diTeri Volini
…. that war has always existed...
The metaphor of war is very much in use in the time of Covid-19, with a whole repertoire of similar words: fight, fight, attack, assault, annihilate, defeat, weapons, battle and the like.
The automatic choice of war terms is singular, but it is not too surprising: it is in fact typical of male / patriarchal thought to refer to this powerful Archetype, inculcated in human minds since the beginning of historical times: that war has always existed, almost a biological fact, written in DNA: an inevitable destiny.
Such an assertion, far from being neutral, has had disastrous consequences for humanity, because, traveling through the centuries, it has been able to work deeply, nourishing the worst part of humanity, up to to justify the aggression of other men and of the earth: conquest, oppression, violent destruction, rape, torture and all sorts of atrocities carried out in the last 6 years, to the point of making them "normal", and whose protagonists, especially if at the top of power , were respected, honored and exalted with monuments, columns, crowns, medals, plaques, etc.
Even toponymy still transmits the deeds of kings, princes, leaders and conquerors throughout the world, naming streets, squares and gardens after them.
A disruptive message
We had to wait until the end of the 21st century to dismantle the imposture: to have proof that this Faith in war as having existed "always" is the greatest "fake" ever given to us: and also the most harmful, as is known . In the last years of the twentieth century, a great woman, the archaeologist Marija Alseika Gimbutas, offered us on a silver platter the proof of the falsity of that statement, with incontrovertible evidence of the existence of very ancient cultures that systematically practiced peace, favoring it as a primary value.
“From what world is the world”?
The substantial thesis - always considered utopian - of peace as the only possible way for the survival and evolution of humanity and the planet, had always been held back by that fateful false belief: Gimbutas revealed its groundlessness with his archaeological finds and the immense, priceless work that accompanies them: illustration and interpretation of the finds and symbols, in an interdisciplinary panorama, and their interpretation, in countless, relevant publications. Concrete evidence of a culture characterized by a peaceful way of living, which persisted for thousands of years, in a pre-historic era, unknown to most: his biography is enlightening in this regard.
Ostracism
But the discoveries, especially the exceptional ones, which somehow disturbing the status quo, are not immediately absorbed by society; it often happens that they are even hindered and ignored: and this is precisely what happened to Gimbutas, who instead of being rewarded for her "revelation", was first boycotted, then ignored, primarily by the same academic environment that had awarded her prizes and honors for previous, more conventional research.
We have illustrious examples of this low level of human behavior: because of his revolutionary discovery, Galileo was forced to deny it, under penalty of death, and lived secluded at home, in poverty and solitude, his last years humiliated of his life. Gimbutas suffered a very similar fate: his discovery was also revolutionary, perhaps ahead of its time: or more likely it affected a calcified vision, and even more so the too many interests linked to the war and its ruthless commercial and power ramifications .
Give honor to merit
For daring to overturn the cruel refrain "war has always existed", Gimbutas was summarily subjected to censorship; for attempting to destroy a deleterious scheme, she suffered misrecognition,exile, she who had actually suffered this condition in the hard years of the Second World War, when she was forced to flee her country, Lithuania, carrying with her "her little girl on one arm and her degree thesis under the other ”.
A real re-evaluation of it is now taking place: an ever-increasing number of researchers not only recognize the validity of his method, but affirm the value and exceptional nature of all his research. For my part, profoundly struck by the personality and profound value of Gimbutas, for over 20 years I have disseminated his work, recognized and honored his profound influence on my personal and creative life, with articles, conferences, publications and artistic creations, until to become the promoter of a Project that would bear witness to her, starting with the naming of a street, square or green space, and which, in the plaque dedicated to her, would be the visible sign of her revolutionary discovery: it is peace and not war that is written in the DNA of human beings.
Not an easy path
The culmination of a commitment that lasted several years, the dedication was strongly desired by me. Proposed several times in the past, it was in the meantime celebrated with presentations, articles, presences on the blog and with the creation of Homage to Gimbutas. A challenging one ebook published on the web on ISSUU. It took many years to receive the necessary attention, despite the fact that it was such a noble symbolic gesture, without financial burdens, and it was a great honor for the city to have such a dedication as a national premiere; finally in 2017, the proposal received the approval of the Municipal Administration of Potenza.
Causes of a subliminal nature
I couldn't accept the silence, the lack of answers, the lukewarm welcome and the long waits for a proposal so full of meaning. However, I understood that the difficulty was entirely at an unconscious level: institutions and people were linked to the false beliefs from which they had received a message imprinting so strong, as to be unable to admit the total overturning of a universally sanctioned "rule": as for Galileo, who had disavowed the enormous "fake" of the earth at the center of the universe, upsetting the social order and religious power: but several centuries have passed since then, what the heck! – I said to myself, disconcerted and disappointed. Only by persevering, without giving up, was the symbolic Action finally accomplished, in 2019, 25 years after Marija's death.
Anniversary
April 30, 2020 marks the 1st anniversary of the institutional dedication to Gimbutas of the large green space in via del Gallitello, at the Unità d'Italia gallery, in Potenza. With the relevant and assisting institutional presence, it was officially named Rotonda Marija Alseika Gimbutas, and 2 plaques were affixed, with the reason for the naming and an image of it.
The dedication meant recognizing a personality at an international level in the promotion of the culture of peace, paying homage to her, remedying the misrecognition to which she had been subjected, disseminating her enlightened and anticipatory work: spreading her message that leads directly to Peace with the Earth.
The vision
Gimbutas' work is fundamental for a completely different look at nature: defense, love and preservation, instead of the aggressive destructive attitude that still prevails today. His discovery and reevaluation of societies that honored the Earth as a living and sentient body, that felt profound union with it and with the entire universe, honoring and respecting it, aligns with the innovative hypotheses of James Lovelock and Fritjof Capra, of a planet that tends towards harmony: a real organism, which hosts us and of which we are part. A powerful vision of pacification, which definitively replaces the crazy war against the Earth that characterizes our time, despite the vaunted progress and whose consequences are destructive for the very survival of humanity.
For the light she shed on the centuries to come, for the consequences of her unparalleled discovery, Marija Gimbutas deserves to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Teri Volini www.terivolini.it
Teri Volini – biographical note
Painter, engraver, land artist, designer, linguist, researcher, lecturer. poet, performer, bearer of memories, she has exhibited since the 80s the magical suggestions of La Montagna Stregata - inspired by the small Lucanian Dolomites of which she is native - followed by several cycles of pictorial works, present in over 90 solo exhibitions in regional venues, national and foreign, such as Potenza, Milan, Zurich, Winterthur, Nice, New York, Arles en Provence, Canterbury... with notable feedback from critics and the public, and in numerous group exhibitions, with publications, prizes and recognition.
