ReMembering Matricultures in North Africa
Tanit, Ancestral Mother of North Africa, is a powerful, parthenogenetic force known as Mother of all the Gods. The name Ta-Nit was translated as ‘Land of Neith’ (Bernal, 1987, p. 51) and in pre-dynastic Egypt, her maternal functions were assigned to Hathor and Nut, patron of childbirth and mother of Isis. She is sometimes portrayed as having undifferentiated gender or both genders. As patron of weavers, she taught the art of mummification for the respectful care of the dead (Dexter, 1990, p. 23; Baring & Cashford, 1991; Rigoglioso, 2010). The Canaanites in Carthage syncretized Astarte with Tanit and the Romans romanized her to Juno Caelestis, dedicating a temple to her at Tas-Silġ on the island of Malta (Stuckey, 2009).
The matricultures of some North African cultures endure despite disruptions by colonizers, Christian missionaries, and Islamic militant groups. The pre-eminent role of women derives from cosmology and Tanit’s ancient symbols continue to be represented in weaving, pottery, and henna arts; thus, contributing to the Amazigh Movement that is reclaiming (Tamazight) language and culture, including the cultural value that women are guardians and carriers of the culture (Grasshoff, 2009; Claudot-Hawad, 2009).
excerpt 2 from
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.