Weekly Reader: The 13 Original Clan Mothers: Your Sacred Path To Discovering The Gifts, Talents, and Abilities of The Feminine Through The Ancient Teachings of the Sisterhood by Jamie Sams; A Beautiful Book About Discovering The Feminine Aspects Inside All of Us
By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
The Kiowa tribe of the Great Plains showed a lot of respect for the Feminine Spirit. Many of their teachings centered around 13 figures that represent different aspects and personality traits of womanhood.
These teachings are gathered in Jamie Sam's book The 13 Original Clan Mothers in which the figures are described and are featured in stories in which they (and the Reader no doubt) are taught a lesson, also called medicine, which helps aid them on their paths in life.
The Clan Mothers are a diverse group of women that cover various careers, traits, and stages in life. They are:
Talks With Relations (The Mother of Nature)-One with nature, she communicates with animals and plants and develops the strongest bond with the natural world.
Wisdom Keeper (The Protectress of the Sacred Tradition)- The resident scholar, teacher, and historian, she collects and shares the oral and written traditions with others.
Weighs the Truth (The Keeper of Equality and Guardian of Justice)- A lawyer and judge, she sees through accusations and determines rewards and punishment based on justice and fairness.
Looks Far Woman (Keeper of the Golden Door and Crack in the Universe)- An oracle, dreamer, and prophet, she uses her psychic abilities to see into the future and to help others prepare for it.
Listening Woman (The Mother of Tyoweith aka The Stillness and Inner Knowing)- She has the ability of listening to things unheard like the sounds of nature, music in the distance, and thoughts unspoken to find out what is hidden.
Storyteller (The Guardian of the Medicine Stories)- The actress and comedian of the group, she shares oral stories to entertain and teach lessons to her listeners.
Loves All Things (The Mother of Unconditional Love and All Acts of Pleasure)- She is the guardian of different kinds of love such as parental, spiritual, and romantic love.
She Who Heals (Keeper of the Healing Arts)- She is the one who heals the sick and is a midwife for childbirths.
Setting Sun Woman (The Guardian of the Needs of the Next Seven Generations)- A teacher, she guides and leads the younger generation to become the next leaders and thinkers.
Weaves the Web (The Mother of Creativity)-She is the artist who encourages creativity through art, textiles, sculpture, music, dance, and other aspects.
Walks Tall Woman (The Guardian of Leadership and the Keeper of New Paths)- She is the most athletic and active member of the clan, as well as a staunch warrior and protector.
Gives Praise (The Mother of All Acts of Thanksgiving and Keeper of Abundance)-She leads celebrations that honor births, namings, harvests and other important gatherings and always reminds others to give thanks for what they receive.
Becomes Her Vision (The Guardian of Transformation and Transmutation)- She is in charge of the major transformations in the physical and natural world such as birth, life, and death and the change in seasons. She also appears to be the leader of the Clan Mothers since hers is the only story where all 13 make an appearance.
The Clan Mothers are described in text that refers to their functions. Then each chapter branches off in telling a story about the Mother and how she uses her ability to solve a problem usually as she begins her path as a Mother.
For example, Weighs the Truth learns about her abilities as a judge. She learns to observe details and trust her instincts so she can resolve a case between two feuding tribe women.
These women are not perfect and they aren't meant to be. Much like the people who the stories are meant for, the Mothers stumble, make mistakes, and are impatient, insecure, and confused. The medicines help smooth out their rough edges to become better women and leaders.
While Walks Tall Woman is a consummate athlete and wins most races and competitions, she has to learn to pause in her activities, hold back so she doesn't overexert herself, and accept defeat graciously.
The stories also focus on the Mother's connections with animals guides and the people around her.
Every one of the Mothers has one or several animal guides and the guides provide the Mothers a skill that helps them in their chosen path.
In gathering information, Wisdom Keeper learns from Pig to use intelligence and reasoning ability, Mouse to pay attention to detail through scrutiny and how to keep herself from becoming overwhelmed, Chipmunk to respect the smallest part of nature through interrelationship and equality, and Turtle Dove to nurture dreams of peace and find peace within herself. The medicines the animals teach Wisdom Keeper helps her in her attempts to study, learn, write, and gather information to provide her people with their history.
The stories are filled with beautiful description that captured the various sensory images experienced by the Mother. The Reader is bombarded with lovely description of running water, tranquil forests, and personified animals and plants as each nature being is bound with a spirit that watches over these Mothers and their tribe. During her first morning Talks With Relations observes nature around her:
“Talks With Relations marveled at the luxurious green of the Earth Mother's verdant forests and valleys. The Great Ice Mountains had not yet traveled this far south and so parts of the only land mass, Turtle Island were given a short reprieve. Life was teeming amid the books and crannies of every inch of the sunlit soil and plant growth that spread before her. She stretched and raised her arms to the light of Grandfather Sun. 'Oh what a pleasure it is to be alive,’ she whispered to herself.”
These lovely descriptions not only create wonderful mental pictures but serve as reminders of the large world of which the Clan Mothers and the people they care are parts.
The final chapters reveals Sams’ meditative encounters with the Clan
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