Xicana Codex Tweets

Coatlicue: Mother Goddess

While I was reading Cherrie Moraga’s, A Xicana Codex of Changing Consciousness, I came across this quote: “It cost me a great deal to find their stories, but without my gods – Coatlicue, the mother of creation and destruction; Coyolxauhqui, her dismembered daughter…without these icons of collective MeXicana sedition, my criminal acts as a Xicana dyke writer would have no precedent, no history, and ultimately no consequence.” Since I do not know much about Aztec gods/ goddesses, these names drew my attention. I wanted to find out what these female deities represented to the Aztecs.

Coatlicue is the Aztec mother goddess of creation. She is also known as Teteoinan, “the Mother of Gods”, Toci, “our grandmother”, and Cihuacoatl, “the Lady of the serpent”, the patron of women who die in childbirth. The goddess’s name comes from the Nahuatl language, which means “the one with the skirt of serpents.” Therefore, the image of Coatlicue is represented as a woman wearing a skirt of snakes, and her face is also that of a snake. The snakes symbolize fertility. Her breasts hang flat (from the nursing of her children), her necklace is made of hands, hearts, and skulls (from all the corpses she has fed on), and her hands and feet are claws (used for digging graves) (Britannica).

According to the myth, Coatlicue was magically impregnated while still a virgin by an obsidian knife and gave birth to Coyolxauhqui and 400 other children. After some time, while she was sweeping a temple, she became pregnant again by a ball of feather that fell from the sky. Her children were enraged by her pregnancy because a goddess could only give birth to one group of divinity. Coyolxauhqui then convince all her siblings to kill their mother. Amidst all the commotion, Coatlicue gave birth to Huitzilopochtli, the God of War, and he came out fully-grown and armored for battle. To protect his mother, he murdered his brothers and dismembered Coyolxauhqui. Huitzilopochtli threw Coyolxauhqui’s head into the sky and it became the moon, she was then known as the goddess of the moon (Aztec creation).

Referring back to Moraga’s quote, I believe she admires these goddesses because they are strong female identities found in Chicana ancient history. It is evident that issues of sex, fertility, and power in women date back to ancient times. Coatlicue is a maternal figure that struggled and resisted against external forces. It is similar to the struggles the Chicanas experienced during the movement and still continue to experience.

References:

“Aztec Creation Myths.” Crystalinks. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.crystalinks.com/azteccreation.html>.

“Coatlicue.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/123205/Coatlicue>.

Moraga, Cherrie L. “Indigena as Scribe/ 2005.” A Xicana Codex of Changing Consciousness: Writings, 2000-2010. Durham, NC: Duke UP, 2011. 95. Print.

Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coatlicue

Xicana Codex (3)

Reading assignment for Wednesday, April 18, 2012. Your reply (under Comments) is due before class. Your response should demonstrate you’ve done and thought about the readings. Be sure to check and make sure your response posts.

Cherríe Moraga, A Xicana Codex of Changing Consciousness (163 – 199)

What is your response to Moraga’s positions on President Obama’s election, marriage equality and transgendered people? What do you see her as arguing for or against?

Do you agree that there’s a lack of political and social movement in the present day? If you see social movement, where do you see them? Who are the leaders? Has Moraga missed “something” in her discussion of “back in the day.” What do you think her vision of Aztlán is and how does your generation of people of color fit into it?

Do you see universities the same way Moraga does? What role do you see universities as having in your life? In the lives of your communities? As sites of social change? What do you imagine the difference between Stanford (where Cherríe Moraga teaches), UC Berkeley (whose Ethnic Studies department she discusses) and Loyola Marymount are?

What vision, if any, of Chicana / women of color feminism does Moraga’s work offer?

More on Xicana Codex.

Xicana Tweets & Thoughts (2)

[tweet https://twitter.com/ccastan5/status/191860060798988290]

Kelsey’s response:

When Moraga was accussed by Anzaldua of plagarism, she wrote “I do know she spoke of “plagarism”.I was stunned (117).” Moraga probably thought she was just adding to the ideas that she got from Anzalduas piece, not plagarising. However, such confusion of rules and understanding that people have I think relate to the confusion of what each woman stands for in the womans movement. Even though we see the like thinking of Moraga and Anzaldua, they still held different opinions for “The Bridge called my back”. Moraga endorsed what ” The Bridge called my back” stood for with the diversity of the Feminism movement when Anzaldua didn’t support the diversity of what the book stood for. I think the Feminist movement is seperated into women who want the movement to represent all the different aspects of the movement(like Moraga), and other women who want the movement to represent seperate issues of women.

Xicana Codex (2)

Reading assignment for Monday April 16, 2012. Your reply (under Comments) is due before class. Your response should demonstrate you’ve done and thought about both of the readings. Be sure to check and make sure your response posts.

Cherríe Moraga, A Xicana Codex of Changing Consciousness (79-162)

Based on your readings this semester on textual communities and print culture, what does Moraga’s writing reveal about the construction of communal texts, anthologies and performances? How much ownership do we have of our writing? How much debt to others? What do you think of Moraga’s decision not to contribute to This Bridge We Call Home?

On a more personal level, do you think Moraga is right about how she and Anzaldúa could have resolved their differences? Do you agree with her reading of Anzaldúa’s writing as having more to do with vision of the ideal than the more concrete politics of process?

Xicana Tweets

Cherríe Moraga, A Xicana Codex of Changing Consciousness (1-77)

Xicana Codex (1)

Reading assignment for Friday April 13, 2012. Your reply (under Comments) is due before class. Your response should demonstrate you’ve done and thought about both of the readings. Be sure to check and make sure your response posts.

Cherríe Moraga, A Xicana Codex of Changing Consciousness (1-77)

Moraga spends a good deal of her forward and first essay defining both terminology and her place in it. How does her positioning compare to others you’ve read? What terms would you use to define yourself?

In an earlier work, The Last Generation, Moraga wrote “An art that subscribes to integration into mainstream Amerika is not Chicano art.” How are these essays informed by, expand or under cut this theory?

How does Moraga conceive of generations in her writing? How does she connect her parent’s generation to her own? To her children’s? What is your reaction to her agreement with Sherman Alexie’s quote about his wife and children? To her discussions of grief and anger?

What are Moraga’s issues with feminism? What does she take from it? How does it inform her as a mother, a daughter, an artist? What does she call / name the “weapons of the weak”?

Quinceañeras: Celebration of Latino Culture or just another party?

After reading Dr. Karen Daválos piece “La Quinceañera: Making Gender and Ethnic Identities,” I began researching the history and purpose of Quinceañeras because it is a ceremony widely celebrated in Latino culture. My intention was not to find reasons to critique it but to learn more about the ceremony and to ultimately form my own opinion about it.

Turning fifteen is a monumental time in a young Latina’s life and most dream about their Quinceañera from a very early age. La Quinceañera is often compared to the Sweet Sixteen in American culture because both are cultural celebrations and important times in a young woman’s life but there are several differences that are important to be mentioned. La Quinceañera emphasizes more religious customs, family values, and social responsibility.  It unifies several elements and values of Latino culture into one huge celebration. Traditionally la Quinceañera is associated with Mexican/ Mexican American culture because it has been traced back to the Aztecs. Young men were to become warriors and young women had to fulfill their role and duties attached to womanhood in society. Over time several countries in Latin America adopted the ceremony, also known as a woman’s rite of passage. The concept of a rite of passage reminded me of the Navajo’s “Kinaalda,” a four day celebration of a girl’s first menstrual period, which includes symbolic dances, cleansing rituals, physical activities and a special cake called “alkaan.” To the Navajo it symbolizes a physical and spiritual bond to Mother Nature and the importance of women in their culture. It is a very beautiful celebration that I find particularly interesting because men always partake in all the activities since women are highly valued in their tribes.

La Quinceañera is divided into two main parts, the religious mass and the reception/party. Many people play a role in the ceremony starting with a head chamberlain who usually ends up being the young woman’s boyfriend or love interest, the other chamberlains (chambelanes), maids of honor (damas), her godparents (padrino/a), and her parents. Families that choose to stay as true to the ceremony as possible understand the role faith plays throughout it all.  For that reason she must attend classes taught at her parish which are meant to help guide her into the right path and to teach her what it means to be a responsible adult. She is no longer a child, which should be reflected through her actions. Therefore, at the mass she takes a moment to thank the Lord for all her blessings and to make a commitment to always live a righteous path, but recently families are focusing more on the festivities and less on the faith component.  Girls can’t wait to plan the party, practice with las damas the dance routine performed at the reception and to mingle with the boys.  It leads to the meaning and purpose of la Quinceañera to be diluted through all the party planning.

Many problems and critiques have emerged about the tradition. Dr. Daválos examines in her essay the origin of the so-called “tradition” and the gendered, racial, sexual and religious implications it carries. Also she incorporates multiple views from people and questions whether its origin is really traced back to the Aztecs or is it a European assimilation process. Others might view it as more of a gendered tradition that places pressure on young women to fit into their expected womanly and motherly role in society. The pressure to conform is greatly seen among Chicana women and their works in Chicana Feminst Thought.  Some articles that echo those sentiments are “Chicana Message” and “La Chicana y ‘El Movimiento.’” Women’s sexuality has always and still is an issue highly debated. A Quinceañera could be publicly announcing how the young woman is reached an age of sexual maturity hence is ready to marry.  For example Chicana author Cherríe Moraga who has revealed that she’s a lesbian, has also said how at an early age she felt an internal conflict between her sexual identity and her family’s Catholic faith. Women who are not heterosexual might feel that it’s a ceremony that reinforces and pushes heteronormativity on those who are not.

It’s apparent that people have mixed feelings about Quinceañeras but I feel that the young woman and her family should decide together whether it should take place. By reflecting about the ceremony and having the choice to celebrate it or not also shows responsibility and maturity. Before learning more about Quinceañeras, I made the personal choice not to celebrate it. In my case I didn’t think it was necessary and the expenses were another factor that impacted my decision. I informed my parents I would rather invest the money towards my education, which I knew would come at a costly price. That was my choice and I still think it was the right choice for me. However the young women who do decide to have one have that right because for them and their family it holds a lot of significance. Lastly Quinceañeras can bring families together during a time where more families are spending time apart, values are changing and families are suffering from all types of hardships. Then from that perspective Quinceañeras can be a beautiful celebration of Latino culture.

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