaw (Native American, Kiowa, 1855–1924)

Date: 1877

Geography: United States, Oklahoma

Culture: Kiowa

Medium: Graphite and crayon on paper

Dimensions: Length: 8 1/4 in. (21 cm)
Width: 11 3/8 in. (28.9 cm)

Classification: Paper-Drawings

Credit Line: Missouri History Museum, Saint Louis (1882 018 0032)

Accession Number: SL.7.2015.53.3

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The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at The Met

The Met's collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America comprises more than eleven thousand works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present.