The Hand That Rocks The Cradle

Posted by Virginia Rigney May 9, 2008 at 9:27 p.m.

Mothers Day, like so many of our holidays, is rooted in ancient times. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans celebrated motherhood by honoring their goddesses. In Medieval times, in the British Isles, goddesses were replaced by "Mother" Church.Mother's Day was introduced from Europe by Julia Ward Howe, best known for her lyrics in the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Howe suggested that June 2nd be a day of peace in honor of mothers in the United States. In 1870 she wrote A Mother's Day Proclamation, urging mothers in America and around the world to work towards peaceful co-existence.In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother's Day a national holiday to be celebrated the second Sunday in May. In contrast to the commercialized holiday it has become, it was to be a day in which Americans flew the flag to honor mothers whose sons had died in war.In her book, "We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For," Alice Walker talks about the Swa people of the Amazon. In their culture, men and women are equal but different. It is the man's job to hunt, to cut down trees, and to make war when necessary. Women take care of the home the garden and the children, but their most important job is to "tell the men when to stop."Walker says, "When the Swa are brought to this culture they observe:that the men have cut down so many trees and built so many excessively tall buildings that the forest itself is dying; they have built roads without end and killed animals without number. 'When, ask the Swa, are the women going to say stop?'" My young friend Natalie became a mother on Wednesday. I am going to give her a book that my daughter reads to my grandson. The book is "Potatoes, Potatoes" by Anita Lobel and is a story about two brothers who go to war for opposing armies. After battling in their mother's beloved potato garden with near disastrous consequences, she finds a clever way "to say stop." The real religion of the world comes from women much more than from men - from mothers most of all, who carry the key of our souls in their bosoms. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

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sgb (Sandy Beverly) says…

Thanks for giving us food for thought. I have mixed feelings about the idea that it's the job of women to tell men when to stop. Still, ever since I became a mother, I have been completely convinced that if women were in charge, humans would NOT go to war. We'd find a peaceful solution, we'd do whatever it took to protect our sons, daughters, partners, neighbors, friends, from the disaster of war.To help bring about a better world, we can stand with women (and men and children) around the planet this Mother's Day.Standing Women5 minutes of silenceSunday, May 11, 1pmSouth Parkwww.standingwomen.orgPlease stand with us for five minutes of silence at 1 p.m. on May 11, 2008, in South Park, Lawrence, Kansas to signify your agreement with the statement below. We ask you to invite the men who you care about to join you. During the silence, please think about what you individually and we collectively can do to attain this world. If you need to sit rather than stand, please feel free to do so. Afterwards, hopefully you and your loved ones can talk together about how we can bring about this world. We are standing for the world's children and grandchildren, and for the seven generations beyond them.We dream of a world where all of our children have safe drinking water, clean air to breathe, and enough food to eat.A world where they have access to a basic education to develop their minds and healthcare to nurture their growing bodies.A world where they have a warm, safe and loving placed to call home.A world where they don't live in fear of violence in their home, in their neighborhood, in their school or in their world.This is the world of which we dream.This is the cause for which we stand.
May 9, 2008 at 9:38 p.m.
kansascrone (Virginia Rigney) says…

sandy - i do agree that it is not necessarily the woman's job to tell the men when to stop. i do believe that mothers are instrumental in influencing their baby boys, who will grow up to be men. thanks for the info - i do agree with your statement and will be with you in spirit as i won't be in la on sunday. peace - ginny
May 9, 2008 at 9:58 p.m.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…

from wiki:KingHouegbadja(who ruled from 1645 to 1685), the third King of Dahomey, is said to have originally started the group which would become the Amazons as a corps of royalbodyguards after building a new palace atAbomey.Houegbadja's son KingAgadja(ruling from 1708 to 1732) developed these bodyguards into a militia and successfully used them in Dahomey's defeat of the neighbouring kingdom ofSaviin 1727. European merchants recorded their presence, as well as similar female warriors amongst theAshanti.For the next hundred years or so, they gained reputation as fearless warriors. Though they fought rarely, they usually acquitted themselves well in battle.The group of female warriors was referred to as Ahosi, meaning "Our Mothers" in theFon languageby the male army of Dahomey.[1]From the time of KingGhezo(ruling from 1818 to 1858), Dahomey became increasingly militaristic. Ghezo placed great importance on the army and increased its budget and formalizedits structures. The Amazons were rigorously trained, given uniforms, and equipped with Danish guns (obtained via theslave trade).By this time the Amazons consisted of between 4000 and 6000 women, about a third of the entire Dahomey army.European encroachment into west Africa gained pace during the latter half of the 19th century, and in 1890 KingBehanzinstarted fighting French forces in the course of theFirst Franco-Dahomean War.According to Holmes, many of the French soldiers fighting in Dahomey hesitated before shooting or bayoneting the Amazons. The resulting delay led to manyof the French casualties. Ultimately, bolstered by theForeign Legion,and armed with superior weaponry, including machine guns, the French inflicted casualties that were ten times worse on the Dahomey side. After several battles,the French prevailed. The Legionnaires later wrote about the "incredible courage and audacity" of the Amazons.
May 9, 2008 at 10:34 p.m.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…

women can certainly be warlike, too...Maggie Thatcher, what a woman.
May 9, 2008 at 10:35 p.m.
kansascrone (Virginia Rigney) says…

gnome - i don't doubt that some women can be warlike. and i am not implying that ALL men are. to think of massive numbers of young men coming home from iraq and afghanistan with ptsd or worse, committing suicide in large numbers, not to mention those killed and maimed makes me think - enough already.
May 9, 2008 at 10:48 p.m.
justbegintowrite (Ronda Miller) says…

ginny, thanks for the educational and enlightening post - a lot of new information for me here.gnome is a peaceful man, a kind man, it is good to know men such as he exist. If gnome were President we would have less killing. Gnome for President, Gnome for President.What has been going on since the beginning of time in respect to war, fighting, killing needs to change. Surely we have evolved enough to understand that and be in agreement of that, finally, please.Sandy, if I am not standing beside you Sunday I will be standing in silence for the five minutes. Thank you.
May 10, 2008 at 8:43 p.m.
angell (Marlo Angell) says…

Great informative post, Ginny. With two little boys at home, it seems like I am always telling them when to stop! Happy mother's day!
May 10, 2008 at 11:06 p.m.
kansascrone (Virginia Rigney) says…

ronda and marlo - good to hear from you both. happy mother's day and thanks for the comments.
May 11, 2008 at 10:46 p.m.