I am reading all these theories about how Queen Bertha Broadfoot got her nickname, but honestly I just want her to be a legendary beauty with large feet and leave it at that.

#WomensEpics #history #epics #MiddleAges

It's always fun to find out that other people in the Middle Ages wrote fan fiction about your country 😆

#WomensEpics #Hungary

#WomensEpics 2/2

The tale of the Nisan shamaness (Manchu)
Ocy-Bala (Altai)
Hi'iakaikapoliopele (Hawaii)
Queen Bertha (France)
Manasa (Bengal)
Chandravati's Ramayana (Bengal)
Umesiben Mama (Manchu)
Repunnot-un-Kur (Ainu)
Nne Mgbaafo (Igbo)
Ashima (Yi)
Juliana (Anglo-Saxon)
Sirin Mama (Sibe)

Note: this list doesn't include the stories I could not find a translation for (see earlier toots for that list)

#epics #folklore #women

Alright, so I am still working on the list and which ones I'll be able to read, but here is what I have right now
1/2

Follow #WomensEpics for updates

Agu-Nogon-Abakha (Buryat)
Bidasari (Malaysia)
Cilappatikaram (Tamil)
Matabagka seeks the deity of the wind (Philippines)
Epic of Siri (Tulu)
Tale of Princess Fatima (Arab)
The song of Grotti (Iceland)
Inyan Olugu (Igbo)
Hervor and Heidrek (Iceland)
Silence (France)
Gudrun (Germany)
Mṛcchakatika (India)
Manimekalai (Tamil)
Kundalakesi (Tamil)

Today's #MythologyMonday theme is Sisters.

As it happens I just finished reading the Bengali epic of Manasa, the Snake Goddess. She is an accidental daughter of Shiva. She spends the entire epic trying to gain recognition among the gods, and then among mortals.

She is supported all the way by her sister Neta, who is the perfect balance of intelligence and calculation to Manasa's flares of fury and power. They made a great duo 🐍

#sister #women #mythology #epics #folklore #WomensEpics

My favorite moment from the Bengali epic of the Snake Goddess so far:

A king pissess off the goddess by destroying her altar, so she sends an army of snakes against him. Surrounded by serpents he flees into a haystack to hide - and comes face to face with a chameleon.

The chameleon just shakes its head, and the king breaks down crying. That was the last straw.

Such a fun moment. 🐍🐍🐍🦎

😄

#epics #WomensEpics #folklore #storytelling

#WomensEpics that need an English translation ASAP, round two:

- Catakantaravanan: a Tamil epic that elaborates on the Ramayana, but in this story, it is Sita who fights a demon king

- Matabagka Seeks the Deity of the Wind: epic from the Philippines about a girl's heroic journey (this one has an English translation, but only in a thesis manuscript in the UP library)

#WomensEpics #epics #folklore #women #WomensHistory

My retail therapy is ordering translations of underappreciated epics online late at night.

#reading #bookstodon #epics #folklore #WomensEpics

The epic I am currently reading described a horny god's state of mind as "a welter of prurient thoughts"

And I am now thinking this could be a great title for... something?

What would you use this phrase for?

😄😄

#epics #WomensEpics #language #storytelling

The more research I do for this #WomensEpics reading project, the more epics I find out about that need English translations a.s.a.p. Like. Seriously.

#epics #folklore #translation #translator #AmReading #bookstodon

So by the way, the epic of Princess Fatima was an amazing read. But sadly the longest English translation to date only includes 11 episodes out of 455. And even those in an abridged version.

Who do we talk to about getting a fuller translation?...

#epics #WomensEpics #translation #literature #AmReading #folklore #women

Alright, since many of you asked so excitedly :)

#WomensEpics I have read so far:

Shirin Mama (Sibe people) - warrior girl defeats bandits and rescues orphaned children, becoming a goddess

Chandravati's Ramayana (Bengal) - 16th century retelling from Sita's perspective

Ochi-Bala (Altai people) - warrior maiden fights an evil sorcerer to protect her people

I'm currently reading The Tale of Princess Fatima - an Arabic epic about a warrior woman

#epics #folklore #women #storytelling

I'll be sharing some tidbits on here as I go along :) Would it help to have a hashtag? #WomensEpics ?

I am reading the Altaic epic about the warrior maiden Ocy-Bala. She is described as "tall from birth", with broad shoulders and a wide back.

Hell yeah, buff lady :D

#epics #folklore #women #WomensEpics