Original Grandmas
ever notice the similarities between some seemingly disparate cultures and myths?
I made a little e-booklet for my Broomcraft Circle and Practically Magic group (you can learn more here!), and just realized that both Toci from Aztec mythology, and Nana Buluku from Fon culture are the OGs! They are original goddesses who gave birth not only to the other gods and goddesses, but to us all.
These two just so happen to both carry a broom as part of their sacred bundle. That broom is for sweeping, of course. But, it is also used for sorting, and even for spreading, in certain cases.
Don’t piss off Granny. She might choose to beat you with her broom handle, or fling pestilence and filth in your direction!
Best remember where you came from ;)
Access the Voice Note Here:
This article was originally published on Substack. You can read the original here.
Audio Transcription:
As part of the Broomcraft Circle that I'm hosting this coming Sunday, I decided I wanted to compile a booklet for all of the attendees. I'm a research nerd, particularly when it comes to global mythology and I just love stories and storytelling. And particularly from different cultures. I like comparing and contrasting. Of course, I love learning new things.
To me, learning a culture's mythology gives so much insight to their modern-day politics and daily life practices. I think so many of us don't really consider that the mythology that we were raised in and the culture that we were steeped in. It has anything to do with our daily life in the present, but I would like to argue that in fact it has everything to do with how we view the world and the cultural practices that we maintain in the present moment, as well as the politics that we are living out.
Anyway, my point here. I'm getting a little distracted by one of my neighbors. We live in San Francisco and parking is a challenge. So I actually always really do appreciate it when people check their bumpers to see if they are infringing on our teeny, tiny little driveways. I digress.
In San Francisco, the research that I was doing, I came across two, well, I came across multiple significant deities, but I was sharing with a friend about these ladies the other day, and something very interesting that came the fore in the old brain pan was how a couple of these women powerful goddesses depicted with brooms as powerful tools in their bundle are Tochi, an Aztec goddess, and Nanabaluku from the Fon people in Africa.
I believe that I'm pronouncing that correctly. Of course, who knows? Now for both of these goddesses, as I was sharing about them, I recognized, oh, they're both original goddesses. They're OGs.
So Nanabaluku is considered to be the original deity that all of us sprang from. She gave birth to all of the Orishas. And I don't, in the research that I did, she's not considered an Orisha. But then some people are referring to her as such. As far as I can tell, she's something else who gave birth to them. And she carries around her crookneck broom.
And then we have Tochi, the Aztec goddess, also considered the O.G. One of the original goddesses up there, you know, I think, did she give birth to Quetzalcoatl? I can't remember that exactly. But she's one of the originals and she walks with her broom and a shield in the other hand.
So both of these women have similar mythology about not only being the originals, but how they wield their broom. So the broom is a sign of reverence for them. And they do, of course, their cleaning, their sweeping, and their sorting.
So it seems, of course, I am a Virgo sun sign, but it seems very Virgoan. Where people think of Virgos as being very neat and meticulous, and I would say that we are not. There's a place for everything and everything in its place. That's kind of the Virgo mantra. We are sorters and separators. People think of it as organization. And in some cases, that's true.
But our season is the harvest. And often the harvest has been brought in for Virgo already. And then we do the separating of the wheat from the chaff. What is it that we will keep? What is it that we will discard? What needs to be processed? What needs to be stored? What needs to be eaten right now? Things like that.
It's the system of the bowels. It is. Deciding what is nutritious and what is waste.
In comes the broom with these OGs. Original goddesses. The broom, as I said, is not just for sweeping out the house, sweeping off the stairs to the temple, sweeping away disease and rot and whatnot, but it's also for sweeping into piles, for sorting.
Now, also a little less known for both of these goddesses. On a rare occasion, when people are quite deserving, both of these goddesses were known to use their broom to spread pestilence. So for in those rare times, for those who were deserving, they would take a bucket of disease and dip their magic brooms into that disease and flick it upon those who needed to be disposed of.
Isn't that a fun thought while we're living through this moment in time? Anyway, I just thought that I would share that with you. How fun is that?
Two different goddesses from across the globe. And of course they do have different personalities. They have different imagery that goes along with them, but both of them original goddesses of creation, both of them carrying brooms as a magical part of their bundle.
Oh yes, I did forget to mention they both are known for whooping ass with those brooms too. So the broom handle is not just for wielding the broom end, but the broom handle is known for doling out punishment as well, defending the territory as we would be wise to do in this modern time.
Anyway, isn't it interesting to see these two very different cultures with very similar ideas of the original goddess and the tools that are in her bundle and what they are used for. I just love it so much.