There are many female gods recognized and honored by the tribes and Nations. Femaleness was highly valued, both respected and feared, and all social institutions reflected this attitude. Even modern sayings, such as the Cheyenne statement that a people is not conquered until the hearts of the women are on the ground, express the Indians understanding that without the power of woman the people will not live, but with it, they will endure and prosper.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the significance and power of women in society, emphasizing their role in the survival and prosperity of a community.
Paula Gunn Allen's quote reflects on the reverence for the feminine divine across various tribes and nations, illustrating how societal structures have historically honored women. It underscores the belief that women hold a central role in the continuity and strength of a people, asserting that their well-being is directly tied to the community's survival and success. The Cheyenne saying cited indicates that the true measure of a people's strength lies in how they treat and value their women.
In practice
This quote could be used in a women's empowerment seminar to highlight the importance of valuing female contributions.
The hoop dancer dances within what encircles him, demonstrating how the people live in motion within the circling spirals of time and space. They are no more limited than water and sky. At green corn dance time, water and sky come together, in Indian time, to make rain.
The intellect is a beautiful servant but a terrible master. Intellect is the power tool of our separateness. The intuitive, compassionate heart is the doorway to our unity.
There are things that tend to moderate with age. Schizophrenia is somewhat like that.
When mind controls man, it’s ... Bhoga (bondage). But when man controls mind, it’s...Yoga
The general population doesn't know what's happening, and it doesn't even know that it doesn't know.
My facts shall be falsehoods to the common sense. I would so state facts that they shall be significant, shall be myths or mythologic. Facts which the mind perceived, thoughts which the body thought - with these I deal.
In old age our bodies are worn-out instruments, on which the soul tries in vain to play the melodies of youth. But because the instrument has lost its strings, or is out of tune, it does not follow that the musician has lost his skill.
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