July: Wrath and Intoxication

Most commonly described as the daughter of Ra, the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet was a warrior, and her ruthlessness was feared. She is able to cause - or prevent - all forms of pestilence: natural disasters, epidemics, famine. Her particular association with illness and its cure gives her an authority over those who practice medicine, the skilled physicians and healers of Egypt.

Don't go to her for mercy and kindness. She's not going to coddle you, unless you are the infant Horus, whom she was charged to protect during his 'vulnerable infancy' in the marshes(1). She is said to have seven arrows, and destroys those who dishonor the gods, and those who refuse to live by Ma'at (I suspect that those seven arrows ARE the principles of Ma'at: truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice).

The story goes that Ra got to feeling neglected by humans, so he dispatched Sekhmet to deliver some punishment. Becoming a bit too enthusiastic, she began slaughtering people at random, until a plan was made to stop her: a field was flooded with Khakadi (a mix of beer and red color, to look like blood). She drank, and, becoming intoxicated, passed out; she had to be entertained with jokes and stories while recuperating from the hangover.

As the vengeful daughter of Ra, Sekhmet is essentially a Solar deity (masculine), rather than a lunar goddess. Atypically in this case, alcohol was the remedy, not the cause, of the slaughter, which was dictated and guided by an abusive patriarchal authority. When the Seven Arrows - the sacred principles of Ma'at  - are ignored, anger contaminates justice in the service of personal, selfish interests. Sekhmet makes a statement to us about the proper use of power, which here went terribly wrong, as it so often does.

But what were you expecting, from a woman who wears a cobra snake for a hair tie?

(1) https://henadology.wordpress.com/theology/netjeru/sekhmet/
https://krasskova.wordpress.com/2015/10/30/sekhmet-is-not-a-mother-goddess/
http://www.read-legends-and-myths.com/sekhmet.html

June: Intuition and Self-Sovereignty

A Luna moth rests on the fabric used to make Chinese shoes, of a fashion now banned: the cruel practice of foot-binding, gradually breaking the bones in a woman's foot until it achieves resemblance to a lotus flower. Crippling a woman was beautiful only for the man; a wife who could not walk on her own, requiring servants to help her, is a display of his wealth and status. The independence of a wealthy wife was crushed like the bones in her feet. She might well have wished to have been born into less 'fortunate' circumstances.

When survival depends on an abusive relationship, it is as if a woman is forced to wear invisible Chinese shoes. Even the mouth of the moon is covered, when one is in captivity.

The doors represent decisions, a destiny behind each. One of them leads out of the walled garden. A tenet of intuition (inner tuition) is that everything we need is actually here, now, in the present, and can be found by casting about in the landscape, both inner and outer. Colette, in her book The Vagabond, called this, "Chance"...the reliance on synchronicity for guidance.

 A gypsy, being free, throws flowers to the prisoners. When we penetrate more deeply into the book of life, we will release all our relatives from bondage. 

The portrait is My Sweet Rose, by pre-Raphaelite painter John William Waterhouse, circa 1908.

The Four Directions, Tonantzin, and Jesus Helguera

I've gotten hopelessly behind in my blogging (poor February was left out in the cold altogether, but I'll attempt to resurrect her). Meanwhile, this panel was inspired by my Latino friends, most of them female.

In the printed version, this calendar panel is titled, "It's Complicated - a woman contemplates the paradoxical pathways of her spiritual inheritance". It speaks to the complex genealogy of the Mestizos: the people whose roots are both indigenous and European. This is why we see a mixed metaphor in the image of the classic Virgin of Guadalupe. In the panel, she floats above the Kukulkan pyramid; her icon is decorated with indigenous glyphs. She is a bridge connecting the old and new cultures.

I was unable to locate the artist who built this image; I would love to credit that person, if anyone can inform me of its maker.

For many years I seemed to find work only in Latina-run public health education programs. I was given a rare glimpse into their world, seeing the day-to-day challenges, struggles with dominant mainstream institutions, and observing how cultural considerations influenced their decisions, their values, and their actions.

Those outside of the culture are tempted to lump them all together in one group, but on the inside, there are definite differences between Hispanic, Mexicano, Chicano, Latino.

Many of the Chicanos (those who have been here in North America for many generations) are now monolingual English speakers, and they mourn the loss of their Spanish tongue. Parents and grandparents discouraged its use, believing this would help their children better adapt. And yet, as I learned, Spanish is not truly their Mother tongue; rather it would have been Nahuatl, K'iche, or another of the more than 30 Mayan languages that can be traced back 4,000 years. Spanish is the language of their conquerors, who created the Mestizo people through intermarriage and, of course, rape - a primary weapon of war.

Why did I keep ending up in Latina-run agencies? What did I have in common with them? What I witnessed in the community that I came to know is an inner struggle between Catholicism and the earth-based spirituality of their ancestors from before the Conquest. Still today, they must individually reconcile this war in their DNA.

I finally had an epiphany about this: a similar war goes on in my own DNA. Within my blood are my Scottish ancestors (the ones I identify with, and LIKE to claim), AND the Anglo-Saxons who conquered them.

But for Latinos, the struggle continues externally as well. In Denver in 2009, a mural of Guadalupe which resided for decades inside a church named for her was painted over and hidden away by order of Father Benito Hernandez.http://www.westword.com/news/our-lady-of-guadalupe-church-members-fight-to-restore-mural-of-mexican-patron-saint-5882262

That conflict between Church and indigenous spirituality is articulated in the legend of the Virgen de Guadalupe, narrated here in the pure voice of a child:


A very quick summary is: the visions of the Virgin manifest to a humble Aztec man and he is the chosen vehicle to convey her messages to the authorities of the Church. He fully expects not to be believed because he is of the lowest class in Aztec society (macehualli), He implores Her to select a different messenger, but this request is refused.

His original, indigenous name, Cuauhtlatoatzin, means talking with eagles. 'Juan Diego' was the Christian name given to him by the Franciscan priest who converted him at the age of 51. His encounters with the sacred Virgen happened when he was 57, as he walked to Mass, a journey of over three hours.

In 2002, Pope John Paul II visited Mexico City to canonize Juan Diego, whom he describes as the "first indigenous Saint of the American Continent." Diego is a fascinating figure, and cultural history pivots sharply on this legend. "In accepting the Christian message without forgoing his indigenous identity, Juan Diego discovered the profound truth of the new humanity, in which all are called to be children of God."

I like that much better than another statement from the same website: "Consequently Guadalupe and Juan Diego...are a model of perfectly inculturated evangelization." That reeks of the same old Papal Bulls(sh*t) to me.
http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/2002/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_20020731_canonization-mexico.html

At least the Episcopalians have revoked the Doctrine of Discovery, even if the Vatican has not. This Doctrine (only one of the Papal Bulls) directly authorized the exploitation of 'whatever was found' in the New World, permitting the Europeans to seize indigenous lands and enslave The People. Good show, Christianity!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pope-francis-doctrine-of-discovery_us_56058eb9e4b0dd8503076c17 

But let me take a moment to offer special praise to the artist Jesus Helguera, who painted the incredible portrait anchoring the panel. His skill is stunning, his images breathtaking, and here is one that again references the history of conflict in the blood that is still being resolved, this mix of the indigenous and the newcomers.

Many Chicanos today are reaching back to their oldest and deepest roots - the ancestral tribes. They have resurrected old ways, like Aztec dances. They have revived and adopted practices from curanderismo, the ancient bush medicine. In their ceremonies, they pray with humility and reverence in the Four Directions.

Each Direction has its own properties, character, and purpose. East is of course for new beginnings, that we might start hopefully all our endeavors; the South is playfulness, children, joy, music, and fun; the West is where we let go of our regrets, our sorrows, and whatever no longer serves the best in us; and the North is spiritual guidance from our ancestors and teachers.

The Four Directions even contain a recipe for balance in dietary considerations. If I remember it properly, it informs us to eat 9% protein (North), 26% vegetables (West), 14% fruits (South) and 51% grains (East).

The Four Directions ceremonies always conclude with honoring of Father Sky and Mother Earth. I have come to love these ceremonies so much, because the Four Directions feels to me like an umbrella that we all stand under. Like the Rainbow Bridge and the Good Red Road, it is a metaphor of inclusion. And right now - and forever, while we're at it -- these are the most helpful metaphors we can embrace.

Guadalupe is also referred to as Tonantzin, an Aztec name for Mother Earth. Here she stands in my garden, just waiting for me to paint on her true colors.

and here is her prayer:

Mother Earth, Tonantzin

I'm sorry

Please forgive me

Thank you

I love you

Many thanks to my Latino/indigenous friends who have taught me, and given me these treasures to love. This panel is dedicated to you.


Happy New Moons,
Mrs. Kiva's Mom

April 2016 - The Cameleer

Most dictionaries give the definition of a Cameleer simply as "one who drives a camel". But more accurately, it is the person who is responsible for all the camels on a caravan. The Cameleer may even be the owner of all the camels, so of course this person has a profound interest in their well-being and care. The affection between this man and his camel is evident.

And why not? Along with horses, camels have been crucial partners for us, significantly enhancing our survival. They carry our burdens, endure grueling conditions, and they can also race. They are decorated and celebrated and fairs are held to trade, barter, and purchase them. Perhaps the most famous is the Pushkar Camel Festival in Rajasthan, India.

The decorative indulgence is stupendous.

Both of the patterns below, which were incorporated as design elements in the April panel, are from camels who were decorated for a festival. Henna is a favored method, and the camels often receive a 'haircut' as part of their grooming for the party. 

 

Those who decorate the camels are called 'beauticians'. There is great competition for the prettiest camel - perhaps because camels are slightly ungainly, in their natural state. They do, however, have incredibly long eyelashes. No mascara needed!

The festival is held at the time of the Kartik Purnima full moon. So if you want to attend, you must consult a lunar calendar! But what IS the Kartik Purnima?

It turns out that Purnima means simply Full Moon Day in the Hindu calendar, and it marks the end of the lunar cycle for that month. There is a belief that fasting that morning until the moon is sighted in the evening protects one from 'mood swings' and other vagaries of the full moon. On that day, Hindus worship Lord Vishnu in various forms and avatars, but the Kartik Purnima (in November) coincides with the Jain Light Festival and Guru Nanak's birthday, so it is also observed by Jains and Sikhs.
http:/www.mykundali.com/festival/purnima/#sthash.2vLz51IO.dpuf

I was inspired by this photo by Juliana Velez (about whom I can find next to nothing on the web) after hearing from a Kiwi Sufi friend
about a pilgrimage in which their Cameleer was a young woman.  When one of the camels became sick, she stayed behind to tend it, sending the rest of the group onward. This portrait of a young woman with an adored camel was the starting point for what the panel wanted to express.

As I began to excavate the story, an image of a Tuareg woman, found in my patchwork-style of searching the Web, 'asked' to be there. She was the first 'ancestor' to make her presence felt in the calendar - a placeholder for the quintessential Grandmother whose hard work leaves a legacy that bestows benefits on her whole family.

This magnificent woman captured me completely. She embodies her culture, the Tuareg of Mali, with whom I have felt an inherent resonance for better than 40 years. I seem to recognize their music, their jewelry, their design. The woman here feels to me like a Grandmother not by her age, but by her wealth - she has the bearing of a queen, a tribal matriarch, a woman of resources. She feels powerfully independent.

Tuareg horse blanket

Once I found her, I was off and running faster than a Tuareg camel race. All of the silver work in the panel is of Tuareg origin. A Tuareg horse blanket figures in the composition of the month's title. I love everything about this. 

I've understood for a long time that jewelry is the currency of nomadic people. You wear your money, just in case you've got to jump on your camel and make a sort-of-quick get-away. Considering the top speed of camels (40 mph in short bursts, or 25 mph for one hour), hope for a lot of notice prior to relocating.  Also, hope that your camel is female. The curious fact is that they are preferred for racing - the males are considered temperamental and difficult to manage. 

road trip with camel !

The piece below - a Tuareg medicine ring - completely fascinated me. Looks like a calculator of some kind. But most likely you need shamanic training to decipher these formulas!

design from a Tuareg medicine ring

For me, the message in this panel speaks to the importance of what we are given by our grandparents, as the most recent embodiment of our ancestors. From the Grandmother, my young Cameleer receives an honorable occupation. We all have an inheritance of some kind, even if not in material terms. We are lucky if we get to know and spend time with our grandparents. What we truly receive from them is a sense of the Family Soul that we will carry on with us.





The camel is known as the 'ship of the desert'. So where did these marvelous, useful creatures come from? If you said India, Arabia, or anyplace other than North America, you would be wrong.

Yep, you heard me right. Scientists had previously found evidence of them as far north as the Canadian Yukon, but the recent discovery of a camel leg bone on Ellesmere Island places them in the Arctic, not far from the magnetic north pole.

This Arctic camel lived 45 millions years ago, and those big flat hooves that travel well across sand were originally more like snowshoes. The hump didn't store water - it stored fat, allowing them to carry their own food supply, a biological strategy for surviving the long, cold winter: the Arctic experiences 24-hour darkness for nearly 6 months of the year.

3-toed horse

This original camel was 30% larger than the camels of today, and shared the terrain with badgers, beavers and deerlets (a prehistoric Bambi, I suppose) and 3-toed horses.

To me, there is something very bird-like about this 3-toed horse. Perhaps that accounts for the mythical Pegasus, a flying horse. Flying is something camels will never be imagined to do. You're better off with a flying carpet.

http://quatr.us/economy/camels.htm

Unexpectedly, the Arctic was warmer then than now, by 14 - 22 degrees. But that was before the last ice age, which this original camel did not survive. By then (about 4 million years ago) the camel had already found its way to more temperate climates.They migrated to South America, evolving into alpacas and lamas, and crossed the Bering land bridge into Eurasia, again making their way south.

Camels must have seemed every bit as good as a flying horse to those who took advantages of their useful qualities. For many - especially nomadic tribal people - the camel is the most important resource they have, and their survival depends on it. Thus, the Sufi parable about Tying the Camel:

An aspirant is traversing the desert to visit the Master. All along the journey, the aspirant is posing this question: When I arrive, do I tie the camel, or trust to God? The Master will be watching!
So as soon as the Master comes within view, the aspirant excitedly calls out, "Master, Master! Do I tie the camel or trust to God?"

The Master answers, you tie the camel. AND you trust to God.

In other words, we have our responsibility, and then we leave the results to the Divine. The camel can still be stolen, even if you've tied it. After we fulfill our tasks, the fate of our camel is in the province of divine providence. Possibly there is someone who needs it, or deserves it, more than we do. That is one of the biggest challenges for faith: continuing to trust in this Divine Compassionate Intelligence we call 'God', even when the outcome of a situation is not what we have desired.

Our inheritance may involve some burdens. Our fortunes may rise or fall according to what we've been given from the family we've chosen, But we still have a responsibility to the Family Soul - to convey it faithfully through our lives, relying upon its strengths, transforming its weaknesses if we can. It's our own origin story, that we fall back to in difficult circumstances. We're not unlike a camel, packing our karmic medicine bundle to our final destination.

Before I go, let me introduce you to my Grandmother. The thought of her inspires me still, to this day.

Leah Sturdevant Inglehart

Happy New Moons,
Ms. Kiva's Mom


Notes:
The modern business of racing camels has been transformed by the use of 'robot jockeys' - that can transmit verbal commands, from the trainers who drive alongside the race track, through a microphone, The robot jockey can even whip the camels. It certainly seems less than kind, but there are huge purses at stake,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ll4-OiLn4E&ebc=ANyPxKrod_1naIPtfefBMe_jkfj4AD16UStSRl2AW6RyUGSykHmp-haeN76EKPweiKrz_EQixad0YMXh-i5BVeHRfcgk_tJHxQ&nohtml5=False

Here's more of an old school camel race, with considerably more chaos. The 'starting line' is completely out of control.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=845X9JEGzsU&ebc=ANyPxKrod_1naIPtfefBMe_jkfj4AD16UStSRl2AW6RyUGSykHmp-haeN76EKPweiKrz_EQixad0YMXh-i5BVeHRfcgk_tJHxQ&nohtml5=False

http://www.history.com/news/giant-ancient-camel-roamed-the-arctic

https://rajasthantourismbuzz.wordpress.com/2013/02/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7327297.stm - Juliana Velez's photo in a BBC contest.

The Lonely Mermaid - March 2016

 March's calendar panel is called The Siren's Solitude. I very nearly titled it The Lonely Mermaid,  which is what she truly is; but, for whatever young girls (who adore mermaids) see this image, I wanted to make her alone-ness seem more of her own choosing. I don't actually know how mermaids feel about it.

What I do know is that few archetypes have cast a more enduring spell on our imagination than the Mermaid. She appears in countless cultural expressions, in all forms of media, and there is something about her that enchants us. So why ARE mermaids lonely?

Many know her as La Sirena, a character in the Lotteria cards (1). A Mexican game similar to Bingo, its 54 images rival the Tarot deck in their articulation of the human condition.

  

Her contemplation of a seashell is a recurring motif, as in the image that anchors the March panel. None of my internet searches have turned up the creator of this exquisite sculpture.(2)

Haitian Prayer Flag

The siren is also a favorite on Haitian prayer flags, where, adorned in sequins, she is frequently pictured blowing a trumpet of some kind.
Is this perhaps a further extension of the seashell? Conch shells are blown like trumpets in many cultures, from the Himalayas to the Yucatan.

vintage tattoo,
Barcelona

Mermaids were probably the original 'pin-up' girl for sailors - and are still providing a good living for tattoo artists everywhere. 

    

Tattoo from Illustrated Ink on Etsy 

The popular use of the term Siren to describe these images is a bit of a misnomer. But the shell 'trumpet' may be a subtle reference to the older, more threatening version of the mermaid: the true Sirens of Greek myth.

They are not half-fish, but half-bird, and they cause shipwrecks, delivering sailors to a watery grave through the seduction of their music - played on drums, lyres, and some sort of woodwind - sometimes resembling flutes, other times looking more like trumpets.  

Siren with a tambourine

Their very name has become synonymous with the wail that heralds alarm - a train, an ambulance, a tornado siren. Sirens mean danger.

Ulysses was lucky enough to be warned ahead of time by the indisputable Circe (an herbalist so skilled that she could transform her enemies into animals). He had his men fill their ears with wax and strap him to the mast, so that he could not be tempted by the irresistible enchantment of the Sirens.

Ulysses and the Sirens, John William Waterhouse, 1891 

Hercules and the Sirens, giovanino.deviantart.com

   Hercules had a similar problem   while sailing with the Argonauts, 

but fortunately the poet Orpheus was on board to 'drown out' the music of the Sirens with his own. 

Mermaids seem relatively harmless compared to Sirens. They are easier to 'cutie-fy' (per Disney, for example, or in this seemingly harmless songstress).

Candy Meyer, fineartsamerica.com

She is playing a guitar because there are no lyres in Mexico, ha ha.

Consider one of the world's most iconic mermaids, epitomizing the spirit of loneliness as she sits looking out on Copenhagen's harbor.

Her creator, the sculptor Edvard Eriksen, donated her to the city, after the 1909 performance there of a ballet based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson. 

In the story, she is a tragic representation of unrequited love:

Having fallen in love with a Prince who lives on land, she bargains with a witch to replace her tail with a pair of legs. In exchange for these legs, which feel to her like walking on swords, she gives her tongue - a very high price to pay. To pursue this love, she has chosen to live in constant pain, and has forsaken her own self-expression, as she is now mute.  Despite these sacrifices, she never marries the prince. 

One can't help sympathizing with her, but the story divulges to us a truth: any relationship that requires that you deny your self-expression, dramatically disguise yourself, or give up the means by which you propel yourself through life (that strong and beautiful tail might represent your skills, talents, or personal supports, such as friends and family) will have disastrous consequences. It will ultimately result in disappointment, abandonment, or worse, because when we alter ourselves to please another, an authentic relationship isn't possible.

Vintage tile from Iran

It's not for nothing that, in many images of mermaids, they are holding mirrors and combs. As humans, we have a genuine need for beauty. But we may be easily seduced by flattery, and men seem particularly vulnerable to this. The mermaid archetype serves the vanity of a man by showing him only a favorable reflection of himself --  she caters to how he wants to be seen, rather than revealing to him her own unique identity.

Mermaid combing her hair

John William Waterhouse

With such a flaw in the foundation, inevitably the center will not hold. To disguise oneself so dramatically for the sake of a relationship is an act of desperation, a silent declaration of one's own emptiness.

This amazing batik is the work of  Janet Searfoss, http://www.janetsearfossbatiks.com/

Indeed, the mermaid archetype is a cash cow, monetized by the constant call for women to hone their seductive skills. New techniques blare from the covers of magazines targeting women in places where they're most likely to be found, like the supermarket check-out counter. Sales of cosmetics in the USA are estimated, for 2016, to be over $62 BILLION; and in the UK, cosmetic surgery has become 'normalized' due to "increased availability, a rise in disposable income and social pressure." (3)  Women will spend hours primping for that chance to pimp the man, especially if he's a 'good catch' -- a term that originates with fishing!

Why do men fall for this? Maybe because the mermaid archetype presents itself as a non-identity that never challenges him. A woman without a tongue doesn't talk back, she only holds up a mirror. A woman can't run away on sharp sword-legs - she has given up her autonomy. She's highly controllable.

But there is an unseen danger for men in this kind of woman. She will cling to him, smother him with jealousy based in her dependence on him, and, as in the movie Fatal Attraction, pull him underwater into the dark drama of her own emotional instability. (4)

And mermaids seem to generate quite some resentment, perhaps towards the ability of women to deceive and seduce. The Little Mermaid of Denmark has been defaced and vandalized numerous times, so much so that in 2007 it was decided to move her further out into the harbor, where she'll be less accessible.(5)  Maybe they should consider installing a Siren. At least then, an alarm would go off.

But men are capable of similar deception, reflecting back to a woman only what she wants to hear. His inner feminine may seduce you, if his mother was a 'mermaid'.
It's all done with mirrors.

Gustav Wertheim, The Kiss of the Siren, 1882

image by Laurie Silva,
on fineartamerica.com

The unfortunate desire of men, for control over women by any means necessary, has been ubiquitous in recent centuries. It tempts them to embrace a mermaid -- or, to create one. I find myself reminded of the now abolished practice of foot-binding - the breaking of the bones in women's feet, so that the foot fits into a shoe smaller than any glass slipper. 

The inability to walk unaided characterized upper-class women in Japan and China, leaving these women literally hobbled, crippled, and stranded. Such disfigurations (the footprint was to expected to imitate a lotus flower) were a sign of status -- for the man. For the women, being wealthy was a life walking on sharp swords. Their feet resemble a mermaid's fin, something not human. It was this culturally imposed loss of autonomy, to which they were required to acquiesce, that inspired the June calendar panel - which we will come to soon enough, dear reader.

The opposite of the mermaid is a woman who is honest about who she is. At the core of that apple is integrity, and the courage, dignity, and response-ability inherent in self-sovereignty. She will tell you the truth whether you want it or not; maybe gently, maybe not. Hopefully you will not be transformed into an animal (that part's up to you). 

And, if that isn't what you're up for, you can always Go Fish.
But be careful what you wish for - you're liable to get caught yourself. 

As women, our own soul purpose has to be the defining compass of our lives, and should never be 'thrown over' - as in overboard, another sea-faring term - for the sake of a relationship. The challenge is to find a partner who does not subvert or interfere with our purpose, but enhances it, in pursuit of their own.

Then, mermaids will be only a decorative element hanging from the prow of a boat, and can be both nautical and nice.

Keep calm and sail the high seas ~
Ms. Kiva's Mom

Notes
1.) Lotteria was brought to Mexico in the late 1700's from Italy, where it originated in the 15th century.
2) I was disappointed to never be able to find any attribution to its creator, online If anyone has the information, I thank you in advance for informing me.
3) http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jun/28/cosmetic-surgery-normal-acceptable-face-womanhood
4) Walter Copland Perry observed: "Their song, though irresistibly sweet, was no less sad than sweet, and lapped both body and soul in a fatal lethargy, the forerunner of death and corruption."[11]
5) Notes on the Little Mermaid of Denmark
Wikipedia reports that this statue has been damaged and defaced many times since the mid-1950s for various reasons, but has each time been restored. In 2007, Copenhagen officials announced that the statue may be moved further out in the harbour, as to avoid further vandalism and to prevent tourists from climbing onto it.
❀ 24 April 1964 – the statue's head was sawn off and stolen by politically oriented artists of the Situationist movement, amongst them Jørgen Nash. The head was never recovered and a new head was produced and placed on the statue.
❀ 22 July 1984 – her right arm was sawn off. The arm was returned two days later by two young vandals.
❀ 1990 – another attempt was made to cut her head off, which resulted in an 18 cm deep cut in the neck.
❀ 6 January 1998 – she was decapitated again, the culprits were never found, but the head was returned anonymously to a nearby TV station, and on 4 February the head was back on.
❀ Red paint has been thrown on her several times, including one episode in 1961 where her hair was painted red and a bra was painted on her.
❀ 11 September 2003 – the statue was blasted off its rock, possibly with dynamite.
❀ In 2004, it was draped in a Burqa as a statement against Turkey joining the European Union.
❀ March 8, 2006 – a dildo was attached to the statue's hand, green paint was dumped over it, and the words March 8 were written on it. It is suspected that this vandalism has something to do with International Women's Day (which is on March 8).
❀ March 3, 2007 – the statue was again covered with pink paint.
❀ May 2007 – the statue was covered with paint by vandals.
❀ May 20, 2007 – it was found draped in a Muslim dress and head scarf.

Tlazo*Teotl : a classic case of character defamation

Woman,
as the magical door from the other world,
through which lives enter into this,
stands naturally in counterpoise
to the door of death,
through which they leave. 

Joseph Campbell, The Masks of God

 Tlazoteotl giving birth to Ceneteotl, the Divine gift of Maize (corn)  

Huasteca / Azteca / Toltec

Tlazoteotl intrigues me. I like her so much that I have given her the nickname 'Tlazo'. As snapshots from the continuum of the female psyche, mythological goddesses always give us clues about some essential characteristic of the collective feminine. Tlazo addresses one of our least favorites: the interminable duty of cleaning. 

If you don't think that cleaning is a inherent pre-occupation (meaning, it comes before all other occupations) of women, consider this advert for an event in London in 2002: 

Cleanliness, Dirt and Women's Roles

A one-day multi-disciplinary symposium for researchers focusing on the association of women with the concepts of cleanliness and dirt and their role in keeping bodies, clothes, homes, society and the urban environment clean from c1800 to the present day.

 Thursday 7th November 2002, 9.30 am - 5 pm
At The Women's Library, Old Castle Street, London E1 7NT
£20 including tea and coffee
       

Multi-disciplinary, you say? Do you mean what we already do at home: sweeping the floor and doing laundry while cooking dinner and giving baby a bath at the same time - after we get home from "work"?

 

We now learn that we are also held responsible for the cleanliness of "society and the urban environment". Gosh, we've got to get a plan to windex the street lamps in our spare time. We can figure it out at the Symposium - at least there, we're given tea.

Tlazo got a bad rap (a bad rep, you might say) from the Spaniards, who referred to her as The Goddess of Filth. This is not just inaccurate, it is also insulting, as she should more rightly be thought of as the Goddess of Cleanliness. She is often pictured carrying her escobas (brooms).

That thingy in her left hand must be the broom -  before the invention of broom-STICKS, apparently. Possibly the other item is a Swiffer Duster, an essential tool while giving birth. Man may work from sun to sun, but Tlazo works even with a baby still hanging from the umbilical cord. Dust never sleeps, you know. 

  

Trust the Euros to get it backwards, as they did with most everything in the so-called New World (it was only 'new' to them). So, where is Huasteca, exactly? That's actually new to me.

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Somehow, the Borgia Codex, where the stories of Tlazo, and many others, are recorded, is now in the archives of the Vatican. The Codex has been kept intact, and that's the best that can be said for its inequitable change in ownership. 

The Vatican acquired it from the estate of Cardinal Stefano Borgia, after whom it is named. Early on, Stefano developed an avid interest in history and became a collector of all manner of antiquities; his classical education was sponsored by his uncle Alessandro, the Archbishop of Fermo. But how did he get the Codex? 

Turns out he purchased it from one Alexander Von Humboldt, a Prussian geographer, naturalist, and explorer, who spent considerable time traveling in Latin America. Von Humboldt turns out to be somewhat brilliant, being one of the first to propose that South America and Africa were once part of the same land mass. 

Von Humboldt also resurrected the ancient Greek word KOSMOS as the title for his account of the journey, published in multiple volumes over a 21-year period.  In it, he sought the "unifying principles of scientific knowledge and culture", even suggesting a holistic perception of the universe as "one interactive entity". Now that's progressive (which is what we say when a European stumbles on to a concept that indigenous people everywhere have always known. Golly, we catch on quick, several thousand years later). 

Interestingly, Kosmos actually means "orderly arrangement" - even extending to the concept of  'decoration' -  from the Greek Kosmeo: to put in proper order. One of the earliest of human decorations was the practice of applying red ochre to the bodies of women, often done at the conclusion of the menstrual period to indicate that the woman was no longer 'dangerous' (i.e., bleeding). 

So powerfully did this blood strike terror into the hearts of men that any number of unspeakable consequences might befall them by coming into proximity with it. In one tradition, a woman who stays in the village during her period (instead of retreating to the Moon Lodge) could be blamed for anything bad that happened. Another taboo prohibits a menstrual woman from touching a corpse. Apparently we are even dangerous to people who are already dead.

So the red signal - the Kosmetikos - was very helpful. It kept the world in order, by signifying when a woman was 'safe', and a suitor could approach her without risk for paralysis or developing a hunchback. It worked so well that we still use it today - but now, we call it lipstick. Untold dollars are spent on 'Kosmetikos'!

What I know is this: there is no place on earth, where people are living, that you can go without finding some woman cleaning it up. We are all Goddesses of Filth, by this definition. So, we're putting in for a different job title, please - the Queen of Clean, the Empress of MessLessNess, or something catchy like that. Otherwise, you Spaniards can go windex your own street lamps, see? 

Happy New Moons,

Ms. Kiva's Mom

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