quote of the day

Let me quote Mark Twain for you:

"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect."


(credits to Adam, this is what he sent to the moderatress for throwing him out of her tribe.)

quote of the day (Gurdjieff!)

(p.44, 51) : ..'Whomever I should meet...whatever his social standing may be, I had immediately to discover his "most sensitive corn" and "press" it rather hard.Thanks to this principle...I so affected everyone who met me that he himself, without any effort on my part whatsoever, ...took off his mask presented to him with great solemnity by his mama and papa; and thanks to this I at once acquired an unprecedentedly easy possibility of unhurriedly and quietly feasting my eyes on what his inner world contained, not only of the accidentally surviving data proper to man, but also of all the nauseating filth accumulated from his absolutely abnormal so-called "education". '
Gurdjieff

(sound familiar?)

The Hetaira in Greece and the Devadasi in India

I once read a book on female archetypes, and it turned out that I belonged to the hetairas, from my personality type. So, I have enjoyed reading stories about their lives ever since, starting with Kamala in Hesse's "Siddharta", and the Egyptian priestesses in Erica Jong's "Sappho's leap", and devadasi...
Anyway, here is what Wikipedia has on the Hetaira and her career, that sounds like a job that might have been a lot more interesting than the one I ended up with this time round...


In ancient Greece, hetaerae (in Greek ἑταῖραι, hetairai) were courtesans, that is to say, sophisticated companions and prostitutes.


In ancient Greek society, hetaerae were independent and sometimes influential women who were required to wear distinctive dresses and had to pay taxes. Composed mostly of ex-slaves and foreigners, these courtesans were renowned for their achievements in dance and music, as well as for their physical talents. There is evidence that, unlike most other women in Greek society at the time, hetaerae were educated. It is remarkable that hetaerae not only were the only women who would actively take part in the symposia, but also that their opinions and beliefs were respected by men[citation needed].

Some similarities have been found between the ancient Greek hetaera, the earlier Babylonian nadītu, the Japanese oiran, and the Korean kisaeng, complex figures that are perhaps in an intermediate position between prostitutes and entertainers.

Plutarch's Life of Demetrius is our longest and most detailed surviving account of Demetrius I Poliorcetes. The biography reports that Demetrius displayed a great deal of weakness, making light of marriage by having many wives at one time and even slighting them by consorting with many freeborn women and many hetairai. Lamia, a famous early Hellenistic courtesan was his favourite. Plutarch mentions her in the context of fourteen separate anecdotes. We know that Lamia was once a member of Ptolemy I Soter's entourage and was a flute player. How she came to be a musician for Ptolemy is not known. Many women who played musical instruments in ancient Greece were involved in prostitution. There is no evidence that Lamia was reputed to be a prostitute before her involvement with Demetrius, but the hetairai involved with kings were noticeably monogamous. Polemon tells us that Lamia was the daughter of the Athenian citizen, Cleanor, and that she had built the stoa or art gallery at Sicyon as a benefaction to the people. Lamia was renowned not only for her beauty and charm, but also possessed a great wit.[1]

Among the most famous were Thargelia, a renowned Ionian hetaera of ancient times,[2] Aspasia, long-time companion of the Athenian politician Pericles, Archeanassa companion of Plato, the famous Neaira, and Thaïs, a concubine of Ptolemy, general on the expedition of Alexander the Great and later king of Egypt.

Hetaerae appear to have been regarded as distinct from pornê or simple prostitutes, and also distinguished from mistresses or wives. In the oration Against Neaera,[3] Demosthenes said:
“We have hetaerae for pleasure, pallakae to care for our daily body’s needs and gynaekes to bear us legitimate children and to be faithful guardians of our households.”
In this same oration, Demosthenes mentions that Neaira's purchase price (both at her original purchase by Timanoridas of Corinth and Eucrates of Leucas and her own subsequent purchase of her freedom) was 30 minas. Since the mina was equal to 100 drachmae and the drachma can be thought of as equivalent to the daily wage of a skilled worker, this would make her purchase price over 8 years salary—obviously beyond the means of the average person.

The male form of the word, hetaeros (pl. hetaeroi), signified male companions in the sense of a business or political associate. Most famously, it referred to Alexander the Great's bodyguard cavalry unit (see Companion cavalry).

In Jungian psychology, the hetaere is one of Toni Wolff's four feminine archetypes.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hetaira


And then, there is the Devadasi, in classical India, and devadasi is also the name of the school where I do bellydance....


Devadasi (देवदासी) originally described a Hindu religious practice in which girls were "married" and dedicated to a deity (deva or devi), although in practice, they are also subject to providing sexual favours to the clergy. In addition to taking care of the temple and performing rituals, they learned and practiced Bharatanatyam and other classical Indian arts traditions and enjoyed a high social status.

Following the demise of the great Hindu kingdoms the practice degenerated. Pressure from the colonial "reform" movement led to suppression of the practice. Adherents of this movement considered devadasis immoral since they engaged in sex outside of the traditional concept of marriage, and described them as prostitutes. As a result of these social changes, devadasis were left without their traditional means of support and patronage. Colonial views on devadasis are hotly disputed by several groups and organizations in India and by western academics.[1][2][3][4]

The high regard with which they were previously held has deteriorated in recent years due to their association with prostitution, and the practice has started to disappear.[5]

Devadasis are also known by various other local terms. They are sometimes referred to as a caste; however, some question the accuracy of this usage. "According to the devadasis themselves there exists a devadasi 'way of life' or 'professional ethic' (vritti, murai) but not a devadasi jāti (sub-caste). Later, the office of devadasi became hereditary but it did not confer the right to work without adequate qualification" (Amrit Srinivasan, 1985). In Europe the term Bayadere (from French: bayadère, ascending to Portuguese: Balliadera, literally dancer) was occasionally used.[10]

The devadasi practices have changed considerably over the last centuries. Amrit Srinivasan has described devadasi practices in Tamilnadu:

Traditionally the young devadasi underwent a ceremony of dedication to the deity of the local temple which resembled in its ritual structure the upper caste Tamil marriage ceremony. Following this ceremony, she was set apart from her non-dedicated sisters in that she was not permitted to marry and her celibate or unmarried status was legal in customary terms. Significantly, however she was not prevented from leading a normal life involving sex with individuals of her choice and childbearing. The very rituals which marked and confirmed her incorporation into temple service also committed her to the rigorous emotional and physical training in the classical dance, her hereditary profession. In addition, they served to advertise in a perfectly open and public manner her availability for sexual liaisons with a proper patron and protector. Very often in fact, the costs of temple dedication were met by a man who wished thus to anticipate a particular devadasi's favours after she had attained puberty. It was crucially a women's 'dedicated' status which made it a symbol of social prestige and privilege to maintain her. The devadasi's sexual partner was always chosen by 'arrangement' with her mother and grandmother acting as prime movers in the veto system. Alliance with a Muslim, a Christian, or a lower caste was forbidden while a Brahmin or member of the royal elite was preferred for the good breeding and/or wealth he would bring into the family. The non-domestic nature of the contract was an understood part of the agreement with the devadasi owing the man neither any householding services nor her offspring. The children in turn could not hope to make any legal claim on the ancestral property of their father whom they met largely in their mother's home when he came to visit.

In the sadanku or puberty ceremonies, the devadasi-initiate consummates her marriage with an emblem of the god borrowed from the temple as a stand-in 'bridegroom'. From then onward, the devadasi is considered a nitya sumangali: a woman eternally free from the adversity of widowhood.

She would then perform her ritual and artistic duties in the temple. The puberty ceremonies were an occasion not only for temple honor, but also for community feasting and celebration in which the local elites also participated. The music and dance and public display of the girl also helped to attract patrons.

[edit] Life after dedication
A devadasi's life after dedication was obviously very different centuries ago. Nowadays

After dedication of a girl to the temple, she has to take bath every day early in the morning and should present herself at the temple during morning worship of Yellamma. She is not allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum. But she will bow to the deity from outside. Thereafter she sweeps compound of the temple. Every Tuesday and Friday she goes for yoga along with senior jogatis (yoga teachers). During this period she learns innumerable songs in praise of Yellamma and her son Parashurama. If she shows some aptitude to learn playing instruments she will be given training by her elder jogatis. In Yellampura and other villages Devadasis do not dance but this is performed by eunuch companions. The main functions of Devadasis would be singing and playing stringed musical instruments and Jagate. They form a small group and go for joga, from house to house on every Tuesday and Friday (Jogan Shankar, 1990).

Traditionally, no stigma was attached to the devadasi or to her children, and other members of their caste received them on terms of equality. The children of a devadasi enjoyed legitimacy and devadasis themselves were outwardly indistinguishable from married women of their own community.

Furthermore, a devadasi was believed to be immune from widowhood and was called akhanda saubhagyavati. Since she was wedded to a divine deity, she was supposed to be one of the especially welcome guests at weddings, and was regarded as bearer of fortune. At weddings, people would get a string of the tali (wedding lock) prepared by her and she threaded on it a few beads from her own necklace. The presence of a devadasi on any religious occasion in the house of an upper caste member was regarded as sacred and she was treated with due respect and was presented with gifts.

Devadasis are the people who nurtured the arts - Dance and Music to the perfect levels of today. They were torch bearers of these arts through out the history of India under various rulers, yet passed on the legacies till end of 19th century. After that period, all upward class people started learning these arts and took away these people's only way of earn-to-live.

from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devadasi

2nd quote of the day

If Scheherazade had bellydanced for the Sultan on their first night, he would have killed her in the morning.

Fatima Mernissi, Moroccan feminist

Quote of the day

"Throw out Mom's old advice about how an air of mystery keeps the flame alive: Orbuch's research showed that 98 percent of happy couples say they intimately understand their partners."

Hahahahahahahahaha! ; )

from: 4 Secrets to a Spectacular Relationship (redbook/yahoo)

World Heritage Sites

I found out by ticking through the new list on mosttraveledpeople.com that I have visited 35 World heritage Sites. I had no idea! Once they have created the map I will post it here. For now there is this link of which I don't know if it works if you are not signed in but you could sign up and find out...:
mosttraveledpeople.com/My-WHS.cfm

Quote of the day

Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they will never cease to be amused.

Canela's comfort food for her friends ; )

Today I visited the sweetest of my friends, my Russian friend Stella from Moscow. She was with her (ex?) English boyfriend who is leaving the country soon and claims to have a job offer in Saudi Arabia... So I arrived with persimmons and a pomegranate and such in my bag because I had promised to cook for Stella and I am at my very best as a chef when I make something Arabic. The following recipes is an improvised one, drawn from my experiences of cooking Fesenjan (Persian pomegranate chicken and walnut stew), Moroccan lamb with apricots, Moroccan chicken with prunes, done without a cookbook for the first time. It was a success!

You need:

700-800 grams of chicken, either breast or legs, without bones
1 medium sized onion
1 persimmon
1/2 pomegranate
about 6-8 dried apricots
3-4 tea spoons of cinnamon
white or black pepper (we had only black though I wanted white)
red pepper
cayenne pepper
salt
olive oil
1/2 bundle of parsley
1 small bag of chopped almonds (baking ingredients!) or blanche, peel and chop half a cup of almonds

Remove the fatty skin from the chicken, cut it into large cubes
cut the onion into very small cubes (2mm wide)
remove the seends from the pomegranate and keep in a bowl
cut the persimmon into quarters and each quarter cut twice again (into 12/12), no need to peel
chop the parsley into small bits
wash the apricots

Heat the oil in a sauce pan, add onion and and almonds and one tea spoon of cinnamon and sautee on medium heat
add the chicken pieces, salt, sautee on all sides
add the 3 kinds of pepper (mostly black/white pepper, some red pepper, a little cayenne)
add persimmons, lower heat to small, stir and cook slowly
add apricots
add pomegranate, another tea spoon of cinnamon, stir, cook slowly
if necessary, add small amount of water, esp. if the persimmons are hard rather than juicy
add more cinnamon and adjust taste with pepper if necessary
when the persimmons are soft and the meat is done, add parsley, stir, cook a few more minutes.
Turn off heat and let the stew sit for another 15 or 20 minutes. This will thicken the juices and intensify the taste.

Meanwhile prepare a salad from cubed tomatoes and cucumber, chopped onion, the rest of the parsley and the other half of the pomegranate, drizzle with olive oil and vinegar, or with fresh lemon juice

Serve with couscous, bulgur or brown rice.

Bon appetit!


Stella said, she had been on a raw food diet recently, but this stew did not feel heavy, because of the spices.
I felt the warmth slowly spreading over my body, from my stomach. It is the cinnamon and the pepper than warms you. And the onion, nut and pomegranate sauce (Fesenjan is done with walnuts, but the almonds worked too) is something that creates a subtle sense of euphoria, in my experience. Enjoy!

...and he thought, he was trashing me, ha! ; )

The other day I found a comment on my youtube video of my Turkish floor show. It came from an 34 year old Arab male in Algeria and read: "hehhehhheh leya alwi la pute egyptienne" which means, if I interprete google's translation of "leya alwi" into "I awareness" correctly:: "Heheheh, I know that Egyptian whore!"
Now is that a compliment to a German bellydancer in training, trying to look a bit like a Turk? Maybe I should add that to my avatar for a while, "Canela, la pute egyptienne". What do you think? ; )

The Mother of Creation - the myth of Eurynome

Last night I was given the task to dance the Goddess of Eurynome, during bellydance class. I had pulled her card from a goddess deck.
So here is her story:

Eurynome's Creation Myth


Eurynome was easily the most important Goddess of Pelasgian myth. She was the Great Goddess, Mother, Creatrix, Ruler, called the Goddess of All Things.


Eurynome was born from Chaos, and her first work was to separate the water from the sky. When she had accomplished this, she began to dance across the water. It was a beautiful, sensual dance of creation. As she danced, she danced South, and faster and faster she danced until a wind grew behind her. Eurynome caught this new thing, this wind, between her hands and rubbed it into a snake. The snake, called Ophion, watched as the Goddess danced and danced to keep herself warm. He saw Eurynome dancing across the waves and was filled with lust. He coiled his body around the Goddess seven times and made love to her as she danced.

Impregnated by Ophion, soon the Goddess lay the Universal Egg. Ophion wrapped his body around it seven times at Eurynome's bidding. As it opened, the earth spilled forth, born populated with animals and plants.

At this point the Mother ascended to Mt. Olympus and began to watch her children take shape. When she ascended, the serpent Ophion followed her as the Goddess's consort. Eurynome had no problem with this, but when Ophion began to swagger and boast that he alone was responsible for the creation of the world, Eurynome kicked all his teeth out as she threw his butt out of heaven.


The next thing Eurynome did was very interesting, and involves other mythology you might know about. She created the Seven Planetary Powers, putting a Titaness and a Titan over each. Theia and Hyperion were given the Sun and the power of illumination; Phoebe and Atlas were given the Moon and the power of enchantment; Dione and Crius were given the planet Mars and the power of growth; Metis and Coeus were given the planet Mercury and the power of wisdom; Themis and Eurymedon were given the planet Jupiter and the power of law; Tethys and Oceanus were given the planet Venus and the power of love; and Rhea and Cronus took the planet Saturn with the power of peace. If you look at each of the assignments, you'll find they match perfectly.

The first person was a different story. In this tradition, the first human was the man Pelasgus who sprang from the soil of Arcadia (soon followed by others). They made little huts and ate acorns and wore pig-skin tunics. That's all the STORY about her, but now for the explanations.

These myths are ancient ancient myths if they are even real. Back then, according to the theory of a matriarchal prehistory, there were no Gods or priests, only one mother Goddess and her priestesses. Part of the reason for this was that fatherhood was not clearly understood. People believed that women could be impregnated by the wind (like in the story) or eating something funny. Obviously, inheritance was matrilineal. Eurynome was only one of the Goddess's names. Eurynome, "wide wandering," refers to her as the moon traveling across the sky, by the Sumerians she was called the "exalted dove," or, Iahu. The Eurynome cult spread all over the Mediterranean and was really a base for most of the religions of the area.

In the Titan cults that preceeded the Olympic cults (Classical mythology), Eurynome was the daughter of Oceanus the Titan. She was a Titaness married to the Titan Ophion. But in this version, though Eurynome still ruled heaven, Ophion ruled as an equal. The two ruled together on Mt. Olympus until Cronos replaced Ophion and Rhea replaced Eurynome.

By the time Classical mythology came around, Eurynome had shrunk to being one of Zeus' many loves (mother of the Charites) and a gentle Oceanid. A far cry from the All-Powerful Creatrix she was once worshipped as.

from: www.paleothea.com/Myths/Eurynome.html