Historical Baggage History


I have been a researcher of ancient linguistics, writings systems, archaeology, archeoastronomy, paleo and comparative mythology for decades. In the years I was researching the book, The Worthless Deities of the Hebrew Text, I kept coming across information that was not fitting the traditional mould of history. Always curious and always following the rabbit trails, I noted these anomalies and set them to the side for further research. Soon that pile became a mountain and after I finished The Worthless Deities of the Hebrew Text, began looking into my anomalies. 

It became apparent that this research was more than some rabbit trails, it was a bloody, interconnecting rabbit warren, spanning thousands of years and covering continents. It changed my life and set me free, as a woman and most importantly as a human being. I had to do something about this, I had to share this data. As an artist, I decided to incorporate my research with my textile art and created Historical Baggage, a textile line of bags depicting the true history of women, from a time when they were equal, valuable.

Then one day, my eldest daughter came home and said, "Mum, we need to write a book about this." I knew immediately this was the next logical step. This is no longer a mass of data, for me, this is a revolution.

I am always looking word origins up and there is an interesting aspect to the word revolution. Vulva – derives from Latin vulva, earlier volva – referring to the womb, female sexual organ, literally a wrapper, from volvere which means to turn, twist, roll, revolve. Originally from PIE (Proto-Indo-European) base *wel- to turn, revolve. Revolution derives from Old French revolution, which comes from Late Latin revolutionem (nom. revolutio) -a revolving, this derives from Latin revolutus, revolvere -turn, roll back. Revolvere means turn, roll back, from re- back, again + volvere - to roll, turn. Literally, revolution means to turn back to the vulva, the female origins of life – the womb. If you think this far fetched, lets take a look at the ancient Sumerian.

In the ancient Sumerian texts are the reforms of Urukagina, from about 2300 BCE, after the patriarchal Indo-European invasions of the Akkadians. The reforms showed that the culture was previously matrilineal and communal - not the warmongering patriarchs. They speak of fruit trees and food from the lands that were for the feeding of those in need, which the later patriarchal Indo-European priests were taking for themselves (taxation and appropriation baby). The tablets mentioning these reforms speak of the ways that society existed in an earlier time, using the reform word “amargi”, which means freedom, literally return to the mother. 

The patriarchal Indo-European culture has enslaved women (and other men) for over 5000 years; portraying mothers as dragons and serpents to be slain; the sexual women into whores and prostitutes; the sages and wise women into crones and witches. Men who were not of the original genetic stock and/or did not desire to be misogynistic warmongers were also vilified, equated with the subjugated women. So what does it mean to be a woman outside of the misogyny of the patriarchally created images? You will see the real image of yourself, in the beautiful images of our ancestresses - the creatresses, the clan mothers, the artisans and wise women – the women before the vilification. We need to reclaim the beautiful imagery, symbols, terms and ideographs that spoke of our true essence, as women. We need to reclaim the equality between genders, and restore the egalitarian societies.

Revolution, or should I say, “Viva La ReVULVA!” 

 

Comments