Grandmothers of the Light
by
Paula Gunn Allen
ISBN: 9780807081020
Publication Date: 1991-09-01
Allen draws on various Indian traditions to tell the stories of female spiritual figures--"the Great Goddess in a variety of guises." The 21 tales come not only from her own Laguna Pueblo and Lakota peoples, but also from the Aztec, Ojibwa, Maya, Lummi/Nootsac, and Dine. "Stories connect us to the universe of medicine--of paranormal or sacred power," Allen explains. Hers "tell how the cosmos was formed and the ways of magic" and work as "ritual maps or guides" for those who want to walk the path between the mundane and the spirit worlds. Allen acknowledges great differences among Indian communities in North America but stresses the "similarities in world view and spiritual understanding." Given Allen's reputation as poet, storyteller, and scholar and renewed, continuing interest in matrifocal traditions, this book will be a must-read for many people.