The Goat Bearers

The mythological roots of my overarching "Witch and Familiar" series are seated in the past of my area, the ancient near east. In this mini collection “The Goat Bearers” that’s a part of the larger series, my witches and their goat familiars correspond with the Sumerian figurines known as "The Goat Bearers". These figurines, common throughout the ancient near east depict worshippers bringing goat tribute to the god Ea/Enki. The goat offered was sometimes given in the form of a live animal or as an animal statue that was used as an alternate tribute. Another form of offering would be a figurine of a human carrying the goat to be offered. 

In Sumerian myth Ea/Enki was the god of water, knowledge, wisdom, science, craftsmanship and magic. In his capacity as god of water he was represented as a fish, or by a fish familiar, and for his domain of craftsmanship and magic - he was represented by a goat. Often his symbol was in fact a goat-fish. Upper body of a goat and lower body of a fish. The dual nature of the god Enki is mirrored in the witch's nature of a 'walker between worlds' and her goat by her side as another manifestation of this duality. 

In the ancient artefacts the goat is used to represent the god in visual material or in association with him. The animal is closely related to the god and acts as his proxy, just as the witch's familiar is associated with her. The ancient goat bearers, by bringing tribute, become the image of their god and its familiar animal for the duration of the ritual. This practice was common throughout the ancient near east over a long period of time as evident by the many goat bearing artifacts found. There’s a debate among historical researchers as to whether these statues are a representation of the worshipper, the offering or the god himself. I welcome this blurred line and invite a reading that's comfortable with an ever-shifting subject and manifestation. 

While the historical figurines have all been of male figures carrying the goats (and all sporting long fancy beards while at it), my work features all female characters. It's both a celebration of femininity and of witches who were present in abundance throughout the area and its history in spite of being written out of the central narrative. They are consistently mentioned and are historically evident everywhere but have been marginalized in the grander scheme of things.
I'm reclaiming their past and their presence.

My work is a modern adaptation of the Sumerian figurines of the goat bearers by way of a personal myth. The goat is very common to the near east both in ancient and modern times. They are used extensively as livestock and can also be seen in abundance throughout ancient history of the region in art, craft and magic. 

My focus with these two characters in each piece is a relationality that’s both of the material realm - one of kinship, familial connection (being a familiar) and also a spiritual relation, presenting an integrated manifestation of oneness with nature/place and the world. The familiar can act as a proxy or mediator between spirit and the human realm, but the witch herself is also a creature capable of travelling between the realms. Together their synergetic quality presents a single creature with a dual nature. Like reality itself with its dual nature of ordinary daily life and the realm of myth and other states of being and consciousness. 

In the myths of Mesopotamia, Enki is seen as a wise entity who knows all. Goats were used to symbolize his intelligence, mischievousness and virility. In a sense I prefer to detach the animal from its symbolic meaning and point to it as the thing it is. A living being, a particular individual whose part of a species, interacting/sharing their life with another individual in the scenes I’m drawing. The animal individual has their own cultural background, archetype pool to draw from and human and more than human world they commune and communicate with. They undoubtedly carry a symbolic charge for us as humans but they do not remain a symbol. 

The goat, much like our world at large, has gone through a process of disenchantment. Today it’s perceived as a somewhat mechanistic being, used for utilitarian purposes, bereft of its glorious mythic past. I’m shifting back the view with these pieces and redirecting our mind’s eye to magic. Seeing both the goat and the witch as a multifaceted unit with dual or quadruple nature.