Next up for lunar faces | feminine divine is Hanhepi Wi, also called Hanwi. She is a moon goddess in Native North American religions, specifically among the Sioux and Lakota peoples. As a goddess of the moon she is intrinsically feminine and represents fertility, dreams, emotions, and transformations. She represents the rhythm of natural cycles. She is also the Goddess of motherhood, feminine power, and watches over women during their monthly cycle.

This was one of my favorite study sessions. Throughout this series, I’ve had friends and family pose as the goddess to give a more realistic body image and position. Through hanhepi I got to photograph a good friend while she was pregnant. It was a really beautiful moment and experience.

While researching this goddess I actually came across a lesson plan for Lakota elementary age students and it tells Hanwi’s story. It’s called “When the People Laughed at the Moon”. It’s a really powerful story, the main theme being jealousy. As a result the judgement given is the sun and moon can no longer share the same sky. If you’d like to read the lesson plan that shares the full story, check out https://www.wolakotaproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/01-Hanwi-Moon.pdf

Overall this piece was beautiful and powerful in the research but I found composing the work to be very difficult. So difficult that I put a pin in it to finish at a later time. Later turned out to be 2 years. In the end I’m glad I paused and came back to it because the finished product is so much better.