You've often heard me talk about my favourite matriarch. We are not related but she co-occupies that precious space in my heart reserved for the lineage of female wisdom keepers in our family.
She's an elder, yes, but neither aunty nor grandma would suit her, for being a matriarch is not measured by age alone. Grandmothers are warm and fuzzy and smell of cornmeal porridge and coco tea (mine did - may they rest in peace).
Matriarchs are all of that and then some! I use the term matriarch because it bestows a certain status which could be overlooked if they are slotted into the 'warm and fuzzy' recesses of our minds.
Matriarch
In truth, there are many matriarchs around me, including my mother. I feel a connection between my matriarchs and my inner being - a link which is commonly experienced but rarely articulated among women. The title matriarch speaks of understated grandeur. The notion of a matriarch is a ranking that has lost currency in our current day experience of womanhood.
The matrilineal society is now almost mythical, except for a few far flung places. In such communities, women hold the axis of power. Theirs was a community-based power accorded through lineage and inheritance. Much like the king or queen status, but not as individuals for there can be many matriarchs in one community.
My journey to the zone of matriarchy has helped me understand and appreciate our female elders more. Being the urban nomad that I am, my grandmothers were mostly a nostalgic reverie. As first-generation JA-Brits who grew up between the United Kingdom and Africa, our holidays 'back home' provided the all-too-rare chance to huddle up close to grandma's bosom.
The magic of her serenity and the way in which she just always knew what we needed on that deep soul level preserved grandma's image as a deliciously warming comfort.
Now, as a grown woman, scanning the contested ground of women's liberation, women's rights and issues of so-called equality, I seek the matriarch's voice. Not only as a voice of reason but as an anchor to the modern mindset.
Hers could tell us, remind us, of who women were back in the day. For now, as we navigate corridors of power in a corporate jungle, the steaming coco tea has been replaced by cappuccino.
No longer relevant
Does it mean that now we're all grown up and working, the world of our matriarchs and their deep well of wisdom are no longer relevant to our reality?
I wonder what our matriarchs would say to us and how we'd reshape our world on the backbone of their life stories? For, as we are constantly evolving and redefining our world, they, our matriarchs, could hold the keys we need to unlock our future.
Showing posts with label revolution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label revolution. Show all posts
Monday, September 14, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
The M (R)evolution
What is it about the M word – menstruation – that sparks fear and even shame amongst so many women? I’m talking about menstruation. It’s that special and spiritual time every month, when our spectacular female reproductive machinery cleanses and restores our internal incubator ready to nurture life.
The life force was in full flow last week as masses of women gathered at an expo designed to celebrate all things womanly. The annual Women’s Show in Joburg promised a fuschia-pink oasis of female-centric products, candid talks, and the latest innovations to super-size women to be even more phenomenal.
They delivered on their promise and more as an eye-opening experience that was tagged onto the fuschia-pink extravaganza revealed.
LIFE FORCE
This year, the organisers tagged on a mini-expo called the Natural & Organic show. Much the same set up, but the invitation was different. The recycled shopping bags they gave out said: ‘Go Natural & Organic or go home!’ – tongue- in-cheek maybe, but the witty branding speaks to a deeper connection that we are all aware of but often hide behind.
Women are a powerful life-force! The major earth shift that have manifested as a global ‘economic melt-down’ is a clarion call to men and women of the world to return to source – and fast!
So, as I moved through the tempting array of organic beauty soaps and healing products, I met the most amazing people. The hard sell typical of such expos was replaced by invigorating conversations about farming, plants, superfoods, solar energy and more. We crossed a bridge forging the life force connection between earth, choices and guess who – women!
Quietly nestling amongst the recycled packaging was an unassuming product called the menstrual cup. Made from silicone, it’s an alternative sanitary product that allows women to do away with tampons and pads and replace them with a menstrual cup that gently collects the monthly flow.
Statistics reveal that over 160 million tampons are thrown away in South Africa alone every month! When I consider the environmental impact of packaging and producing pads and tampons, not to mention the landfill sites, I’m compelled to connect with the life enhancing option offered by the menstrual cup.
We’ve been duped by messages of ‘convenience’ and modernity from disposable sanitary wear manufacturers for too long! Amongst the two m-cup products available in South Africa at the moment, I believe the Mpower menstrual cup captures the essence that women seem to continually strive for – power! It’s within us!
The life force in the earth was created by the ultimate power. In making empowering life choices, we can embrace the life force that flows through us as women and honour menstruation with grace and dignity. It is high time for the M (r)evolution!
The life force was in full flow last week as masses of women gathered at an expo designed to celebrate all things womanly. The annual Women’s Show in Joburg promised a fuschia-pink oasis of female-centric products, candid talks, and the latest innovations to super-size women to be even more phenomenal.
They delivered on their promise and more as an eye-opening experience that was tagged onto the fuschia-pink extravaganza revealed.
LIFE FORCE
This year, the organisers tagged on a mini-expo called the Natural & Organic show. Much the same set up, but the invitation was different. The recycled shopping bags they gave out said: ‘Go Natural & Organic or go home!’ – tongue- in-cheek maybe, but the witty branding speaks to a deeper connection that we are all aware of but often hide behind.
Women are a powerful life-force! The major earth shift that have manifested as a global ‘economic melt-down’ is a clarion call to men and women of the world to return to source – and fast!
So, as I moved through the tempting array of organic beauty soaps and healing products, I met the most amazing people. The hard sell typical of such expos was replaced by invigorating conversations about farming, plants, superfoods, solar energy and more. We crossed a bridge forging the life force connection between earth, choices and guess who – women!
Quietly nestling amongst the recycled packaging was an unassuming product called the menstrual cup. Made from silicone, it’s an alternative sanitary product that allows women to do away with tampons and pads and replace them with a menstrual cup that gently collects the monthly flow.
Statistics reveal that over 160 million tampons are thrown away in South Africa alone every month! When I consider the environmental impact of packaging and producing pads and tampons, not to mention the landfill sites, I’m compelled to connect with the life enhancing option offered by the menstrual cup.
We’ve been duped by messages of ‘convenience’ and modernity from disposable sanitary wear manufacturers for too long! Amongst the two m-cup products available in South Africa at the moment, I believe the Mpower menstrual cup captures the essence that women seem to continually strive for – power! It’s within us!
The life force in the earth was created by the ultimate power. In making empowering life choices, we can embrace the life force that flows through us as women and honour menstruation with grace and dignity. It is high time for the M (r)evolution!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Flowers of the (R)Evolution
An avid Flair Fe-Mail Ties reader, once chided me for undervaluing the youth of today. Just shy of her 20th birthday, she lamented the fact that I almost always place more value on generations gone by and traditions of old, and more often criticise modernity. Her stance was that young people today are doing the best they can and that they should be applauded for the strides they're making in these challenging times.
Pause point
As the first few days of the New Year roll by, her words echo in my mind. Word is that New Year resolutions are démodé; but nonetheless, the end of the year is certainly a pause point where it makes sense to stop to evaluate where we've come, in preparation for where we are going.
Amid the celebrations, I observed many well-intentioned people planting new seeds of hopes and dreams for the future. As the struck 12 on New Year's Eve, showers poured down on Johannesburg. As the good-wish SMS messages came in, many prayed that the rain would wash away all the bad memories of 2008, rinsing the slate clean for a new day. If you could start all over again, what would you change? How would you operate in the new day without the lessons of yesteryear? I always look to the past in affirmation of choices that I can make today with a view of tomorrow.
A few days into the new year, I hosted the first 'Earthseed Matriarch Dialogues' for 2009, where a group of Jamaican mothers and daughters gathered to talk about their evolution as women. As the circles of life from daughter to grandmothers spin, we searched for anchors which grounded our life evolution as women in the 21st century. These were always found in the past.
As we explored various facets of the journey to womanhood, we squirmed as our mothers shared with us how they handled their 'monthly' bulky squares of white cotton unimaginable in today's high-tech age of G-string shaped sanitary towels complete with wings!
Public exposure
As we considered the indignity of the public exposure of the squares on the washing line, we noted with reverence the dignity with which they shared their memories. We saw the joy in their faces as they described some of the tougher moments and the skills they have honed into nuggets of wisdom that only age and experience can bring.
So when we, 'matriarchs-in-training', some now mothers, spoke of our journey to womanhood, we all noted with interest the cyclical nature of life. Our challenges were their challenge, a different era, a different solution - or so some thought. We saw that from mother to daughter, those seeds of hope sometimes only blossomed a generation later.
So as we attempt to wash our troubles away, take time for a moment to consider the valuable insights those who have walked before us can offer. Take time to consider also that those bad experiences are the seeds which flower into your personal evolution. So let it rain and nurture but not wash away the seeds planted in celebration of life.
Pause point
As the first few days of the New Year roll by, her words echo in my mind. Word is that New Year resolutions are démodé; but nonetheless, the end of the year is certainly a pause point where it makes sense to stop to evaluate where we've come, in preparation for where we are going.
Amid the celebrations, I observed many well-intentioned people planting new seeds of hopes and dreams for the future. As the struck 12 on New Year's Eve, showers poured down on Johannesburg. As the good-wish SMS messages came in, many prayed that the rain would wash away all the bad memories of 2008, rinsing the slate clean for a new day. If you could start all over again, what would you change? How would you operate in the new day without the lessons of yesteryear? I always look to the past in affirmation of choices that I can make today with a view of tomorrow.
A few days into the new year, I hosted the first 'Earthseed Matriarch Dialogues' for 2009, where a group of Jamaican mothers and daughters gathered to talk about their evolution as women. As the circles of life from daughter to grandmothers spin, we searched for anchors which grounded our life evolution as women in the 21st century. These were always found in the past.
As we explored various facets of the journey to womanhood, we squirmed as our mothers shared with us how they handled their 'monthly' bulky squares of white cotton unimaginable in today's high-tech age of G-string shaped sanitary towels complete with wings!
Public exposure
As we considered the indignity of the public exposure of the squares on the washing line, we noted with reverence the dignity with which they shared their memories. We saw the joy in their faces as they described some of the tougher moments and the skills they have honed into nuggets of wisdom that only age and experience can bring.
So when we, 'matriarchs-in-training', some now mothers, spoke of our journey to womanhood, we all noted with interest the cyclical nature of life. Our challenges were their challenge, a different era, a different solution - or so some thought. We saw that from mother to daughter, those seeds of hope sometimes only blossomed a generation later.
So as we attempt to wash our troubles away, take time for a moment to consider the valuable insights those who have walked before us can offer. Take time to consider also that those bad experiences are the seeds which flower into your personal evolution. So let it rain and nurture but not wash away the seeds planted in celebration of life.
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