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søndag 1. august 2010

Clan of the Horses/Hestenes klan

The earliest depictions of women riding astride can be seen in Mongolian, Greek and Celtic art. But through the centuries it has often been considered inappropriate for women to ride in this manner. Women were best seated aside, being led by a man...

Etymology (the study of the history of words) has always intrigued me. And I have always been fascinated by Greek and Norse mythology. About ten years ago I made an interesting discovery that had its origins in the combination of these two interests. The definition of a centaur is a “creature half human half horse”, but all the centaurs I had seen in art were masculine. Still the definition didn’t read “half man, half horse”. Where were all the female centaurs and what are they called? To my astonishment none of my dictionaries could provide an answer to that question.

Another thing I noticed was that the Amazons in Greek mythology supposedly cut off/burnt off their right breast to be able to use a bow more freely without physical "limitations". But there is no indication of such a practice in works of art, in which the Amazons are always depicted with two breasts, although the right one is frequently covered. That made me think. Why would it be so impossible to go into battle with two breasts? I can’t remember ever having read that men needed to be emasculated in order to ride a horse in battle, although it makes a lot more sense.

When reading about women and horses, I always had a feeling that something was missing or hidden. And after years of research I think I have found that missing piece, or rather, I think the piece has found me. It turns out that there is another side of the story when it comes to women and horses
- a story that is ripe to be told, as it turned out.

On this blog you can read about women and horses as they are described through written mythological and historical records, but more importantly you are invited to read excerpts of a completely different story: A story that women have preserved through the centuries solely by oral traditions and secret clans, referred to as Clan of the Horses/Hestenes klan.