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THIS IS A FREE EVENT, love offerings are welcome but not required. The Red Tent movie will start as close to 2pm as possible. We will view the movie for 1-1.5 hours, break for a nice yoga session. Yoga helps us to get into our bodies while deep breathing helps us to integrate our healing experiences. We ask that you bring a covered dish to add to the bounty table and that you covey your dietary needs. Jevim will be cooking the main dish which will be gluten, sugar and dairy free. You should bring a camping chair or your favorite cushion and blanket (if desired). Please message Jevim to RSVP, food list and address! Space is limited!What is Red Tent?
In the book, narrated by Dinah (Jacob's daughter and a minor figure in Genesis), the red tent is a dedicated, separate tent where the women of Jacob's household—his four wives (Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah) and eventually Dinah—retreat during menstruation and childbirth. The tent's reddish hue (likely from dyed fabrics or the light filtering through) evokes blood, linking it symbolically to the "secret blood" of menstruation and the life-giving (yet dangerous) process of birth.It serves as a sacred, women-only space—a sanctuary away from men—where cycles synchronize due to close living, allowing the women to gather together. Inside, they rest, heal, share stories of their lives, gossip, sing, pass down wisdom, celebrate fertility, and perform rituals tied to ancient goddesses (like Inanna/Ishtar). It's a place of empowerment, sisterhood, mutual support, and feminine mysteries: recounting childbirth sagas, initiating young women into womanhood, offering comfort during bleeding or labor, and honoring the cycles of life and death. Diamant portrays it positively as a refuge of repose, restoration, and community, where women give thanks for the "gift" of blood that cleanses and prepares the body, contrasting with the male-dominated world outside. The tent underscores themes of women's hidden strength, oral traditions, and bonds amid hardship.Historical Facts and Context. Historically, there is no direct evidence in ancient Israelite, Canaanite, or Mesopotamian sources for a specific "red tent" used in this way by women in Jacob's era or biblical patriarchs' time. Author Anita Diamant has stated she found no proof of menstrual tents among ancient Hebrews/Israelites in the region (modern-day Iraq/Israel area), and the concept is her fictional creation for the novel. That said, the idea draws plausibility from broader ancient and pre-modern practices:Many cultures worldwide (including some Native American, African, and other pre-industrial societies) had menstrual huts or seclusion spaces where women retreated during menstruation or after childbirth, often for ritual purity, rest, or separation due to taboos around blood. In the ancient Near East, menstrual blood carried ritual impurity concepts (similar to later biblical laws in Leviticus 15 on niddah, where menstruating women were considered unclean and avoided certain activities/temples, though not necessarily isolated in a tent). Separation during menstruation or postpartum existed in various forms, but often as restriction rather than celebration. Some scholars note that Diamant's positive, empowering spin (sisterhood, goddess worship, rest) contrasts with many real historical menstrual huts, which could be isolating or punitive. Childbirth practices in the novel (e.g., using midwife's bricks for squatting) draw from some attested ancient sources, mainly Ancient Egypt.
The red tent thus blends historical inspiration (ritual separation, women's roles in midwifery and family life) with creative fiction to give voice to women's experiences largely absent from the Bible. It's a powerful literary device for exploring ancient womanhood, even if not literally historical.
All women from all faiths and backgrounds are welcome to join!
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Maryville, TN, United States
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