"Woman plus..." Traces of Ancient Feminine Culture

TRACES OF ANCIENT FEMININE CULTURE

Olga Chugay

poet, historian, anthropologist

Ten years ago I happened to have a first close look at adornments Turkmenian women used to wear. I was greatly surprised to see how archaic-looking they were. Subsequently I started my collection which by now has grown to include numerous articles: traditional oriental women's dressings and jewelry, traditional Russian and Tadjik pottery and clayware. All these bear visible imprint of archaic religious cults that dominated there back in late palaeolithic and neolithic ages. Most people do not have a slightest idea about true implication of traditional embroidery patterns, stone ornaments, ceramic artifacts, and children's toys, and yet it can be easily traced back to primeval times beyond recall.

In 50's through 70's of this century, archeologists discovered numerous agricultural settlements of primeval people of palaeolithic and neolithic periods in South-Eastern Europe and Asia Minor. Excavations in Minor Asia revealed ancient farmers' towns that had already existed there seven or eight thousand years before Christ. By now similar villages have been discovered throughout the land spanning from modern Romania to North Italy and North Greece, and from Yugoslavia to Ukraine (Tripolye district of Kiev). Obvious cultural similarities, surprising identity of many religious and habitual features, major uniformity in ornamental patterns, all this clearly suggests that all these settlements must have been parts of one larger agricultural entity characterized by religious and cultural uniformity.

Certain facts indicate that neolithic religious cult had revolved around a person of the Great Goddess of Heaven. Depicted as a disk or a circle, she had been symbolizing the firmament and eternal cycles of Nature. Woman's capability to reproduce had reflected in ancient belief in immortality of womanhood. Male gods had been playing secondary role in ancient religions. They had been considered mortal, though sometimes capable of reviving themselves (i.e., Osiris, Tammuz, etc.). In course of eventual transformation of religious mind, the myth of the Great Mother giving birth to all being gave way to a concept of Divine Couple that had given beginning to the universe and every living creature. Heaven became being associated with masculine nature while feminine firmly located on the Mother Earth.

Now and then archeologists discover tombs of ancient agricultural races shaped in form like pregnant bellies. Entrance to such a tomb is usually vulva-like. Design of these graves reflects most ancient belief that, once back in earth, a person is no longer dead but on the way to a new birth. Another peculiar detail about these grave: no weapon has ever been found within.They may enclose variety of most different things -- ceramics, sculptured deities, spindles, looking glasses, beauty aids, adornments -- whatever you may expect but not a single piece of weaponry. Not before nomads you can find implements of war in ancient burials.

Nomads are mentioned here intentionally. It was nomadic tribes whose migrations in search for better grasslands resulted in their conquest, some two thousand years before Christ, of territories inhabited by ancient farmers and subjugation of those peoples. Under conquerors, farmers' life changed dramatically. Nomadic tribes of cattle-breeders used to measure virtue in terms of bodily force, fighting skills and warfare proficiency. Soon natives learned from nomads how to breed horses, make and use arms, fight wars -- and eventually themselves turned to be warriors making their living on spoils of war won from their neighbours. Alongside with cultural adoption of masculine force, old matriarchal type of relationship gave way to patriarchy and new religious beliefs better fit for it than those before.

We find those changes reflected in myths of later civilizations acquainted with writing. Goddesses that had been objects of worship for ancient farmers gave way to masculine deities, abated to respectively subordinate positions to male gods, and some of them even turned into negative characters. Researchers of antiquity report that more than once in human history loci of good and evil changed places. And that was the case after nomadic tribes conquered lands of ancient farmers.

Unfortunately, that epoch left us no textual artifacts. However, some messages have reached us through millennia. First, these messages include various symbols -- cross, triangle, eye, swastika and so on. Modern religions (Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism) along with surviving cults inherited these symbols that had originated in late paleolithic, matriarchal age.

From behind a clay figurine made in Ryazan few decades ago the same old serpent pops its head. Tall kokoshnik-like woman's head-dress counts many thousand years of history and its design never changed since then, and neither did that of the figurine shaped by Ryazan peasant artisan.

Ornaments used in traditional ethnic craftsmanship also keep their ancient semantics intact. From traditional folk artisans I learned that every ornamental element -- every single curve, ringlet, asterisk or fishbone pattern -- has its unique meaning: wishes of fertility, health, long life, rich harvest, good cattle-breeding, etc. Combining this information with data of archeological interpretation of ancient symbols we could probably read some of primeval ornaments.

Women's adornments are actually elaborate composition of amulets supposed to safeguard various body parts. All traditional dresses of Russian peasants have scores of signs symbolizing the Great Goddess on them. Wearing various embroideries, adornments, tattoos always implied protecting oneself from evil spells. Even pieces of clayware produced in Ryazan as recently as in 60's and 70's of this century look completely archaic. In fact, many of them are but copies of ancient idols of the Great Goddess and her numerous associates. Still, while in Central Asia folks keep memories of true meaning of messages from ancient past, Russians have lost it completely. Today craftswomen making toys have not a slightest idea of what their products actually designate. And yet their traditional art transmits from generation to generation the last traces of most ancient times. If properly studied, it may bring us much closer to understanding our far predecessors' vision of the world. And it is not improbable that this understanding might be of great help to modern humanity long out of peace and harmony with Nature.

Sacrificial goat that accompanied the Female Deity later on. They depict one of incarnations of her divine husband, the god of growth dying and resurrecting every year. Their bodies are covered with fishbone patterns -- signs of growth.

Clay rams covered with stars represent the Aries constellation -- heavenly personification of the husband of the Great Goddess.

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