Reclaiming the power of the goddess

Culture Matters

DARA E HEALY

Onile Odo re, Osun O!

Awa o room pon

Omo de o, Osun!

Onile Odo re, Osu O!

This is Osun, whose house is in the river!

We are childless, Osun!

We are sure you will give us children!

This is Osun, whose house is in the river!

MY grandmother drew much of her strength from Mary. Next to her prayer beads and church pamphlets was always her photo of Mary of Guadalupe, creased and worn from years of being clutched in fervent prayer.

She was a member of the “Confraternity,” a group which met regularly and was committed to charity works on behalf of the church. Once a week she would dress in white, tie her head and head down to the meeting with other ladies; in my eyes, a rather serious undertaking indeed.

As we come to the end of the month where we focus on various aspects of the female experience, how may we interrogate the way that women engage with the notion of spirituality and belief? How critical is faith to helping women navigate the challenges they face in the physical world? Has faith helped or hindered women’s connectivity to mental well-being, health, intimate relationships or sexual confidence?

Ancient belief systems contain a number of parallels in the way that goddesses or female deities are portrayed. For instance, in the Yoruba tradition, Osun represents fertility and sensuality, but her presence on the battlefield is necessary to achieve victory. In Ancient Egypt, women were deeply respected. Research shows Isis, Mut, Hathor, and Bast were exemplars of divine female energy. In Hinduism, Ganga Mai is venerated for the curative and healing powers of her water. She is essential for life and human well-being.

The dominance of Christianity during enslavement, indentureship and colonialism led to terrible ruptures in traditional belief systems. The damage was particularly stark during the conquest of indigenous peoples and enslavement. Still, the Africans managed to protect a great deal of their culture, often by pretending to venerate a god of the Christian faith while practising devotion to their traditional African deities.

Unfortunately, the resistance of enslaved Africans could not deter the missionaries and plantation owners from their objective, so Christianity became the dominant religious voice across the diaspora. As a consequence, the perception of the woman in faith also shifted from former ancient notions of power and sexual independence.

By the 1970s, feminists in the US and UK began challenging patriarchal or male-centric understanding of belief, particularly as it related to Judaism or Christianity. That is, they “began to examine traditional arguments for female subordination, deploring the exclusion of women from the ministry, and rejecting teachings that denied women's selfhood.”

Recent examinations of the image of Mary are an important addition to the scholarly work questioning how women are portrayed by various belief systems. Mary’s close relationship to Jesus has led to her being depicted as everything from a nun to a prostitute to the mother of his secret dynasty. As one writer observed, our continuing discomfort with Mary results in "…discrediting sexuality in general and disempowering women in particular.”

Is it possible for women to embrace their goddess qualities through faith? Is it possible to reaffirm their divine feminine energy, thereby reconnecting them to a celebration of all aspects of their womanhood?

These questions were recently amplified during our organisation's outreach to survivors of gender-based violence.

In many instances, women shut down their sensual side, focusing instead on the children, or simply survival. In one stark case, faith was a key factor in making the decision to stay in an abusive situation. Although she lived in terror for decades, the victim admitted that she felt “prayers could fix him,” only leaving when the abuse shifted to the children.

Soon we will commemorate Spiritual Shouter Baptist Liberation Day. In this religion, the “Mother” is one of the senior figures, said to be the “female counterpart of the Leader…who cares for other members of the church.” It is good to see women being respected and at the forefront of this belief system.

However, I would like us to continue the debate. Are we ready to allow women to reclaim all of their goddess power? Or are we still afraid of what would happen if we allowed their divine female energy to truly reign free?

These are not questions my grandmother could even comprehend. As we strive for gender balance and equality, it may well be the responsibility of our generation to discover the answers.

Dara E Healy is a performance artist and founder of the Indigenous Creative Arts Network – ICAN