Goddesses: Fascinating & sometimes aged female ancestral figures
Our entire history is filled with gods and goddesses that populate our myths and stories to help us make sense of life. Exploring goddesses and telling their stories of course can’t simply be done in an article in a magazine. But we can at least get acquainted with some of them here as a jumping off point for more specific in-depth explorations. In fact you can read the story of Persephone aka Kore in a previous issue or listen to a podcast on the story here.
’otua fefine
Female figure known as ’otua fefine, Early 19th century
Ivory figures were venerated as sacred objects in the Ha’apai Islands of Tonga. This whale ivory figurine sculpture is one of sixteen female figures surviving in the world from this time (1868) and place. Almost exclusively female, the figurines are referred to as known as ’otua fefine, a term used to describe prominent female ancestors who were venerated as divine beings. Although the ivory used is from whales, Polynesian islanders did not hunt whales. Instead, when there were strandings on the reef. Sacred objects were kept with other sacred objects in specially constructed fiber god houses which acted as small shrines and taken out to be used in ceremonies. They served as the ‘hollow bone’ or channels a vessel or vaka through which the spirits of the ancestral gods could pass. Worn on ceremonial occasions chiefly by women as either as single pendants or as an element of a larger necklace.
Green Tara
From a Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita, a Perfection of Wisdom Manuscript, early 12th century, India (Bengal) or Bangladesh
A sacred image of Green Tara, holding a blue lotus, making the gesture of granting boons. Two female attendants are shown on either side of her. One attendant holds a ritual weapon known as a vajra. A vajra is also known as a Dorje and symbolizes a diamond’s indestructibility and the irresistible force of a thunderbolt. The other attendant is Mahakali, and she holds a flaying knife and a ritual bowl known as a kapala or an adorned skullcup.
Mahadevi the Great Goddess,
ca. 1725, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India
In this twenty-armed form, Mahadevi – the mother goddess, holds an array of weapons affiliating her with all the male gods. This iconography also associates her with Durga, the slayer of the buffalo demon Mahisha. Ultimately powerful and creative, Mahadevi is understood by her devotees as the true reality in the universe. As she was the protector deity of the ruling household of Bikaner, this representation would have had special significance for the court.Bikaner is a city in the north Indian state of Rajasthan, east of the border with Pakistan. Surrounded by the Thar Desert, the city is known for the 16th-century Junagarh Fort, a large complex of ornate buildings and halls. Nearby, the Karni Mata Temple is home to many rats considered sacred by Hindu devotees.
Dhumavati
Lithograph of an aged goddess, c. 1875–80, India, Calcutta
A Mahavidya, Dhumavati is one from a group of ten Tantric goddesses of Hinduism. Portrayed as an aged woman of profound wisdom her long hair frames her face, and the all-seeing third eye is prominent on her forehead. She represents the fearsome aspect of Devi, the Supreme Goddess, she holds and can reveal the ultimate knowledge of the universe which is beyond the illusory realms of the material world. She is associated with the crows shown here with her and funerary grounds.
Mami Wata
Sculpture of the African water deity Mami Wata, 1950s. Nigeria (Igbo), Minneapolis Institute of Art
Mami Wata’s name has more than one meaning and she adapts to a regions local beliefs and evolves with the time. Commonly thought to be a single entity, the name Mami Wata has been applied to several African water deity traditions across various cultures and can be gender fluid. Although “Mami Wata” can refer to both male and female deities, mostly they are thought of as feminine and usually take on a female form in artistic representations
The existence and spiritual importance of Mami Wata is deeply rooted in the ancient tradition and mythology of the coastal southeastern Nigerians (Efik, Ibibio, Igbo, Bahumono and Annang people). Mami Wata often carries expensive baubles such as combs, mirrors, and watches.
Mami Wata is often described as a mermaid-like figure, with a woman’s upper body (often nude) and the hindquarters of a fish or serpent. In other tales, Mami Wata is fully human in appearance – though never human. A large snake as a symbol of divination and divinity often accompanies her, wrapping itself around her and laying its head between her breasts. Other times, she may try to pass as completely human, wandering busy markets or patronising bars. The complexities are too great for this brief introduction to Mami Wata here, but if you haven’t met her before then I’m glad you were introduced to her here.
Goddess Tweret and an Aged Goddess
Aged woman, 664–30 B.C., Late Period–Ptolemaic Period
Represented as an aged woman with sagging breasts the figure is stooping and uses a cane for support. She was probably a goddess since the broken surface on the top of the head indicates this figure wore a crown.
Statuette of the Goddess Taweret, 332–30 B.C., Ptolemaic Period
The goddess Taweret is known as to protect pregnant women, especially during childbirth. An ominous figure she is meant to frighten away demons and other deadly creatures. Her features combine the attributes of four different species: human, hippopotamus, croco-dile, and lion. Her hand rests on the sa sign, a hieroglyph that means protection. The sun god Amun-Re was conceived of as having multiple divine mothers, and by this later period in Egyptian history, Taweret and the other hippopotamus goddesses were included in this body of solar mothers. Taweret was worshipped in both secular and sacred settings.
Astarte
Goddess: Astarte
Greek: Aphrodite
Roman: Venus
Etruscan: Turan
Mesopotamian: Ishtar
Sumerian: Inanna
Found in Arslan Tash and other sites in Mesopotamia and the Levant, this rectangular plaque is one of several variations of the “woman at the window” theme. The head of a female wears a cloth headband, sometimes adorned with jewels known as a diadem and loop earrings. She is surrounded on three sides by a frame and below her four columns. This plaque can be attributed to the South Syrian style which is a combination of North Syrian [the woman’s large, round face, large ears, small mouth and receding chin] and Phoenician [the short Egyptian-style wig] elements. There is no conclusive interpretation of whom these plaques were meant to represent, however, some scholars associate them with the Levantine goddess Astarte.
Isis-Aphrodite
Figure of Isis-Aphrodite, 2nd century A.D., Roman Period
Isis-Aphrodite, a form of the great goddess Isis highlights the fertility aspects associated with Aphrodite who was concerned with marriage, childbirth and with rebirth. Shown here with intricate accessories that include the calathos a the crown of Egyptian Greco-Roman divinities. Dating technology puts this piece in the Roman period, estimated at AD 150.
Aphrodite
Terracotta disk with Aphrodite riding on a swan, 4th century B.C. , Greek
Aphrodite was sometimes depicted with a swan, a symbol of good health, music, divination, and grace. In Roman times, Ovid and Horace in their works referred to the goddess in her chariot drawn through the air by swans.
What goddesses do you want to see here represented in art? Send requests to the editor at amy@themindfulsoulcenter.com.
