One of the hallmarks of indigenous cultures, at least among the old ways, is their inherent respect for women. It’s not something that seems consonant with dominant-culture notions of equality, of course, particularly with regard to contemporary views on the subject. After all, one of the goals of dominant-culture feminism has been, expressly, to erase distinctions between gender roles (and, to a great extent, identities as well).
There is nothing wrong with that, for those cultures to whom such goals belong. It is not, generally speaking, the way of most indigenous cultures here, or in much of the rest of the world, for that matter.
Among many of our peoples, gender roles are relatively well defined, and to outsiders, they often seem sexist. And they are, if measured by the narrow yardstick of the zeitgeist of contemporary white America. We measure them differently, on a broader, deeper, older scale, one that takes into account differing definitions of power. And often, that word “power” is defined far differently, too: We tend to regard it as something that inheres, perhaps due to Spirit’s blessings, and something to be used for the communal good. What the outside world calls “power” is perhaps better labeled mere “authority”: The assumption (or arrogation) of some perceived right to exercise control over others in some way.
It’s a wholly distinct way of understanding a fundamental concept, and grasping that perhaps goes far toward explaining why we perceive gender roles and gender identity (and the power[s] therein) so very differently.
It also explains why respect for women is a recurring theme in the work of so many Native artists, Wings himself included. We’ve covered this theme in his work at some length, and it’s less exploration that essence, something that runs through his entire body of work, expressly or not. It appeared overtly in the work he chose to include in his one-man show last year:
It is easy to forget that a wall, a home, a structure, a society endures only through the strength of the cornerstone that serves as its foundation. So it is with our people: The public face is male, but the underlying strength and support, the cornerstones, are the women.
Honoring women guides much of my work. Hearts are a common motif: Feminine, nurturing, and incredibly powerful, they pump the lifeblood through the body and sustain it with love.
He referred here, of course, to a specific series of silverwork pieces, but the theme is one that, for him, has held true over the course of decades. It is manifest most clearly in his most deeply personal signature series, the Warrior Woman, a series I once described as follows:
It’s a tribute to Woman, fully realized: an integration of the dichotomous aspects of her character into a a whole that is far, far greater than the sum of its parts.
It’s an integration that we, walking in [at least] two worlds, fight for every day.
It’s a beautiful thing to have that recognized. More, honored.
It’s a piece of our own hearts.
And it’s manifest in the work of indigenous artists here and far beyond, who weave and mold elements of their various cultures into yet greater wholes that represent their deepest traditions in a way that tells the women’s stories and honors their work and identities.
So it is with today’s featured item, one that likewise incorporates much more than just the overtly feminine motif, yet does so in a way that blends all of the elements together to tell a greater story. It’s a traditional mug by Taos Pueblo potter Jessie Marcus, a design that is her specialty. She does bowls and figurative pieces, too —some in a style similar to these, some in a more customary design — but theses little mugs, a type of clayware used by the people themselves for traditional purposes, have become her trademark.
We have several of her pieces in inventory, one featuring a horse and several with human figures, most of them male — three buffalo dancers and a couple of elders. We also have two that feature female elders, mothers and grandmothers, like the one pictured above. From its description in the Other Artists: Pottery gallery here on the site:
Grandmother emerges from within this traditional mug as though from within the mountain etched on its front. Made of traditional micaceous clay by Jessie Marcus (Taos Pueblo), the mug is hand-coiled, the side merging into the woman’s blanket, wrapped around her figure arising from one edge. An image of the old village, sacred peaks in the background, is incised on the exterior. Mug stands 3.75″ high on the figurative side (dimensions approximate).
Micaceous clay
$125 + shipping, handling, and insurance
The mug itself is positively feminine, with flowing lines and a sculpted front that looks and feels like a blanket wrapped around the female form. From the molded convexity the villagescape stretches leftward, North House, home to the people for a millennium, arrayed at the feet of the sacred mountain peaks. And in a bit of synchronicity and serendipity, Jessie’s firing process produced a small perfection: a sooty white thunderhead atop the central peak, pregnant with the rain that nurtures and sustains life here just as the women themselves do, those with children and those without.
The imagery is simple, yet powerfully integral to the culture here, just like the clayware form in which it finds expression. It’s the essence of life, the mountains beneath the rainclouds: earth and water, brought together in a distinctly female form, lovingly embraced and faithfully nurtured into a thing of beauty, a blessing all its own.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owners.
