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Mother goddess

Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience

A traditional idol of the Hindu goddess Durga displayed during the Durga Puja festival in Kolkata.

A mother goddess is a special kind of goddess that people have thought about for a very long time. These goddesses are often seen as mothers or the starters of life, either by giving birth to many things or by helping create the world. They are usually linked to ideas about motherhood, growing things, and the Earth.

Mother Goddess sculpture from Madhya Pradesh or Rajasthan, India, 6th-7th century, in the National Museum of Korea, Seoul

Sometimes, these mother goddesses are called the Mother Earth or Earth Mother because they are connected to the Earth and nature. They are important in many religions where nature plays a big role. In some stories, these goddesses are married to a sky god, who is like a father figure.

In other cultures, like in Ancient Egyptian religion, the sky is seen as a mother figure, and the Earth is seen as a father. This shows how different cultures have their own ways of thinking about these powerful mother figures.

Excavations at Çatalhöyük

Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük

From 1961 to 1965, a scientist named James Mellaart dug at a place called Çatalhöyük, north of the Taurus Mountains in a rich farming area of South-Anatolia. He found many statues there and thought they showed a Great goddess who was very important in a culture where women may have had leading roles. One statue of a seated woman, with lionesses beside her, was found near grain, and Mellaart thought she might have been meant to guard the food. He believed these places were shrines, and one statue, called the Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük, became very famous.

Another scientist, Marija Gimbutas, agreed with Mellaart’s idea that there might have been a time when women led and people honored a mother goddess. This idea led to modern visits to Çatalhöyük.

Starting in 1993, new digs were led by Ian Hodder, with Lynn Meskell studying the statues. They found that only a few statues looked like women, and these were found in many places, not just special sacred spots. Because of this, they thought it was unlikely that a mother goddess was the main focus of worship there.

African religions

In Egyptian mythology, the sky goddess Nut is sometimes called "Mother" because she gave birth to stars and the Sun god. People believed Nut welcomed the dead into her starry sky and gave them food and drink.

In Kongo religion, the Sky Mother, Nzambici, was the partner of the Sky Father and Solar god, Nzambi Mpungu. At first, they were seen as one spirit, half male and half female. After Christianity came to Central Africa, Nzambi was described as the Creator God, and Nzambici became his wife, known as the mother of all animals and the mystery of the Earth.

Hinduism

See also: Devi

Hindu goddess Durga

In Hindu mythology, powerful mother goddesses play an important role. They have many names such as Annapurna, Durga, Parvati, Mahadevi, Shakti, Kali, and Mahakali. Each name shows a different part of her nature. As Annapurna, she gives food and care. As Durga, she fights off evil forces that even the male gods cannot handle. As Kali, she appears in a darker form, linked with both destruction and renewal.

In Hinduism, goddesses like Saraswati, Lakshmi, Radha, Parvati, and Durga represent the feminine power of the supreme being, known as the Brahman. The mother goddess appears in many forms, showing the universal force that creates life. She is Mother Nature, giving birth to all living things and caring for them. She also takes back all life to continue the cycle of creation. She is linked to the world we see and the hidden forces that shape existence.

The worship of this mother goddess goes back to very old Vedic times. The Rigveda calls her the "great mother."

Christianity

The Council of Ephesus in 431 AD named Mary as Theotokos, meaning "God-bearer," and declared her the Mother of God in Christian belief. This was because Jesus Christ is both fully divine and fully human, making Mary the mother of Jesus.

Mary is very important in Christian worship, especially in Catholic and Orthodox traditions. While Protestant traditions usually do not focus on Mary in the same way, Catholic and Orthodox beliefs say that honoring Mary is different from worshipping God, who alone receives adoration.

One of the oldest prayers to Mary, called the Sub Tuum Praesidium, started around the 3rd century and asks for her help and protection. The Hail Mary prayer, which began in the 11th century, became a key part of the Rosary. People honor Mary in many ways, such as through places like Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of the Rosary, and Our Lady of Good Counsel, which are important in different cultures.

Catholic and Orthodox teachings say that at the end of her life, Mary was taken bodily into heaven. She is seen as the greatest saint, and some Christians believe she still helps people through reported appearances and devotions.

Mary is not called a goddess or a divine being in Christian theology. She is described as a created being, different from and below the Triune God.

In pre-Islamic Arabia, Collyridians were a group of Christians who were not accepted by mainstream beliefs. They were said to have made burnt offerings of dough to Virgin Mary. Other Christians considered the Collyridians to be heretics, believing that Mary should be honored but not worshipped like the God of Christianity.

Latter Day Saint movement

Main article: Heavenly Mother (Mormonism)

In the Latter Day Saint movement, especially in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, many believe in a Heavenly Mother who is the wife of God the Father. They are together called Heavenly Parents. Beliefs can differ among various Latter Day Saint groups. Some believe in more than one Heavenly Mother married to one Heavenly Father.

Shakers

For Shakers, Holy Mother Wisdom is believed to appear and be known in her true role, just as the Eternal Father is known.

New religious movements

Zahng Gil-jah is a South Korean woman, seen by the World Mission Society Church of God as “God the Mother” (Korean: 어머니 하나님; RR: Eomeoni Hananim).

In Theosophy, the Earth goddess is called the "Planetary Logos of Earth".

The Mother Goddess, or Great Goddess, is a mix of many feminine goddesses from different cultures, honored today by modern Wicca and others known as Neopagans. She is often seen as a Triple Goddess, taking the forms of Maiden, Mother, and Crone. She is linked to the full moon, stars, the Earth, and the sea. In Wicca, she is sometimes called Gaia.

Carl Gustav Jung thought the idea of a mother was a deep part of all human minds; some followers like Erich Neumann and Ernst Whitmont believe this idea is found in many myths and may come before the idea of a father.

The old Venus figurines from Upper Paleolithic times have sometimes been seen as pictures of an Earth Goddess like Gaia.

In the Baháʼí Faith, Baha'u'llah speaks of the Mother as a way to describe God’s knowledge and truth.

Prehistoric matriarchy debate

Main article: Matriarchal religion § History

Some people believe that ancient societies were led by women and worshipped a powerful mother goddess who cared for the earth and life. This idea started with old theories from the 1800s. However, many scholars think this is not true. They say these ideas are more about modern thoughts than what really happened long ago.

Some feminist writers thought peaceful societies led by women were taken over by groups of men who were fighters. But this idea is now seen as unlikely by many experts. Some believe that finding small statues of women supports the idea of a mother goddess, but scholars say these statues might just show regular women or goddesses, and we cannot be sure a mother goddess was really worshipped.

List of mother goddesses

Many cultures have special women gods who care for people and the world. These gods often represent ideas like nature, life, and love.

Africa

East and Central Asia

West Asia

South Asia

Southeast Asia

Europe

Oceania

Americas

Modern Religions

Related articles

Goddess
Ancient Egyptian religion
Anatolia
Egyptian mythology
Ra
Sky father

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Mother goddess, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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