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By Winifred Milius Lubell, Vanderbilt University Press, Nashville, Tennessee, 37235, 1994

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By Winifred Milius Lubell, Vanderbilt University Press, Nashville, Tennessee, 37235, 1994 BOOK REVIEWS The Metamorphosis of Baubo ■ '' Alehwjorphusisof \ Myths of Woman's Sexual Energy by Winifred Milius Lubell, Vanderbilt University Press, Nashville, Tennessee, 37235, 1994. I X ■ ■ ' Reviewed By Luz Martinez ; ^ ■ oon Blood She bled and would not die and Ml. Olympus, and sets out to Ritual' a if she Slopped bleeding for 10 search for her, She lives among 'Miceremony consecutive lunar months, a humans hoping to leant L U BEL'' of women squatting new life sprang forth from the something of her daughter's over land allowing magical vulva. Palaeolithic man whereabouts. Disguised as an their menstrual was in awe of her powers. old poor woman, she is hired blood to flow in Women were so closely linked by a wealthy family to take order to bring life to to the almighty heavens, the care of their infant son. A the harvest, is one heavens which could bring rain, servant girl known as lambc is of the book's 74 black and ice, sunlight, thunder and part of this household and takes white drawings. Several are lightning were aligned with it upon herself to cheer up this original pieces by the author woman! No wonder early man and others are her drawings of old woman. She eventually realized that the female was accomplishes this by lifting her ancient art depicting the magic sacred. skirts and dancing for the of the vulva. goddess. The goddess is so Baubo has been called many The Meeamornhnt^.; pf charmed by her that even after things and has been associated she finds her daughter and l^tiubo is a complex historical with good, evil, mythical and journey through time when returns to Ml Olympus, she comical aspects of woman but women's sexuality was takes lambc with her and lambe she is always powerful. The becomes a priestess. worshipped and revered. name Baubo or lambe, the author explains, comes from 30,000 year old clay figurines The author, according to the of female images with the vulva Greek mythology and means a book cover is a noted graphic exposed have been found by comforter of sorrow, in artist who has developed a archeologists. This Stone Age Egyptian mythology it is strong interest in histoiy, art spans continents from Baubo/Isis, and she is a mythology and the imagery of Siberia to Spain. These forms nurturer. The author uses the the ancient world. Author or name BauboAambc because it illustrator of more than thir^ continued to show-up in best captures the powers of her carvings, drawings and books, her work has been architecture up to the Middle sexual energy. Regardless of exhibited in the National Ages, indications are that the whM Baubo is called and where Museum of Women in the Arts she appears, site is always a and in many other galleries vulva was symbol of women's always seen as throughout the U.S. Her transformative and creative lifetime interest in Sappho led a symbol of powers. worship. her to an intensive self-study of classical Greek and ultimately Baubo was a servant in the to the subject of this book. In the Stone mythological story of Demctcr. Age, the vulva The daughter of Demctcr, was magical. A The author concludes the book Persephone, is abducted and with mythical and current woman bled in raped by Hades (the brother of synch with the stories of women using Baubo's Zeus). The goddess Demeter is gesture of 'lifting of the skins' lunar calendar. so distraught that she abandons Winifred Milius Lubell and exposing her vulva in 26 Women (n Action, M'S4 BOOK REVIEWS Just A Sister Away: A Womanist Vision of in the bible" is an effort to wipe away the cloudiness years of Women's Relationships in the Bible hearing about biblical women by Renita J. Weems, LuraMedia, San Diego, has created, and start to see Hagar and Sarah, Naomi and California 1988. Ruth, Martha and Mary, Miriam and the host of recorded and re Reviewed by KaihleenMallzahn told women of the bible not as either perfect midwives of the faith, nor wayward mothers who iCrji 0 my mother, Like an new insaipuon ciched surging of the same blood in have forgotten their children, but M Carrie Baker on an old tomb, so begins their veins that so often leads us indeed as sisters. _£ Weems (1932- Renita J. Wccms .Tiist A Sister to search for perfection in our 1984), who, in light of her Awav. Her dedication reads like mothers and then have to The book ends with the story of sorrows, I now know needed a a re-understanding of one condemn them for their failings. another mother, through a letter sister more than a daughter". woman distanced from another In the same way, this 'Svomanist from the anonymous "Lot's by the closeness of love, by the vision of women's relationships wife" to her two daughters, the Baubo continued... in a political power struggle is wound the cioth around their that now have different names. actuality or symbolically. For emotionally wounded by a necks. The men dazed and But the extra effort was worth example, one of the versions of comment of a lesser god. He is embarrassed did not know what it The book left me enlightened the Hiitiie tale of 2000 B.C., is so devastated by the comment to do. The women knew and and with a feeling of of Kamprupscpa, a goddess of that he cannot f^unclion. Hathor played on the cultural taboo empowermenL While modem healing and magic who mixes then bears her nakedness to her that the Kalinga men are not patriarchal societies have turned honey and menstrual blood as a father which causes him to allowed to lay eyes or hands on women's bodies aiKl sexually way to heal Inara the daughter laugh and gain equilibrium in women. The men (soldiers) into a commodi^, cause for of an old storm goddess who his outlook. could not fight back, "there moral debates, objectiflcation, runs away after a stormy fight would be no honor in fighting reproductive machines, testing with her husband. Her husband A current story is of the unarmed naked women". ground, and receptors of retaliates by creating havoc on Kalinga women in the While these women took violence, Baubo reminds us that the land and refuses to reverse Philippines who used Baubo's enormous risks in doing this our sexual energy is powerful the curse until she returns. She gesture to military men to action they knew that it was an and triumphant regardless of is brought back to her mother protect their homeland. act that could prove effective. lime and culture. by a bee who has used her Until this day no dams have Sling to bring her back. In this According to the story in the been builL The author's analysis story Kamprupscpa and Baubo book, the Kalinga people, who is that the Kalinga women share the role of healer through live in llie mountain area of "constituted a formidable mass sexual energy. northern Luzoa tried through of concentrated sexual power various actions to protect their and a reversal of conventional The Egyptian myth of Hathor ancestral home land from the female behavior." 2300 B.C., has two versions, electric company who wanted one where the goddess Hallior, to use these lands as the The wealth of information Ms. who after a quarrel with her location for large hydroelectric Lubell possesses on the images father leaves and returns after dams. It seemed that the dams of Baubo is impressive, the being told of the great sadness could not be stopped. One day book is well researched and has her absence has caused her the women formed flanks an extensive bibliography. The father and the land. Her coming around the battalion of military difficulty was being able to back home brings balance and men guarding the site. Dressed keep up with her. She had me only in skirts, on cue they look scrambling to history and harmony. Reviewed by Luz Maria off their skirts and used the mythology books in order to Martinez, of Isis International- The second version, is that heavy material as weapons to run after her as we traversed Manila. Luz, a Latina has made Hathor's father who is involved thrash the men, some even 30,000 years through countries Manila her permanertt home. Women in Action,2-V94 27.
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