#terra feminarum

[terra-feminarum]

When women weren’t oppressed

Recently I got a private message asking when there was a time in history when women weren't oppressed. So, when was it?*

*I’m not a historian and my knowledge of this subject is far from complete. I welcome additions, corrections and conversation. This is a subject where you will find contradicting interpretations and as far as I’m concerned, attempts to silence anyone who dares to suggest patriarchy isn’t inevitable. Vetting of information isn’t easy without a background in relevant sciences. This is not a comprehensive look into female-friendly cultures as I’m not an expert at all on this subject.

Men want us to believe patriarchy is inevitable

At lot of us take patriarchy for granted. It has always existed. The past was even more horrible to women than the present day, right? The cave-men grabbed women by the hair and dragged them to their caves to rape.

We tend to consider males aspiring towards dominance as inevitable and natural, an inherent part of the behavior of Homo sapiens males.

This view of the past benefits the patriarchy. If we believe women have it better now than ever before, we settle for what we have now. If we believe the patriarchy is the natural social order of Homo sapiens, we might be satisfied with small changes that give us some relative safety and don’t pursue true liberation.

Rape is not inevitable

Rape is one of the main ways men oppress women.

We take rape as inevitable. It’s not.

Among Mosuo people, where women are the heads of the households and inheritance is matrilinear, the concept of rape doesn’t exist. I’m by no means an expert on Mosuo culture, so feel free to correct me. As far as I know, they consider rape an absurd concept – or at least did in the past, as nowadays patriarchal mainstream Chinese culture has started to affect the life of younger generations.

Imagine a life where you can’t imagine rape more than you can imagine someone forcefully stuffing food in your throat, which would be a violent and completely absurd act. I believe countless of women have lived at places and times where rape wasn't a thing.

The past is re-written by men

In the 19th century it was surprisingly commonly believed humans had a matriarchal past, but at some point the idea was ridiculed to oblivion so that it was (is?) basically impossible to study that subject and be taken seriously in the academia.

Later, continuing to present day, signs of matriarchal societies tended to be ignored or explained away. In contrast, rule of men is often assumed in historical findings from very little proof.

This assumption hasn’t been always right. A sizeable amount of prehistoric graves, assumed to be of male rulers or hunters, have now been proved to belong to women. Just lately scientists have realized the whole assumption of only men being hunters in historical hunter-gatherer societies is false. Women hunted too, as much as men.

The problem with researching the past were women weren’t oppressed is that we have centuries worth of interpretations based on the biases of male scientists who saw their own patriarchal worldview reflected everywhere they looked. Their imaginations simply couldn’t (and can’t) stretch to understand anything else.

Minoan culture

Minoan culture is one example of misinterpreted ancient culture.

This Bronze Age civilization based on Crete revolved around women. For a long time, male scientist refused to understand what their discoveries meant. Meanwhile they were completely capable of interpreting similar art and other findings elsewhere as prove of male rulership. But when the findings pointed to female leaders, it was assumed to be symbolic.

An interesting detail from Minoan art is how men are depicted to be very athletic and always wearing very little clothing – a bit like women are today.

It took a long time before men admitted women held high positions in Minoan culture, when it was very obvious from the evidence, had they been able to admit it was possible. Men tend to interpret the evidence to support their idea of a man the provider, man the ruler. And even most women accept it as the truth.

The patriarchal household isn’t inevitable

We often take it for granted that the natural human family structure is a male-led nuclear family. In the recent past and still today in many parts of the world, women move to their husband’s household, therefore ending up lowest in the social hierarchy as they are surrounded with the man’s family. When everyone else is related to the husband, it’s clear they more often than not take his side.

This is hardly the only way to arrange a relationship between a man and a woman. For example, the Mosuo people have a thing called walk-in marriage. Households are organized around a matriarch and her offspring. Both sons and daughters stay with their mother. Men and women of course have relationships, but the men simply stay for the night with their loved ones and then return in the morning to contribute to their mother’s household. Traditionally men haven’t taken care of their own children, but the children of their sisters. This is a practice that’s common in female-centered cultures.

An another alternative is matrilocality, which I understand has been or is practiced within certain Native American people. In a matrilocal system, the husband moves to his wife’s household. I believe this in itself causes a very different dynamic than a woman moving to a man’s family – the whole family now looks after the wife. Would you abuse your wife if you lived in the same longhouse as her whole extended family?

Venus figurines & Kurgan theory

There are signs that at some point in the distant past, Eurasian culture was very woman-centered. Venus figurines, depicting old women, have been found all over Eurasia.

At some point the Venus figurines disappeared.

The archaeologist Marija Gimbutas (1921 -1994), whose work has been ridiculed and largely forgotten, proposed Kurgan theory to explain the prevalence of patriarchy in Eurasia. Kurgan culture originated at the Black Sea and they are assumed to be the first speakers of proto-Indo-European language.

It is assumed Kurgan culture was more violent and patriarchal and violently spread over other cultures that were female-friendly.

Terra Feminarum

A text written in year 1075 describes a Northern European area called Terra Feminarum, Women's Land. Terra Feminarum was described to be located east from the Swedes and west from Russia. It was told the residents were Amazons of the Baltic Sea. "When Emund, the king of the Swedes had sent his son Anud to enlarge his powers, he arrived by sea to Woman Land. The Women immediately mixed poison to spring water and this way killed the king and his army."

It seems likely Terra Feminarum was located in Finland and/or Estonia, where Indo-European languages were never adopted (re: Kurgan theory). Maybe this area was one of the last female-friendly cultures in Europe. This is pure speculation at this point. Our traditional cultures have been disrupted by Christianity and patriarchy.

It might have been Kaarina Kailo – a Finnish scholar in Women’s studies - who I think said something along the lines of her taking some liberties when interpreting our past. That sometimes her interpretations might be speculative to a degree. You know why? That’s what men have been doing the whole time. They take the proof of men’s societal power as granted, even when the evidence is scarce. If the scarce lines written of Terra Feminarum described rule of men, no one would doubt it was true. But now Terra Feminarum is a myth, not history.

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This was only the tiniest scratch to the subject and I hope others have more to add. I don't have time to write a more comprehensive piece.

It's often said patriarchy originated with agriculture and the concept of ownership. Whether that's true or not, patriarchy hasn't been here forever.

#matriarchy #patriarchy #feminism #terra feminarum

[womenaremypriority]

Here’s the list of my favorite radfem/adjacent accounts I promised!

This is based off posts and content, and not personal relationship, so please don’t get upset or assume anything specific. Also, tell me if you wish to be removed.

@woman-for-women

@kittyit

@she-is-ovarit

@femsolid

@nansheonearth

@terra-feminarum

@femmessias2

@djuvlipen

@spiderfreedom

@meanevilandcruel

@hadesoftheladies

I tried to select accounts with diverse opinions and experiences, who have a lot of good insight and knowledge, and who often post original content. Keep in mind I doubt I agree with everything they post.

Feel free to add on ☺️

#My post #radical feminism #radfem #Female solidarity #My bangers

[detransition]

I enjoy being a detrans woman. There are downsides, of course, but they're mostly about how I look.

I enjoy having experienced radical changes in my worldview and knowing I'm fallible yet capable of learning.

I enjoy having gained so much perspective on the world, on my thought processes and on my emotional processes.

I enjoy the self-knowledge.

I enjoy knowing I have always done my best to free myself, with the means and knowledge I had at the time.

I enjoy the connection to other women like me.

I enjoy contributing to the narrative we collectively build around this kind of female experience.

I enjoy being a woman.

I enjoy being the woman I am today, my personal values and choices enabled by living several years inside a male-looking cocoon in which I had the freedom to discard everything I had learned about womanhood, one thing after another.

I enjoy rejecting the patriarchal idea of womanhood.

I enjoy learning to accept loss, imperfection, and regret.

I enjoy shifting my perspective from monitoring myself and my looks to interacting with my surroundings.

I enjoy learning what it is to be an animal, a living body.

And I dare to say, I enjoy the stigma, the attempts to silence women like me, I enjoy the potential for societal change we hold in our hands because we are the ones to contradict both the new definition of womanhood and the old oppressive idea what women are supposed to be: we are trans and not-trans at the same time, we are or were dysphoric yet cis, we are "masculine" yet women. We don't fit the categories we're supposed to. We will raise questions just by existing. No one would hate us like we are hated if we didn't hold the power to change the narrative.

from terra-feminarum | thinking of detransition? you are not alone

#detrans #detransition #ftmtf #detrans ftm #detrans female #positivity #1st #actuallydetrans #actually detrans

[surpriserose]

had a terf in the notes of my um....bakugo abortion moodboard who had their follows public so heres a terf blocklist under the cut block and mark them on shinigami eyes 👍

@/letmywingsdown

@/destructrice

@/chihuahuagirlfriend

@/annoyingradfem

@/ourlesbianlives

@/radicalgraff

@/plantbastard

@/feminist-bitches-only

@/cartoonradfem

@/femcel42069

@/contraspem--spero

@/empress-hancock

@/lobotomyladylives

@/multiversegideons

@/womens-woman

@/draculafem

@/lesbienyu

@/cobra-anne

@/lycanthropicfemale

@/gougarfem

@/radically-exhausted

@/aa-terf

@/honoraryterfposts

@/covenlesbian

@/lavenderfem

@/cotarded

@/transmisogynyiscool

@/queef-theory

@/weebfem

@/hellanahmean

@/bettafem

@/gothiccqueen

@/littlegildedswallow

@/lesmiara

@/transwomenarestillmen

@/transmeowgynistic

@/mamaterf

@/son-of-hemera

@/mismanthrope

@/malesarecringe

@/haemosexuality

@/mugworst

@/kl-o

@/1-888-narcolepsy

@/almaisthinking

@/bolshefem

@/princesslampshade

@/certifiedwoman

@/itisthefunpolice

@/genderatheist

@/woman-for-women

@/bittern-badfem-harpy

@/allegedlyvirtuouswoman

@/evilterf

@/positive-radfem-confessions

@/winterxzreise

@/catgworl

@/spare-dignity

@/transphobia-is

@/captaincatlady

@/femaledracula

@/binary-warrior

@/ryangosling-gendercritical

@/wafflehousen

@/hera-isaway

@/heterorealism

@/ihatemenandtherearereasons

@/softbutchlesb

@/oncetherewereterfs

@/receptacleofthesun

@/terra-feminarum

@/oneofthosevilradfems

@/twansmisogynists

@/radfemfox4

@/a-toast-to-womanhood

@/daughtersofsappho

@/cyne-v

@/dolliepowder

@/betelguwuse

@/art-lover-genderhater

@/masqueofthefemdeath

@/chopnuts

@/radical-witchery

@/lesbianalecto

@/stupidtif

@/snowmanlez

@/yesfeministsarerad

@/siobhortion

@/emeritusprofessorofnothing

@/benyw

@/delicatefem

@/gaylesbianbisolidarity

@/e-e-el

@/ginger-fitzgeralld

@/parttimepup

@/women-can-be-masculine

@/baby-feminist

@/harrypotterfuryroad

@/freeblocklist

@/dilationstation

@/radicaltornado

@/insectfem

@/ellenthegenderous

@/sealsbian

@/ontologicalfemale

@/radrevoltz

@/radicaltorch

@/husbo-venus

@/goddess-of-my-ancestors

@/immortalfem

@/sexclassconsciousness

@/tarnished-but-soo-grand

@/coochiequeens

@/rose-teeth

@/amygdala-fem

@/feministevents

@/katell-radikal

@/sunrise-matriarchy

@/climbingupbestican

@/girlenemy123456

@/goodwife-two-shoes

@/gncenjoyer

@/irisintel

@/tinyangryflower

@/rad-sad-and-not-your-dad

@/abrikandilu

@/radicalroots

@/rad-ishfem

@/pajaritafem

@/brazenbutch

#did not get through the entire list i had to tap out ajkflndfbjal #blocklist #👍

[unhonestlymirror]

It's kinda sad that people learn that Lithuanian&Latvian are related to Sanskrit pretty closely and immediately assume Latvia and Lithuania could not be Terra Feminarum. And that farming&agriculture is the 100% sign of patriarchy, my dude, everyone wants to eat good food, and women are not an exception. Availability of good land is actually the main reason people constantly invade Eastern Europeans, and also the reason why there are so many strong women (men just die too much), and also the reason strong women often worship men here too (men just die too much), and also the reason why they raise sons who later become "household disabled" (men just die too much). Of course, every case is individual, but the point is that most people don't want their closed ones to die.

#i couldn't understand why Scandinavians and germans expanded on Eastern Europe until #i learned they eat a toast and a cup of cofee on breakfast... and consider it normal... it all made sense to me #Latvia #Lithuania

[ascendandt]

btw block @ rad-maleficent, radicalcoffeeclub, terra-feminarum, seperatismor, kova-luu and balkanradfem.

#reasons why should be obvious

[butchviking]

If u wanna discuss stuff like sex based oppresion with good faith and nuance insted of the unhinged radblr orbiters who will insult you constantly or make a circlejrk i recommend blogs such as shamelesslyunladylike, butch-reidentified, tejuina and terra-feminarum they r actually smart respectful and engaging

i already follow most of these ladies! well actually idk if i follow shamelesslyunladylike (i follow so many ppl) but i definitely know of her & see her around. the only one here i don't know is the last gal, who i will look up today. thank u!

i must say tho i almost never get insulted by radblr or orbiters on here - i used to sometimes but i haven't had that problem in aaages. generally i find ppl here are very understanding & wiling to talk

#ask #anonymous

[depresanesfreetime]

I launched the demo of Terra Feminarum. I haven’t even started the main plot...

the character designs...

It’s as if they wanted to attract the perverted male gamers (and a couple of clueless lesbian gamers) instead of... just gamers.

#terra feminarum #touhou #video games #getting serious is my hobby

[hardcoregamer]

Screenshot Saturday Featuring Treachery in Beatdown City, Driftlands, Many More

This feature pulls a dozen images plus a bonus from the pile as a small cross-section of the hundreds that are posted each week, trimming it down to a more manageable size but leaving far too many deserving candidates behind, because there’s far more to see than time or space to showcase it. 

Check them out!

http://www.hardcoregamer.com/2017/12/10/screenshot-saturday-featuring-treachery-in-beatdown-city-driftlands-many-more/282812/

#screenshot saturday #indie games #Waker #Pachacuti #Racing Apex #Treachery in Beatdown City #Worbital #Hounds of Valor #Terra Feminarum #Hardland #Driftland #Copy Kitty #1000 Button Project #The Midnight Show #Billie and Oscar

[evilisk-played]

Games in 2021, Part 2 (February to May)

I just haven’t felt like playing much this year TBH

= = =

Dynasty Warriors 3 (2001/2002) System: PS2 (Emulated) Genre: Hack N Slash / Musou Subgenre

Despite DW3 being the game of my childhood, and despite clocking about 30 hours of this game in February, I didn’t feel particularly compelled to write about this game. It’s just not that fun in 2021. At best, it’s a weird game that is somehow a huge improvement and not enough of an improvement on DW2.

Enter The Gungeon (2016) System: PS4 Genre: Bullet Hell / Dungeon Crawler

Picked this up for free on the PS4. It’s quite good! And hard. Definitely hard. I dunno what else to say... well actually. I do sometimes wish Enter the Gungeon wasn’t a dungeon crawler, bc some of these weapons are inspired. I’d love to play a spinoff that let you choose guns (instead of leaving it up to chance).

Touhou Kouryuudou ~ Unconnected Marketeers (2021) System: PC (Demo) Genre: Bullet Hell / Vertical STG

Finally checked this out. It’s also good. It’s also really hard. Dunno what else to say since this is just a demo... well I do like the card system. It easily made the Unconnected Marketeers demo the longest Touhou demo I’ve stuck with. 

I can’t wait for the full release in May.

Terra Feminarum (2018) System: PC (itch.io, Steam) Genre: Bullet Hell / Vertical STG

“What if Touhou but Finnish? And horny?”

...Okay, I’ll admit that description is a bit reductive. While it’s not wrong to call it “Touhou but with Finnish mythology”, or to point out that the character designs are really horny, the game has more going for it than that.

I think what I enjoyed most about this game is the Story mode. It still has the typical 6/7 stages that an Arcade-inspired shmup might have, but Story lets you run through each Stage one at a time, making it quite achievable to newbies.  The actual plot is interesting. I mean, I certainly enjoyed the Finnish mythology inspired characters... Even if the horniness made it hard to take the actual plot seriously (there’s this moment where you’re talking to an underworld maiden about the profoundness of human suffering and it’s place in the universe of Terra Feminarum... the person you’re talking to is wearing a transparent dress and  like HALF a leotard).

I will say, I really like the actual shooting system. There’s not really a bombing system, but there is a hyper mode that cancels bullets on activation, can cancel bullets again if you get hit, and lets you melt bosses with firepower with losing the score bonus. It does get to Len’En levels of imbalanced (for example, two characters get side abilities like “become invincible” and “destroy and freeze bullets”. The third characters gets nothing to work with. Also the scoring system seems busted) but it’s quite fun.

If you can stomach the designs, this is an easy game to recommend since it’s free on Steam

Bust A Groove (1998) System: PS1 (Emulation) Genre: Rhythm / Fighting Game

I wanted to confirm that this could actually run on my “new” laptop without the audio de-syncing. I ended up completing the whole game again (I say again, but I didn’t exactly “complete” it when I was a kid).

...To be honest, I don’t know how to talk about this game. This game was my childhood. More than that, this game practically shaped my tastes in gaming. In 2000 it was great, and in 2021 it still owns (IMO). Even though the gameplay is very, very simple (with winning really just coming down to “don’t mess up, or don’t mess up more than your opponent) the gameplay loop just works.

Even though the sequel probably wins out in sheer content, the original still can’t be beat when it comes to style or music.

Bust A Groove 2 (1999) System: PS1 (Emulation) Genre: Rhythm / Fighting Game

If I were to say I only discovered this game existed as an adult, would it surprise you if I said I didn’t like this as much? Because I don’t like Bust A Groove 2 as much. It sounds unfair and it is. I blame whoever the hell didn’t bring this game over here (Bust A Groove 2 never released in Europe).

To play Devil’s Advocate: this sequel does a lot right. There are nice quality of life mechanics (like an actual autosave system, or highlighting your button presses) and there’s an actual story (provided that your copy of the game wasn’t the American release). There are also extra play options (for example, you can play in the classic Bust A Groove 1 style, but you can also make things easier and harder). Unfortunately, these are the only unanimously good things there are about the sequel.

Everything else is a mixed bag for me. Let’s address the elephant in the room: Bust A Groove 2 cut characters. Not only did they cut characters, they cut *my* characters. I mean, I don’t miss Hamm; dude had a cool solo, but was lame in the English version and straight up gross in the Japanese version (and for that version of the game? Good riddance). But cutting out Gas-O and Frida? They fucked up with that. While I also don’t like the changes made to certain characters (like Kelly and Shorty), the cuts are egregious.

Then there’s the gameplay. It seems like an apparent improvement from a surface level, but they’ve tweaked mechanics in ways I dislike. Like I respect the sequel for giving characters unique movesets (in Bust A Groove 1, everyone had the same button presses, except for the Solo sections) but I dislike how they completely streamlined the movesets. There’s no choice anymore; instead of choosing between two routes, what you see on screen is what you get.

On paper, I get the change. In Bust A Groove 1, the meta could be boiled down to two aspects: don’t mess up, and always choose the highest scoring routes (the second route during main sections, and using secret / high score moves during solo’s). If you were serious about winning, the first option might as well not exist. So on one hand, I understand the streamlining. But on the other hand: this is also a dancing game man. Choosing the lower scoring route when you’re ahead, just to style on the other player, is part of the fun too.

Though I’m getting off-point; it’s not just about style. Bust A Groove 1 also had a mechanic that allowed you to skip over specific inputs. Let’s say that there’s this route that goes like this:

O -> down O -> left O -> up up O -> up down left right O etc.

You could actually skip over the first three steps if you wanted to. So long as you put in the correct inputs (and you’ve also followed the default route at the start of the song) and you can skip to “up down left right O”. This sounds all very pedantic but if you’ve played enough of Bust A Groove 1, you know how useful this system is (it’s one of the other big parts after the meta, along with using attacks to stall players from getting a full route or stealing a solo)

This is a lot of words to basically say: there’s less depth in the sequel. Bust A Groove 1 is very simple but there’s a surprising depth to its mechanics (specifically when it comes to the routing of stages). The sequel retains some of the depth (e.g. they made solo stealing a proper mechanic) but they streamlined the systems so much that gameplay is more about technical skill (i.e. just pressing the right buttons). It’s fairly obvious if you fight Bust A Groove 2′s secret boss; the difficulty is in doing 5, 6 button commands with the song’s BPM. It’s hard, sure, but it’s not the same as the original.

Aside from not liking the changes, I kinda hate how they handled the sequel period. There isn’t a definitive version I can just play like Bust A Groove 1; if you play it in English, you’re trading off the endings and the Japanese versions of the songs; if you play it in Japanese, you’re trading off certain quality of life changes (like colored inputs) and the English versions of the songs. It sucks that I have to switch between versions. Also let’s be real; the music in 2 just ain’t as good. Bi-O and Comet have good themes. The secret boss’ theme is a bop. Everything else is hit or miss (and even the hits don’t reach the highs of Bust A Groove 1).

Erm, but don’t get the wrong impression... I don’t hate this game. There are aspects I like about the game (certain characters and stages are impressive, some music is good, even if it’s not “I could listen to this track without ever getting tired of it” level of good). I didn’t hate my time with the game, and I could never say no to more Bust A Groove. 

I think this is just an example of my mind on “something I played as a kid vs. something I played as an adult”. I find it so hard to say anything meaningful about the original beyond “I love this so much” and so easy to actually analyze the sequel.

#bust a groove #bust a groove 2 #touhou 18 #enter the gungeon #dynasty warriors 3 #touhou kouryuudou unconnected marketeers #terra feminarum game #games i played in 2021 #games i played

[fondazioneterradotranto]

Nuovo post su https://is.gd/Utihiz

Quando l'Amazzonia era vicina a noi, ma c'è speranza ...

di Armando Polito

Vicina a noi Salentini, intendo dire, e andrò a dimostrarlo. Prima, però, vale riassumere ciò che di essa a tutti, o quasi, è noto. Che sia il polmone della terra attaccato da quel virus nefasto che è per il pianeta l’uomo  è un concetto da tutti accettato finché non si decide seriamente di porvi rimedio …, che il toponimo trae origine dall’idronimo Rio de Amaxones, nome dato al fiume dall’esploratore spagnolo Francisco de Orellana quando lo scoprì nel 1540, è nozione da tempo consegnata alla storia. Lo spagnolo doveva essere digiuno di mitologia, altrimenti non avrebbe messo in campo le Amazzoni (in greco Ἀμαζόνες (leggi Amazònes1) a lui evocate  dagli scontri avuti, secondo quanto riferì al ritorno in patria, con tribù locali di donne guerriere. Altrettanto noto è che l’etimo più ricorrente per  Ἀμαζόνες è da α- con valore privativo e μαζός (leggi mazòs), che significa mammella, in linea con le antiche testimonianze letterarie2  secondo le quali donne della zona del Mar Nero si mutilavano della mammella destra per tendere meglio l’arco,  ma in contraddizione costante con tutte le rappresentazioni artistiche dove il seno (e in particolare il destro) appare ben integro e fiorente.

Dettaglio di un rilievo con scena di combattimento tra un greco ed un’amazzone su un sarcofago da Tessalonica risalente circa al 180 d. C.

Per questo quell’α- secondo altri non avrebbe un valore privativo ma esattamente opposto, cioè intensivo, per cui  Ἀμαζόνες significherebbe donne dal seno fiorente.

Lo spagnolo aveva fatto corrispondere al salto all’indietro nel tempo un salto in avanti nello spazio, nel senso che, partendo da un etnico che aveva avuto il suo habitat originario nella regione del fiume Termodonte sulla costa meridionale del Mar Nero era andato a finire nell’America del sud con un idronimo che alla fine avrebbe dato al toponimo che designa il vastissimo territorio circostante, l’Amazzonia appunto.

Io col toponimo mi accingo a fare esattamente l’opposto. Ἀμαζονία (leggi Amazonìa) è il titolo di una delle opere attribuite ad Omero dalla Suda o Suida, una sorta di enciclopedia in greco del X secolo. Alla voce Ὅμηρος (leggi Òmeros) si legge: … Ἀναφέρεται δὲ εἰς αὐτὸν καὶ ἄλλα τινὰ ποιήματα· Ἀμαζονία, Ἰλιὰς μικρὰ … (Gli sono attribuiti anche alcuni altri poemi: Amazzonia, Piccola Iliade …).

Come nome di donna compare in un epicedio (epigramma funerario) di anonimo dell’Antologia Palatina (raccolta di epigrammi risalente al X secolo). È il n. 667 del libro VII: Τίπτε μάτην γοόωντες ἐμῷ παραμίμνετε τύμβῳ;/Οὐδὲν ἔχω θρήνων ἄξιον ἐν φθιμένοις./Λῆγε γόων καὶ παῦε, πόσις, καὶ παῖδες ἐμεῖο/χαίρετε, καὶ μνήμην σώζετ᾿ Ἀμαζονίης. (Perché gemendo invano state davanti alla mia tomba? Tra i morti non ho nulla degno di gemiti. Cessa e cessa di gemere, o marito, e state bene, figli miei,  e conservate il ricordo di Amazzonia)

Diodoro Siculo (I secolo a. C.), Bibliotheca Historica

II, 3 Τοῖς δ’ ἀνδράσι προσνεῖμαι τὰς ταλασιουργίας καὶ τὰς τῶν γυναικῶν κατ’οἴκους ἐργασίας. Νόμους τε καταδεῖξαι, δι’ὧν τὰς μὲν γυναῖκας ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμικοὺς ἀγῶνας προάγειν, τοῖς δ’ἀνδράσι ταπείνωσιν καὶ δουλείαν περιάπτειν. Τῶν δὲ γεννωμένων τοὺς μὲν ἄρρενας ἐπήρουν τά τε σκέλη καὶ τοὺς βραχίονας, ἀχρήστους κατασκευάζοντες πρὸς τὰς πολεμικὰς χρείας, τῶν δὲ θηλυτερῶν τὸν δεξιὸν μαστὸν ἐπέκαον, ἵνα μὴ κατὰ τὰς ἀκμὰς τῶν σωμάτων ἐπαιρόμενος ἐνοχλῇ· ἀφ’ ἧς αἰτίας συμβῆναι τὸ ἔθνος τῶν Ἀμαζόνων ταύτης τυχεῖν τῆς προσηγορίας.(Agli uomini [la regina delle Amazzoni] assegnava la filatura della lana e gli altri lavori domestici delle donne. Essa stabiliva leggi in base alle quali guidava le donne alla guerra e destinava gli uomini ad uno stato umile ed alla schiavitù. Dei figli ai maschi mutilavano gambe e braccia rendendoli inadatti alle necessità della guerra, bruciavano la mammella destra delle donne affinché non fosse d’impaccio durante gli sforzi del corpo)

III, 53: Φασὶ γὰρ ὑπάρξαι τῆς Λιβύης ἐν τοῖς πρὸς ἑσπέραν μέρεσιν ἐπὶ τοῖς πέρασι τῆς οἰκουμένης ἔθνος γυναικοκρατούμενον καὶ βίον ἐζηλωκὸς οὐχ ὅμοιον τῷ παρ᾽ἡμῖν. Ταῖς μὲν γὰρ γυναιξὶν ἔθος εἶναι διαπονεῖν τὰ κατὰ πόλεμον, καὶ χρόνους ὡρισμένους ὀφείλειν στρατεύεσθαι, διατηρουμένης τῆς παρθενίας· διελθόντων δὲ τῶν ἐτῶν τῶν τῆς στρατείας προσιέναι μὲν τοῖς ἀνδράσι παιδοποιίας ἕνεκα, τὰς δ᾽ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰ κοινὰ διοικεῖν ταύτας ἅπαντα. Τοὺς δ᾽ἄνδρας ὁμοίως ταῖς παρ᾽ἡμῖν γαμεταῖς τὸν κατοικίδιον ἔχειν βίον, ὑπηρετοῦντας τοῖς ὑπὸ τῶν συνοικουσῶν προσταττομένοις· μὴ μετέχειν δ᾽αὐτοὺς μήτε στρατείας μήτ᾽ ἀρχῆς μήτ᾽ ἄλλης τινὸς ἐν τοῖς κοινοῖς παρρησίας, ἐξ ἧς ἔμελλον φρονηματισθέντες ἐπιθήσεσθαι ταῖς γυναιξί. Κατὰ δὲ τὰς γενέσεις τῶν τέκνων τὰ μὲν βρέφη παραδίδοσθαι τοῖς ἀνδράσι, καὶ τούτους διατρέφειν αὐτὰ γάλακτι καὶ ἄλλοις τισὶν ἑψήμασιν οἰκείως ταῖς τῶν νηπίων ἡλικίαις· εἰ δὲ τύχοι θῆλυ γεννηθέν, ἐπικάεσθαι αὐτοῦ τοὺς μαστούς, ἵνα μὴ μετεωρίζωνται κατὰ τοὺς τῆς ἀκμῆς χρόνους· ἐμπόδιον γὰρ οὐ τὸ τυχὸν εἶναι δοκεῖν πρὸς τὰς στρατείας τοὺς ἐξέχοντας τοῦ σώματος μαστούς· διὸ καὶ τούτων αὐτὰς ἀπεστερημένας ὑπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων Ἀμαζόνας προσαγορεύεσθαι. (Dicono che nelle parti occidentali della Libia ai confini della terra comanda un popolo governato da donne e che conduceva una vita diversa dalla nostra. Infatti per le donne era costume occuparsi della guerra e per un tempo stabilito dovevano combattere mantenendo la verginità. Trascorsi gli anni del servizio militare si univano agli uomini per procreare ed esercitavano il potere e tutti gli affari pubblici. Gli uomini trascorrevano la vita in casa, come presso di noi le mogli, obbedendo agli ordini delle consorti. Non partecipavano al servizio militare né al potere né ad alcun’altra facoltà nelle cose pubbliche, da cui prendendo coscienza potessero opporsi alle donne. Alla nascita dei figli affidavano i piccoli agli uomini e questi li nutrivano con il latte e con gli altri alimenti come conveniva all’età dei bambini)

Quinto Curzio Rufo (incerta l’epoca in cui sarebbe vissuto, ma compresa tra il I e il IV secolo d. C.), Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis, VI, 5: Erat, ut supra dictum est, Hyrcaniae finitima gens Amazonum, circa Thermodonta amnem Themiscyrae incolentium campos. Reginam habebant Thalestrin, omnibus inter Caucasum montem et Phasin amnem imperitantem. Haec cupidine visendi regis accensa finibus regni sui excessit et, cum haud procul abesset, praemisit indicantes, venisse reginam adeundi eius cognoscendique avidam. Protinus facta potestas est veniendi. Ceteris iussis subsistere, trecentis feminarum comitata processit atque, ut primum rex in conspectu fuit, equo ipsa desiluit duas lanceas dextera praeferens. Vestis non tota Amazonum corpori obducitur: nam laeva pars ad pectus est nuda, cetera deinde velantur. Nec tamen sinus vestis, quem nodo colligunt, infra genua descendit. Altera papilla intacta servatur, qua muliebris sexus liberos alant: aduritur dextera, ut arcus facilius intendant et tela vibrent. (C’era, come sopra s’è detto, il popolo confinante delle Amazzoni che abitavano i campi intorno al fiume Termodonte. Avevano come regina Talestri che dominava su tutte le terre tra il monte Caucaso e il fiume Fasi. Questa, presa dal desiderio di vedere il re, uscì dai confini del suo regno e quando non fu molto distante mandò avanti alcuni ad avvertire che la regina era venuta desiderosa di conoscerlo. Subito le fu concessa la facoltà di venire, Comandato agli altri di star fermi, venne avanti accompagnata da trecento donne e, non appena fu al cospetto del re, saltò giù dal cavallo tendendo con la destra due lance. Non tutta la veste cinge il corpo delle Amazzoni: infatti la parte sinistra è scoperta fino al petto, le restanti parti sono coperte. Tuttavia l’orlo della veste, che stringono con un nodo, non arriva alle ginocchia. Un seno è conservato intatto per allattare i figli di sesso femminile. La destra viene bruciata perché più agevolmente tendano l’arco e scaglino le frecce)

Stefano Bizantino (probabilmente VI secolo d. C.), Ἐθνικά (leggi Ethnicà), alla voce  Ἀμαζόνες (leggi Amazònes): ἔθνος γυναικεῖον πρὸς τῷ Θερμωδόντι, ὠϛ  Ἔφορος, ἅς νῦν Σαυροματίδας καλοῦσι. φασὶ δὲ περὶ αὐτῶν ὅτι τῇ φύσει τῶν ἀνδρῶν διαφέροιεν, αἰτιώμενοι τοῦ τόπου τὴν κρᾶσιν, ὡς γεννᾶν εἰωθότος τὰ θήλεα σώματα ἰσχυρότερα καὶ μείζω τῶν ἀρσενικῶν. Ἐγὼ δὲ φυσικὸν νομίζω τὰ κοινὰ πάντων πάθη, ὥστ’ ἄλογος ἡ αἰτία. Πιθανωτέρα δ’ ἥν φασιν οἱ πλησιόχωροι. Οἱ γὰρ Σαυρομάται ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐπὶ τὴν Εὐρώπην στρατεύσαντες καὶ πάντες διαφθαρέντες, τὰς γυναῖκας οὔσας μόνας …. καὶ αὐξησάντων τῶν ἀρρένων, στασιάσαι πρὸς τὰς γυναῖκας, ὑπερεχουσῶν δὲ τῶν γυναικῶν καταφυγεῖν τοὺς ἄρρενας εἰς δασύν τινα τόπον καὶ ἀπολέσθαι. Φοβηθεῖσαι δὲ μή πως ἀπὸ τῶν νεωτέρων τιμωρία τις γένηται, δόγμα ἐποίησαν ὥστε τὰ μέλη συντρῖψαι καὶ χωλοὺς πάντας ποιῆσαι. Ἐκαλοῦντο δὲ καὶ Σαυροπατίδες παρὰ τὸ σαύρας πατεῖν καὶ ἐσθίειν, ἢ [Σαυροματίδες] διὰ τὸ ἐν τῇ Σαυροματικῇ Σκυθίᾳ οἰκεῖν. Ἔστι καὶ Ἀμαζονία πόλις Μεσσαπίας. Λέγεται καὶ Ἀμαζών ἀρσενικῶς. Λέγεται καὶ Ἀμαζόνιον τὸ οὐδέτερον διὰ τοῦ ι καὶ Ἀμαζονίδης. (popolo di donne presso il Termodonte, come dice Eforo, che ora chiamano Sarmati. Dicono che per natura differiscono dagli uomini adducendo a causa il clima del posto, come se fosse abituato a generare i corpi femminili  più forti e validi di quelli maschili. Io invece ritengo cosa naturale le caratteristiche comuni di tutti, sicché  la causa addotta è assurda. Ritengo più verosimile quella che adducono i vicini. Infatti dicono che i Sarmati da principio avendo combattuto contro l’Europa ed essendo morti tutti, le donne che erano sole …. ed essendosi gli uomini moltiplicati entrarono in competizione con le donne, poi, però, essendo più numerose le donne, gli uomini fuggirono in un luogo boscoso e morirono. Esse, temendo che ci fosse una qualche vendetta da parte dei più giovani, stabilirono il principio per cui le loro membra dovevano essere compresse e che tutti fossero resi storpi. Erano chiamate anche Sauropatidi per il fatto che mangiavano e si nutrivano di lucertole o [Sauromatidi] per il fatto che abitavano nella Scizia sarmatica. C’è anche Amazzonia città della Messapia. Si dice anche Amazzòne al maschile3 . Si dice anche Amazzonio neutro con (aggiunta di) i e Amazzonide.

Dove fosse con precisione l’Amazzonia messapica o con quale centro antico o attuale possa identificarsi io non lo e non so nemmeno se qualcuno si sia mai posto il problema. L’unica speranza è che qualcosa possa venire dagli organizzatori della prossima Notte della taranta che, apprendo, hanno l’intenzione di portare sul palco gli Indios dell’Amazzonia … (https://www.virgilio.it/italia/lecce/ultima-ora/notte_taranta_2020_con_indios_amazzonia-59744853.html). A quando gli Esquimesi?

_____________

1 In latino, con retrazione dell’accento,  Amàzones (per via di o greco che è breve), da cui la voce italiana.

2 In Περί ἀέρων, ὑδάτων, τόπων (Arie, acque, luoghi), attribuito ad Ippocrate (V-IV secolo a. C.), 17:  Ἐν δὲ τῇ Εὐρώπῃ ἐστὶν ἔθνος Σκυθικὸν, ὃ περὶ τὴν λίμνην οἰκέει τὴν Μαιῶτιν, διαφέρον τῶν ἐθνέων τῶν ἄλλων, Σαυρομάται καλεῦνται. Τουτέων αἱ γυναῖκες ἱππάζονταί τε καὶ τοξεύουσι, καὶ ἀκοντίζουσιν ἀπὸ τῶν ἵππων, καὶ μάχονται τοῖσι πολεμίοισιν, ἕως ἂν παρθένοι ἔωσιν. Οὐκ ἀποπαρθενεύονται δὲ μέχρις ἂν τῶν πολεμίων τρεῖς ἀποκτείνωσι, καὶ οὐ πρότερον ξυνοικέουσιν ἤπερ τὰ ἱερὰ θύουσαι τὰ ἐν νόμῳ. Ἣ δ’ ἂν ἄνδρα ἑωυτῇ ἄρηται, παύεται ἱππαζομένη, ἕως ἂν μὴ ἀνάγκη καταλάβῃ παγκοίνου στρατείης. Τὸν δεξιὸν δὲ μαζὸν οὐκ ἔχουσιν. Παιδίοισι γὰρ ἐοῦσιν ἔτι νηπίοισιν αἱ μητέρες χαλκεῖον τετεχνημένον ἐπ’ αὐτέῳ τουτέῳ διάπυρον ποιέουσαι, πρὸς τὸν μαζὸν τιθέασι τὸν δεξιὸν, καὶ ἐπικαίεται, ὥστε τὴν αὔξησιν φθείρεσθαι, ἐς δὲ τὸν δεξιὸν ὦμον καὶ βραχίονα πᾶσαν τὴν ἰσχὺν καὶ τὸ πλῆθος ἐκδιδόναι. (In Europa c’è il popolo degli Sciti che vive intorno alla Palude Meotica, differente dagli altri popoli e col nome di Sauromati. Le loro donne vanno a cavallo, tirano con l’arco e dal cavallo lanciano il giavellotto finché sono ragazze. Non perdono la verginità fino a quando non abbiano ucciso tre nemici e non possono convivere prima di aver compiuto i sacrifici previsti dal loro costume. Quella che prende un uomo per sé cessa di andare a cavallo finché non c’è la necessità di un servizio militare comune a tutti. Non hanno la mammella destra. Ad esse quando sono ancora bambine le madri pongono sul seno destro un arnese infuocato fatto di bronzo e il seno viene bruciato così da impedirne la crescita, per dare alla spalla e al braccio destro tutta la forza e l’estensione)

3 Da non confondere (perché tramandato con l’iniziale maiuscola, ma i manoscritti dettano legge fino ad un certo punto sulla distinzione rispetto alle minuscole) con il comune ἀμαζών (leggi amazòn), che significa alla lettera privo di pagnotta e per traslato uomo povero, avendo tutt’altra etimologia :da α– privativo+μάζα (leggi maza)=focaccia d’orzo.

#Amazzonia messapica #Armando Polito #Miscellanea #Spigolature Salentine

[detransition]

I enjoy being a detrans woman. There are downsides, of course, but they’re mostly about how I look.

I enjoy having experienced radical changes in my worldview and knowing I’m fallible yet capable of learning.

I enjoy having gained so much perspective on the world, on my thought processes and on my emotional processes.

I enjoy the self-knowledge.

I enjoy knowing I have always done my best to free myself, with the means and knowledge I had at the time.

I enjoy the connection to other women like me.

I enjoy contributing to the narrative we collectively build around this kind of female experience.

I enjoy being a woman.

I enjoy being the woman I am today, my personal values and choices enabled by living several years inside a male-looking cocoon in which I had the freedom to discard everything I had learned about womanhood, one thing after another.

I enjoy rejecting the patriarchal idea of womanhood.

I enjoy learning to accept loss, imperfection, and regret.

I enjoy shifting my perspective from monitoring myself and my looks to interacting with my surroundings.

I enjoy learning what it is to be an animal, a living body.

And I dare to say, I enjoy the stigma, the attempts to silence women like me, I enjoy the potential for societal change we hold in our hands because we are the ones to contradict both the new definition of womanhood and the old oppressive idea what women are supposed to be: we are trans and not-trans at the same time, we are or were dysphoric yet cis, we are “masculine” yet women. We don’t fit the categories we’re supposed to. We will raise questions just by existing. No one would hate us like we are hated if we didn’t hold the power to change the narrative.

from terra-feminarum | thinking of detransition? you are not alone

#detrans #detransition #ftmtf #detrans ftm #detrans female #actually detrans #actuallydetrans

[imperium-romanum]

Pliny the Younger | Mount Vesuvius Eruption, Part Two

C. Plinius Tacito suo s.

Ais te adductum litteris quas exigenti tibi de morte avunculi mei scripsi, cupere cognoscere, quos ego Miseni relictus - id enim ingressus abruperam - non solum metus verum etiam casus pertulerim. 'Quamquam animus meminisse horret, ... incipiam.'

Profecto avunculo ipse reliquum tempus studiis - ideo enim remanseram - impendi; mox balineum cena somnus inquietus et brevis. Praecesserat per multos dies tremor terrae, minus formidolosus quia Campaniae solitus; illa vero nocte ita invaluit, ut non moveri omnia sed verti crederentur. Irrupit cubiculum meum mater; surgebam invicem, si quiesceret excitaturus. Resedimus in area domus, quae mare a tectis modico spatio dividebat. Dubito, constantiam vocare an imprudentiam debeam - agebam enim duodevicensimum annum -: posco librum Titi Livi, et quasi per otium lego atque etiam ut coeperam excerpo. Ecce amicus avunculi qui nuper ad eum ex Hispania venerat, ut me et matrem sedentes, me vero etiam legentem videt, illius patientiam securitatem meam corripit. Nihilo segnius ego intentus in librum.

Iam hora diei prima, et adhuc dubius et quasi languidus dies. Iam quassatis circumiacentibus tectis, quamquam in aperto loco, angusto tamen, magnus et certus ruinae metus. Tum demum excedere oppido visum; sequitur vulgus attonitum, quodque in pavore simile prudentiae, alienum consilium suo praefert, ingentique agmine abeuntes premit et impellit. Egressi tecta consistimus. Multa ibi miranda, multas formidines patimur. Nam vehicula quae produci iusseramus, quamquam in planissimo campo, in contrarias partes agebantur, ac ne lapidibus quidem fulta in eodem vestigio quiescebant. Praeterea mare in se resorberi et tremore terrae quasi repelli videbamus. Certe processerat litus, multaque animalia maris siccis harenis detinebat. Ab altero latere nubes atra et horrenda, ignei spiritus tortis vibratisque discursibus rupta, in longas flammarum figuras dehiscebat; fulguribus illae et similes et maiores erant. Tum vero idem ille ex Hispania amicus acrius et instantius 'Si frater' inquit 'tuus, tuus avunculus vivit, vult esse vos salvos; si periit, superstites voluit. Proinde quid cessatis evadere?' Respondimus non commissuros nos ut de salute illius incerti nostrae consuleremus. Non moratus ultra proripit se effusoque cursu periculo aufertur. Nec multo post illa nubes descendere in terras, operire maria; cinxerat Capreas et absconderat, Miseni quod procurrit abstulerat. Tum mater orare hortari iubere, quoquo modo fugerem; posse enim iuvenem, se et annis et corpore gravem bene morituram, si mihi causa mortis non fuisset. Ego contra salvum me nisi una non futurum; dein manum eius amplexus addere gradum cogo. Paret aegre incusatque se, quod me moretur.

Iam cinis, adhuc tamen rarus. Respicio: densa caligo tergis imminebat, quae nos torrentis modo infusa terrae sequebatur. 'Deflectamus' inquam 'dum videmus, ne in via strati comitantium turba in tenebris obteramur.' Vix consideramus, et nox - non qualis illunis aut nubila, sed qualis in locis clausis lumine exstincto. Audires ululatus feminarum, infantum quiritatus, clamores virorum; alii parentes alii liberos alii coniuges vocibus requirebant, vocibus noscitabant; hi suum casum, illi suorum miserabantur; erant qui metu mortis mortem precarentur; multi ad deos manus tollere, plures nusquam iam deos ullos aeternamque illam et novissimam noctem mundo interpretabantur. Nec defuerunt qui fictis mentitisque terroribus vera pericula augerent. Aderant qui Miseni illud ruisse illud ardere falso sed credentibus nuntiabant. Paulum reluxit, quod non dies nobis, sed adventantis ignis indicium videbatur. Et ignis quidem longius substitit; tenebrae rursus cinis rursus, multus et gravis. Hunc identidem assurgentes excutiebamus; operti alioqui atque etiam oblisi pondere essemus. Possem gloriari non gemitum mihi, non vocem parum fortem in tantis periculis excidisse, nisi me cum omnibus, omnia mecum perire misero, magno tamen mortalitatis solacio credidissem.

Tandem illa caligo tenuata quasi in fumum nebulamve discessit; mox dies verus; sol etiam effulsit, luridus tamen qualis esse cum deficit solet. Occursabant trepidantibus adhuc oculis mutata omnia altoque cinere tamquam nive obducta. Regressi Misenum curatis utcumque corporibus suspensam dubiamque noctem spe ac metu exegimus. Metus praevalebat; nam et tremor terrae perseverabat, et plerique lymphati terrificis vaticinationibus et sua et aliena mala ludificabantur.

Nobis tamen ne tunc quidem, quamquam et expertis periculum et exspectantibus, abeundi consilium, donec de avunculo nuntius.

Haec nequaquam historia digna non scripturus leges et tibi scilicet qui requisisti imputabis, si digna ne epistula quidem videbuntur. Vale.

From Pliny to Tacitus.

You say that the letter which I wrote to you at your request, describing the death of my uncle, has made you anxious to know not only the terrors, but also the distress I suffered while I remained behind at Misenum. I had indeed started to tell you of these, but then broke off. Well, "though my mind shudders at the recollection, I will essay the task".

After my uncle had set out I employed the remainder of the time with my studies, for I had stayed behind for that very purpose. Afterwards I had a bath, dined, and then took a brief and restless sleep. For many days previous there had been slight shocks of earthquake, which were not particularly alarming, because they are common enough in Campania. But on that night the shocks were so intense that everything round us seemed not only to be disturbed, but to be tottering to its fall. My mother rushed into my bedchamber, just as I myself was getting up in order to arouse her if she was still sleeping. We sat down in the courtyard of the house, which was of smallish size and lay between the sea and the buildings. I don't know whether my behaviour should be called courageous or rash - for I was only in my eighteenth year - but I called for a volume of Titus Livius, and read it, as though I were perfectly at my ease, and went on making my usual extracts. Then a friend of my uncle's, who had but a little time before come to join him from Spain, on seeing my mother and myself sitting there and me reading, upbraided her for her patience and me for my indifference, but I paid no heed, and pored over my book.

It was now the first hour of the day, but the light was still faint and weak. The buildings all round us were beginning to totter, and, though we were in the open, the courtyard was so narrow that we were greatly afraid, and indeed sure of being overwhelmed by their fall. So that decided us to leave the town. We were followed by a distracted crowd, which, when in a panic, always prefers someone else's judgment to its own as the most prudent course to adopt, and when we set out these people came crowding in masses upon us, and pressed and urged us forward. We came to a halt when we had passed beyond the buildings, and underwent there many wonderful experiences and terrors. For although the ground was perfectly level, the vehicles which we had ordered to be brought with us began to sway to and fro, and though they were wedged with stones, we could not keep them still in their places. Moreover, we saw the sea drawn back upon itself, and, as it were, repelled by the quaking of the earth. The shore certainly was greatly widened, and many marine creatures were stranded on the dry sands. On the other side, the black, fearsome cloud of fiery vapour burst into long, twisting, zigzag flames and gaped asunder, the flames resembling lightning flashes, only they were of greater size. Then indeed my uncle's Spanish friend exclaimed sharply, and with an air of command, to my mother and me, "If your brother and your uncle is still alive, he will be anxious for you to save yourselves; if he is dead, I am sure he wished you to survive him. Come, why do you hesitate to quit this place?" We replied that we could not think of looking after our own safety while we were uncertain of his. He then waited no longer, but tore away as fast as he could and got clear of danger.

Soon afterwards the cloud descended upon the earth, and covered the whole bay ; it encircled Capri and hid it from sight, and we could no longer see the promontory of Misenum. Then my mother prayed, entreated, and commanded me to fly as best I could, saying that I was young and could escape, while she was old and infirm, and would not fear to die, if only she knew that she had not been the cause of my death. I replied that I would not save myself unless I could save her too, and so, after taking tight hold of her hand, I forced her to quicken her steps. She reluctantly obeyed, accusing herself for retarding my flight. Then the ashes began to fall, but not thickly: I looked back, and a dense blackness was rolling up behind us, which spread itself over the ground and followed like a torrent. "Let us turn aside," I said, "while we can still see, lest we be thrown down in the road and trampled on in the darkness by the thronging crowd." We were considering what to do, when the blackness of night overtook us, not that of a moonless or cloudy night, but the blackness of pent-up places which never see the light. You could hear the wailing of women, the screams of little children, and the shouts of men ; some were trying to find their parents, others their children, others their wives, by calling for them and recognising them by their voices alone. Some were commiserating their own lot, others that of their relatives, while some again prayed for death in sheer terror of dying. Many were lifting up their hands to the gods, but more were declaring that now there were no more gods, and that this night would last for ever, and the end of all the world. Nor were there wanting those who added to the real perils by inventing new and false terrors, for some said that part of Misenum was in ruins and the rest in flames, and though the tale was untrue, it found ready believers.

A gleam of light now appeared, which seemed to us not so much daylight as a token of the approaching fire. The latter remained at a distance, but the darkness came on again, and the ashes once more fell thickly and heavily. We had to keep rising and shaking the latter off us, or we should have been buried by them and crushed by their weight. I might boast that not one groan or cowardly exclamation escaped my lips, despite these perils, had I not believed that I and the world were perishing together - a miserable consolation, indeed, yet one which a mortal creature finds very soothing. At length the blackness became less dense, and dissipated as it were into smoke and cloud ; then came the real light of day, and the sun shone out, but as blood-red as it appears at its setting. Our still trembling eyes saw that everything had been transformed, and covered with a deep layer of ashes, like snow. Making our way back to Misenum, we refreshed our bodies as best we could, and passed an anxious, troubled night, hovering between hope and fear. But our fears were uppermost, for the shocks of earthquake still continued, and several persons, driven frantic by dreadful prophecies, made sport of their own calamities and those of others. For our own part, though we had already passed through perils, and expected still more to come, we had no idea even then of leaving the town until we got news of my uncle.

You will not read these details, which are not up to the dignity of history, as though you were about to incorporate them in your writings, and if they seem to you to be hardly worth being made the subject of a letter, you must take the blame yourself, inasmuch as you insisted on having them. Farewell.

Pliny the Younger, Letters 6.20 (Translated by J Firth, 1900).

#classics #tagamemnon #tagitus #history #ancient history #ancient rome #rome #ancient italy #italy #pompeii #vesuvius #mount vesuvius #eruption #volcano #volcanic eruption #79 ce #79 ad #ce #ad #24 august #august #pliny #pliny the younger #letters #tacitus #latin #latin language #translation #personal #primary source

[samdelpapa]

{Dei e Semidei | di Mauro Biglino e Francesco Esposito • Uno Editori Con la nascita della tradizione filosofica greca e l’avvento della cultura ellenistica, avvenne un inesorabile cambio di paradigma nella storia dell’uomo: ciò che un tempo potevano essere considerate cronache antiche tramandate per generazioni da tutti i popoli della Terra, iniziarono a divenire miti e poi leggende, per poi trasformarsi in storie di puro carattere educativo e sociale. Nessun testo fu esente da tale trasformazione culturale, neppure la Bibbia. Con l’avvento di Paolo di Tarso si volle presentare “il Gesù Cristo” come un semidio a cui bisognava rendere un unico culto. Il risultato fu una sempre più convinta demonizzazione (letterale e metaforica) degli dèi antichi, fino a trasformare Gesù nella più conosciuta formula de “la stessa sostanza del Padre”. Paradossalmente, però, gli dèi e i semidei non erano spariti: molti altri avevano solo cambiato aspetto e storia, continuando a mantenere la loro finalità cultuale con l’esercito dei santi. In questo libro scoprirai: come l’Antico Testamento venne rivoluzionato con la redazione della Septuaginta L’inserimento, forzato e puramente arbitrario, della lettura allegorica e simbolica per rimodellare i testi antichi I vecchi dèi diventano i nuovi santi cristiani … e molto altro ancora. Un libro di Mauro Biglino e Francesco Esposito. Autore: Francesco Esposito Esposito Francesco, Lamezia Terme (cz) classe 1986, si laurea in Scienze Filosofiche con una tesi magistrale sul De Cultu Feminarum di Tertulliano e la figura femminile nel cristianesimo patristico e nella società romana. Studioso di cristianesimo primitivo e pre-conciliare, dal 2013 cura una rubrica di approfondimento sui testi biblici assieme all’autore Mauro Biglino intitolata “Racconti dall’Antico Testamento”.} https://www.instagram.com/p/BxIPMgjgOuW/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1xfz8a4hpmx12

[patchoulism]

“ Terra Feminarum is a Finnish mythology themed Japanese style danmaku shoot ’em up. “ is one loaded sentence.

[kvenconnection-blog]

Notes by Sanna Korteniemi about the residency time in Vadsø, March 2017

Let's make some art about Kvens! Or... wait, it's not so easy. In which kind of context do we work within our project called “Kven Connection”? The general question is: How to make an art about others?

First idea: Kvens are Finnish-speaking people living in the Finnmark area. Second: something about Samuli Paulaharju. No, I haven't read Paulaharju's folkloristic tales, but I know his works, of course.

Third one: trips with family to Norway when I was a child. Norway was the closest foreign country, a good place for holiday trips. I know that Sweden is closer to Rovaniemi. But in my opinion there is not such a big difference between Finland and Sweden. As a child I’ve spent many summer holidays in Pello which is a municipality at the border of Finland and Sweden. There is the Torniojoki river on the border, called also "Väylä" (maybe “The Way” in English), and the river never divided but only connected people. Countries are different, but people are the same in many ways on the both sides of the river. I know that the Torniojoki river is familiar to many Kven people too. Many Kvens are from Torne Valley area, from both sides of the river. So I feel that there are some similarities between my background and the Kven history, language and culture. But is it enough? Could I say that I understand Kven people somehow? Is there any real connection between me and Kvens?

I started the project by reading books  for academic artists like me reading is the most natural way to get any information — so, let's go to the library first! Let's read about history and politics, about conceptions and statistics. Don't read so much about Paulaharju — it's too subjective, idealistic and imaginative. Statistics are objective as they are based on facts! Or... are they?

I learned something new about some words. The Finnish word “Ruija”, used for the Finnmark area, could also mean “Northern Lights”, like the old Norwegian name Haalogaland (Haleugir = High flames), which is the name of the area including Nordland, Tromsø and Finnmark.

An other interesting point is the term “Terra Feminarum” that originates from the medieval chronicle of Adam of Bremen (1073-76). It's possible that the “Land of the Women” refers to the Kvenland — or not. Maybe this connection is based on a misunderstanding, because the words “Kven” and Swedish “kvinne” (a woman) are so similar. But maybe we could use a little imagination. In the Finnish-Karelian mythology The North (Pohjola) was a matriarchal country led by the Matron of the North (Pohjolan emäntä). It's interesting that life in some Russian Karelian villages is still based on a matriarchal system! Is there some connection between Karelia and Kvenland?

If you have heard anything about Kalevala (the collection of stories from Karelian mythology collected and edited by Elias Lönnrot) you know the story about Sampo. The Matron of the North asked the smith called Ilmarinen to make “Sampo” — an object that could create happiness and richness. These elements: North, looking for happiness and better possibilities for life — isn't there a very strong connection to the history of the Kvens and the Finnmark area, the coasts of the Arctic Sea? Is the Kvenland the same land that the one of Sampo — the fantastic object embodying the hope for happiness, richness and a better life? Unfortunately, Sampo was broken and hidden, and nobody knows where it is now. Maybe deep in the Arctic Sea? Maybe now, when the climate is changing and the Iced Sea will be given up to the transnational corporations, it's time to search for Sampo again? But how does that end? Is Sampo actually the reason for misfortune and restlessness? Such interesting questions — and such ones for our time!

1.3.2017. Wednesday

Yesterday I left from Rovaniemi to Inari by bus. Today I continued the journey by a mail car to Utsjoki to Teno Researcher Center. After watching Iivo Niskanen's gold skiing I continued the trip with a researcher who works in Vadsø. The evening was turning dark when we arrived to Vadsø.

2.3. Thursday

I visited in the library and got a card, so that I can borrow books. Some notes: — is Kven language especially a spoken language? There are not so many books in Kven language.   — What position does the Finnish language has in relation to the Kven language? — Meanings of the term “Kven”. — Attitudes: a local language — thought to be “poorer” than the Finnish language? — Comparing the situation of the Kven language with the background of my own language history. The hidden (in the case of my family — my father is a teacher, as well as his father, and I think that the education is the reason why their spoken language turned closer to the standard written language) dialect of Torne Valley Finnish which is very close to Meänkieli (an official minority language in Sweden). The dialect in Torne Valley is still somehow the language of my heart — but to me it is more familiar from literature, rather as a spoken language!

3.3. Friday

In the Varanger museum Notes: — The building used to be the house of NRK. Monumental and pompous, the symbol of the power of the State of Norway. The symbol of Norwegianisation? — Local architecture versus national architecture like the NRK building, the church and so on. — Is the Immigrant Monument also the symbol of the power of the State?

7.3. Tuesday

I found a book called “Solgunni muistelee — Solgunn forteller” (Memories of Solgunn) There was a poem “Oma kieli”, The language of one's own.

“Taivas oon suuri Tätđet loistavat kirkkaasti maailman lapsille

Maailman lapset puhhuuvat ommaa kieltä --- Pikku Vili on kainulainen

ja hän puhhuu ommaa kieltä

Nyt hän ei tartte pölätä ette saapi sölkhään ko hän puhhuu ommaa kieltä”

I tried to translate it somehow:

|The sky is so wide Stars twinkle brightly to the children of the World

Children of the World speak the language of their own

--- The little Vili is a Kven and he speaks the language of his own

Now he doesn't need to worry to get battered when he speaks the language of his own”.

How true that is! I have heard many of this kind of stories also in Finnish Lapland. Too many painful stories (not only mentally, but also physically painful).

8.3. Wednesday

I drew a landscape from the window of the residency. On the picture I wrote the forecast information from yr.no, in Kven language — I understood it better than Norwegian or North Sami. 

— Measurement, monitoring, statistics. — Is it possible to measure a landscape? — Is it possible to measure experiences and emotions? — Is it possible to measure the meanings of the landscape?

Does the statistics tell the truth about the reality? Are the statistics objective? Lassi Saressalo explains in his study how the State of Norway gathered statistics about ethnic groups of Finnmark area. First there were three different options: are you Norwegian, Sami or Kven? But then they simply dropped out the question about the Kven background. During many decades there were only two possible ethnic identities: Norwegian and Sami. This is how the bureaucratic power and violence work! In Western countries we still believe that we are innocent, that we didn’t treat our minorities the same way than in totalitarian countries. The murder of culture happens somewhere else... we believe so strongly that we are on side of truth, there is a lack of words to describe the differences between the official and the “real” truth. For example, in Russian language this kind of separation is created by two words: the word “pravda” means official or common truth (based not only on facts but also beliefs and opinions), whereas the word “istina” means the “real” truth based on real facts.

My work deals with the difference between these terms, two kinds of truths: — the difference between official and actual reality; — the difference between the national and the local points of view; — the difference between knowledge and experience.

But how I could say (or show) anything true? Could I find the right answers? No, I couldn't claim that I understand or know anything about the reality of Kven / Norwegian Finnish people. But maybe I could ask something? Could I make some pictures about these questions?