These are some of the most stunning native California flowers. They are so hardy, they remind me of the “poppy” families version of a sunflower. They are giant “feel good” blossoms. I first really took them in, on a walk with an artist friend of mine, James “Jimmy” Hayward. He spoke of an American Indian Legend that explained why these flowers grew best on a western incline near a river bed, where they would get the afternoon sun. In his story, told over 10 years ago, I recall an Indian chief loosing his daughter on the river’s edge, and Matilija Poppy‘s grew in the footprints she left behind.
In my line of work, I hear many memories of flowers, often people have family flower stories that weave an event into a families oral history. I have always been conscious of these stories in my family history.
I found a couple of other stories on-line about Matilija, this one seems closest to the original one I heard.
“It is Amatil who laughs and beckons to you”, said our guide. “Who was she,” we asked, “Some Mexican senorita that used to dwell here?”
“No, senors, it was before the days of the Mexicans – ages ago, when Indians roved these hills. Her father was a great chief and very proud of his little daughter. But an enemy stole her from the canyon and she was never seen again. She grew up among strangers far away.”
“Her story was brought to the old chief, years after, by a wanderer from another tribe, saying that she pined away and died, but that she promised that her spirit would come back to the canyon to sing for him again.
“He used to sit alone by the stream to listen for her laughing voice, and the Indians called its waters ever after ‘Am atil haha’. The Spaniards have only changed the name a little, so it is ‘Matilija’, and up there you see the Sleeping Chieftain who still hears her happy laughter in his dreams.”
And click HERE for a more recent legend explaining the abundance of Matilija Poppies in Ojai California and a bit on how to grow them, from HGTV.com
Here is a Matilija I painted on a California map. The painting is being shown at The Gabba Gallery in Los Angeles. For information/purchase please contact Jason Ostro or Jaimie Becker at thegabbagallery@gmail.com. The Gabba Gallery Or you can always write to me here… andrealahue@gmail.com
Have a great day!
Related articles
- Trend Alert: Poppys And Daisys Are The “It” Flower Of Spring 2013 (kissmyfashion.org)
- Southern and Central California Wildflower Report 5/24/13 (naturalhistorywanderings.com)
Andrea LaHue aka Random Act 