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Matriarchal Studies – Matriarchatsforschung New Bilingual Website

The Academy HAGIA is pleased to announce its newly created, bilingual website, Matriarchal Studies—Matriarchatsforschung (AHMSM), a unique bibliography of Modern Matriarchal Studies.

The Academy HAGIA has been planning the launch of AHMSM for quite some time, and now it is available on internet, in German at: www.matriarchatsforschung.comand in English at: www.matriarchalstudies.com

The Bibliography exhaustively lists all known studies of and commentaries on the subject of matriarchies, from ancient times up to the modern day. Each title mentioned includes a short caption, so that the origin and development of the field of matriarchy can be traced through to the establishment of modern matriarchal studies.

In the first part of AHMSM offers anthropological publications describing matriarchal societies and societies with matriarchal elements worldwide, in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia. The second part of the bibliography is dedicated to the history of matriarchal cultures through archaeological publications and the history of cultures, which have contributed to the knowledge about matriarchal societies in history in West Asia and Europe.

 The Oxford University Press (U.S.) first published this comprehensive, English-language bibliography in 2015, with an update published in 2019, the same year that it was translated into German, making this excellent intellectual tool for research on matriarchal societies now accessible in both English and German.

Licensed by Oxford University Press, AHMSM is available, free of charge, as a gift to scholars and people interested in Modern Matriarchal Studies.

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Matching Fundraiser for ASWM Projects!

Opis, Roman Goddess of Abundance

Our First Matching Funds Campaign! Help us get to $5,000!

We are thrilled to announce a generous donor has offered to match your donation, dollar for dollar, up to $5,000. We are so thrilled and grateful for this support!

Please help us not let this generous offer slip away. Make a donation now and have your gift DOUBLED! No amount is too small to match.  Here’s why:

The ASWM Board, Advisory Council and volunteer committees have many projects and programs in the works as we continue to build this vibrant community.  We are hard at work on our 2020 conference, our next publication of proceedings, the next members only salons,  our online Resource Library, and a long overdue website redesign.  Please help us reach our goals by donating today!

Questions about donating to ASWM? Please contact our Board Treasurer: womenandmyth @gmail. com.

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Women and Spirituality Conference in Minnesota

38th Annual Women and Spirituality Conference

September 20-22, 2019

Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN

The classic women’s spirituality conference.

Keynote: Inanna’s Journey: Letting Ourselves Off the Hook

Presented by Rev. Judith Laxer

Rev. Laxer is the founder of Gaia’s Temple in Seattle, WA, and author of Along the Wheel of Time: Sacred Stories for Nature Lovers [Ravenswood Publishing]

Conference organizers say: “Our purpose is to provide a supportive and nurturing setting for a dialogue of caring and mutual respect between and among people from many spiritual and religious traditions. The conference does not advocate or exclude any view and continues to foster an understanding and celebration of similarities and differences. May we continue to aid one another on our individual and communal spiritual journeys.” Learn more about the conference and register at https://womenandspirituality.org/

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Save the date for the 2020 ASWM Conference

Rivers of Change, Prophecy, Possibilities

Friday March 13 and Saturday March 14, 2020 will be the sixth biennial ASWM conference. There will be two days of keynote addresses, panel discussions, workshops and roundtables. It will be a great time to share our passions for women and mythology, as expressed in our scholarship in research and the arts.

In 2020, we will meet at the beautiful Temaya Hyatt Regency, Santa Ana Pueblo,  near Albuquerque, New Mexico. Visit the link to explore this gorgeous location.

For those of you who are interested in our friends in the Matriarchal Studies group, they plan to meet in the same location on Sunday, March 15, 2020.

Watch our website and news blog for updates coming soon.

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Dr. Savithri Shanker De Tourreil


Dr. Savithri Shanker De Tourreil

Sadly, we report that Dr. Savithri Shanker De Tourreil (1935-2019) passed away from complications related to illness, in Montreal, Quebec, on 18 June 2019. She was 84. She was a beloved member of our ASWM community of scholars.

Dr. De Tourreil who held degrees in English literature and religious studies was an active member of the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM) where she presented foundational and engaging studies on the matrilineal cultures and customs of Kerala. Her groundbreaking ethnographic doctoral research on women-centered social customs among the Nayar community, *Nayars in a South Indian Matrix: A Study Based on Female Centered Rituals* (Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, 1995) continues to serve as an inspiring model of feminist ethnography, feminist religious studies, matrilineal kinship, goddess scholarship, Hindu women, social change and social customs. Savithri cherished her colleagues and friends in the ASWM circle, and until failing health prevented her from traveling, actively participated in ASWM conferences. Savithri’s clear, original and engaging discussions on the ethnographic, sociological, and anthropological dimensions of women-centered religious practices, gift-economies, matrilineal studies, and goddess mythology have enlivened many ASWM conferences. Savithri’s research has been widely published in feminist religious studies and matrilineal studies.

Full of laughter and wisdom, Savithri was an inspiration to scholars everywhere.  Her niece, Gayatri Devi, who co-presented with her, is a member of our ASWM Board. It was Savithri and Gayatri who taught us the wonderful Hand Blessing of the women of Kerala. To paraphrase the famous Jewish prayer, her memory is a blessing to us all.