SOCIETIES OF PEACE: MATRIARCHIES PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE

Societies of Peace: Matriarchies Past Present and Future, edited by Heide Goettner-Abendroth, celebrates women's largely ignored and/or invisible contribution to culture by exploring matriarchal societies that have existed in the past and that continue to exist today in certain parts of the world. Matriarchal societies, primarily shaped by women, have a non violent social order in which all living creatures are respected without the exploitation of humans, animals or nature. They are well-balanced and peaceful societies in which domination is unknown and all beings are treated equally. This book presents these largely misunderstood societies, both past and present, to the wider public, as alternative social and cultural models that promote trust, mutuality, and abundance for all.

Heide Goettner-Abendroth has published various books on matriarchal society and culture and has become the founding mother of Modern Matriarchal Studies. In 1980 she was visiting professor at the University of Montreal (Canada) and, in 1992, at the University of Innsbruck (Austria). In 1986, she founded the International Academy hagia: Academy for Modern Matriarchal Studies and Matriarchal Spirituality in Germany. Recent publications include The Dancing Goddess: Principles of a Matriarchal Aesthetic (Beacon Press, 1991); The Goddess and Her Heros: Matriarchal Religion in Mythology, Fairy-Tales and Poetry (Anthony Publishing Company, 1995); Das Matriarchat (Matriarchal Societies) (three volumes 1988, 1991, 2000). She is one of the 1,000 "Peace Women" all over the world who have been nominated by the Swiss Peace Initiative.