Laura Argiolas

That of the Janas is an ancient story of many centuries, it is the story of our foremothers, women who lived on the island long ago, back when people worshipped the Mother Goddesses. The Janas were Fairies and priestesses, divine and pagan creatures, protectors of nature and women. They were, above all, teachers, skilled in many arts. They were weavers, healers, and seers. They lived in small rooms dug into the stone, the belly of the earth. Place of endings and new beginnings.

The Earth was the Old Mother.

Water was sacred to them. They healed with it, listened to it in the places where the water sang.

Water was medicine

Tied to the moon, the janas were said to have pale faces. During certain nights of the year, they exposed their treasures to the moon. This is when the greedy men, those of the new cult who worshipped the new God, tried to steal their treasures. Then the Janas disappeared after the men stole their buttons from their shirts. Unable to tolerate this greed and malice any longer, the Janas decided to disappear from the visible world.

Archetypes of an egalitarian society, as powerful free women, were often deified and identified as evil witches. In different parts of Sardinia, they take different names and forms, but all the stories embody feminine wisdom and the connection with nature. Their story teaches us the power of independence and the power of knowledge.

Before man came with his violence and greed, the Janas, lived in harmony with each other and nature. Some say that if you know how to look for them, the Janas are still among us.

They live in the trees. In the water
In the rocks
Janas are nature.

Some of the photographs in this project, including those featuring symbolic forehead markings, are inspired by the novel"Janàsa" by Claudia Zedda. I gratefully acknowledge her work as a source of creative inspiration.