Wolfstone, I. F. (2024). ReStorying matricultures. Book chapter in E. Abdou & T. Zervas (Eds.), Ancient and Indigenous wisdom traditions in the Americas: Towards more balanced and inclusive curricular representations and classroom practices. Studies in Curriculum Theory Series edited by W. F. Pinar. Routledge.
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The Study of Matricultures (Excerpt 1)
Matricultures, coined by classicist Tina Passman (1993), refers to egalitarian cultures founded on the maternal value of caring relationality that serves as an ethical principle for all genders, for mothers and not-mothers. Matricultures embed the Maternal in cosmological narratives and respect mothering and other regenerative forces as a condition for cultural continuity. Matricultures typically practice governance by consensus and sharing economies. Matricultures welcome difference including gender plurality. The term matricultures includes the concepts of matrilineality, matristic, and matricentric. I use the term matricultures to avoid the problematics of matriarchy, derived from -arche, which has two conflicting definitions: 1) “from the beginning, or original” as in archaeology, or 2) “domination” as the reverse of patriarchy. Heidi Göttner-Abendroth (2012) uses the first definition (p. xxvi); however, conventional Anthropology repudiated the study of matriarchies after Rosaldo (1974), using the second definition, concluded that matriarchies have never existed.
The study of matricultures is controversial. Knowledge construction related to matricultures is ongoing and is necessarily critical and transdisciplinary insofar as it draws on Indigenous Knowledges, Women’s Studies, archaeomythology, art, psychology, Classical Studies, and philosophy of religion, as well as anthropology and archaeology. Göttner-Abendroth (2009, 2012) advances knowledge construction by building a global network of Indigenous and allied scholars who study ancient and extant matricultures. Critical anthropologists contribute to knowledge construction on matricultures despite conventional anthropology’s attempt to discredit scholars who study matricultures (Spender, 1982; Dashú, 2005; Spretnak, 2011).
The study of matricultures is intertwined with the study of cosmology-the branch of philosophy that explores comprehensive and theoretical perspectives of time, place, and space. Cultural cosmology lies intertwined with and beneath culture. A culture’s cosmology contributes to meaning making and unifies a people around a collective understanding of the world and a theory of origins (Haarmann, 2007). Cosmology has a wider horizon and deeper meaning than religion, spirituality, and worldview. Cosmology is specific to Land and survives for millennia once it is established in the sacred narratives, rituals, signs, and symbols of a people who inhabit a Land (p. 178). Let’s explore some ancient and extant matricultures.
This is one of the doors to the Koln Cathedral, a masterpiece of monumental Gothic architecture. This doorway is encouraging me to think big. Paradigm shifts take decades, even centuries, and its okay for me to dream that big. I wish every person in the world would take today to think their biggest ideas – to imagine flourishing – to yearn for peace – to write a song that inspires a generation.