Land as female

[AmitaSarin at aol.com]

In response to Peter Claus' posting: "I began to wonder if indeed land WAS
regarded as essentially female. . . " I am citing below the entry on Sita in
Stutleys' Dictionary of Hinduism.
Sita.  The furrow personified as a goddess and worshipped as the deity
presiding over agriculture.  She is mentioned in a hymn (RV., IV.57)
addressed to the lord of the fields (Ksetrapati) and to other divinities
associated with agriculture.  Hence, at the beginning of each sowing season,
twelve furrows (representing the months of the year) were ritually ploughed
by the king or chieftan in the first field.  As the repository of the seed,
furrows were regarded as the earth's female generative organs.

Sita, Rama's wife, is supposed to have sprung from a furrow during the ritual
ploughing by her father, King Janaka.

Regards,
Amita Sarin