Off on a rant here

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Posted by Catherine Cartwright Jones on September 10, 2001 at 14:15:08:

In reply to: Catherine....have a question for ya...please posted by Willowhawk on September 10, 2001 at 07:53:37:

: I have found a couple of obscure references to Henna being sacred to
: Hecate (or her Priestesses at least).

Sorry. Nope. Wrong belief system and out of the climate zone. That's
someone's wishful thinking. (They're close, but no cigar.) It's a
problem with sloppy writing and publishing. When someone gets a notion
and writes something down (internet and Llewellyn and Green Egg and
suchlike are guilty of this) and the editors don't stop and say
"provide scholarly references or bag it" .... this damn thing gets
repeated and repeated and slowly becomes accepted whether or not there
was any credible evidence to support it. I believe the Hecate may
have come from 1 or 2 works of fiction that someone took to be
fact......

Anath was a battlefield goddess and has some parallels with Hecate,
but the henna doesn't transfer over in this case. Anath's henna use
transfers to Athena prior to 500 BCE, but loses it after that.

One of the reasons I've started towards a phd in henna is that I want
to establish a proper academic discourse for henna ... within anthro,
art history, women's studies, etc. Without that laid down and
published, henna will endlessly be plagued with "it feels nice to me
so it must be true" twaddle. I'm lucky to have found a prof straight
off that's tightassed about references, research, methodology and all.

I also love taking a shot at sacrosanct assumptions and methodology in
famous studies when I see a big hole ... (many of the anthro studies
focus exclusively on men's activities in terms of food-gathering,
tools, technology as being the determiner in change, cultural
evolution, kinship ... and seem to imply that women are entirely
passive in these processes. Emmmmmm.....????? I don't think so. )
It's a good thing. I get to challenge him in class and he makes me
back it up in four part harmony. Excellent exercise.

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: : I have found a couple of obscure references to Henna being sacred to : : Hecate (or her Priestesses at least). : : Sorry. Nope. Wrong belief system and out of the climate zone. That's : someone's wishful thinking. (They're close, but no cigar.) It's a : problem with sloppy writing and publishing. When someone gets a notion : and writes something down (internet and Llewellyn and Green Egg and : suchlike are guilty of this) and the editors don't stop and say : "provide scholarly references or bag it" .... this damn thing gets : repeated and repeated and slowly becomes accepted whether or not there : was any credible evidence to support it. I believe the Hecate may : have come from 1 or 2 works of fiction that someone took to be : fact...... : : Anath was a battlefield goddess and has some parallels with Hecate, : but the henna doesn't transfer over in this case. Anath's henna use : transfers to Athena prior to 500 BCE, but loses it after that. : : One of the reasons I've started towards a phd in henna is that I want : to establish a proper academic discourse for henna ... within anthro, : art history, women's studies, etc. Without that laid down and : published, henna will endlessly be plagued with "it feels nice to me : so it must be true" twaddle. I'm lucky to have found a prof straight : off that's tightassed about references, research, methodology and all. : : : I also love taking a shot at sacrosanct assumptions and methodology in : famous studies when I see a big hole ... (many of the anthro studies : focus exclusively on men's activities in terms of food-gathering, : tools, technology as being the determiner in change, cultural : evolution, kinship ... and seem to imply that women are entirely : passive in these processes. Emmmmmm.....????? I don't think so. ) : It's a good thing. I get to challenge him in class and he makes me : back it up in four part harmony. Excellent exercise.
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