lili krakowski on sun 8 feb 04
Having read all the posts on the Fat Women in Ancient Clay, and having =
read Gimbutas and similar, I think we are assuming a lot.
Yes there is a bunch of figures of fat women. And we call them =
Fertility Goddesses. Exactly why?
Because TO us they suggest goddesses? And if they are rotund they have =
to do with fertility?=20
Some have suggested that fat women reflected well on the wealth of their =
husbands. I remember having read that force feeding women into obesity =
was, for some people, a way to make them less likely to run away. =
(Other charming folk used mutilation)
I just think "goddesses" very condescending and simplistic. Sorry. =
These figurines could have been simple amulets such as some little =
"Buddhas" and some fish. They could have had medicinal purposes: maybe =
warmed and put on a wound, or placed under or over a bed. Maybe they =
were some form of good luck charms....like rabbits feet.
My point is that we tend to assume "primitive" religions were more =
primitve in their views of the Divine than we, and therefore the =
simplest artifact must represent God.=20
Does that mean that in 3000 years when they find figa or a rabbit's =
foot, "they" will think them gods? I hope not.
To my way of thinking, the fat women may be anything from weights used =
as weights, to portraits of the Goddess. But until the Fat Lady sings =
we simply do not know.
Lili Krakowski
Be of good courage
Linda Ferzoco on mon 9 feb 04
Hi,
I'm a new member, a student ceramicist, and lurker. I'd not post except this one caught my eye. What ancienct people understood is that women with more fat on them were more likely to survive the winter and to both become pregnant and have an infant survive the first two years. Women can't become pregnant unless they have a certain amount of fat on board (witness female anorectics) and the baby won't be well nourished in times of famine unless mom has that fat to provide milk.
Unfortunately for me, the old laws no longer apply in the land of plenty and my fat is truly excess.
Cheers, Linda in California
lili krakowski wrote:
Having read all the posts on the Fat Women in Ancient Clay, and having read Gimbutas and similar, I think we are assuming a lot.
Yes there is a bunch of figures of fat women. And we call them Fertility Goddesses. Exactly why?
Because TO us they suggest goddesses? And if they are rotund they have to do with fertility?
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