In the Nahua culture
immediately following birth male and female infants go through a birth ritual.
The purpose of this ritual is to introduce the newest member into the society.
According to the Nahua culture boys were supposed to be warriors and craftsmen
while the girls did the domestic chores. During the ritual the boys wore
loincloth and a cape and their umbilical cord was buried in a field, which was
meant to associate the boys with a battlefield. The girls wore shift and a
skirt and their umbilical cord was buried in the corner of a house. In the
Nahua culture children were separated into age groups and each group had
certain expectations they had to meet. Every four years a ritual called izcalli happened every four years where
the children of each age group were held above a fire in order to purify them.
After the Nahua
children reach the age of four they begin to take on gender specific roles and
dress like adults. For the boys this means they were taught to sleep on the
floor, endurance, carry firewood, and learned to fish. For the girls this meant
learning how to sweep perfectly, grind maize and make tortillas, and spin
thread on a back-strap loom. All these mandatory tasks that were to be learned
by the children were meant to help them reach a certain size and strength
depending on their gender. The Nahua believed these measures in early childhood
would reflect on the children’s future lives and help contribute to the
prosperity of the society.
References:
Douglass, Susan. N.d. Gender Roles Among the Nahua in the Codex
Mendoza. Electronic document, http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/276, Accessed March 20th, 2014.
Initally, after reading this article I was't as surprised by the tasks the children of the Nahua culture are suppose to perform as I thought I would be. The tasks seem manageable and normal for both genders but what I found to be surprising was how young the children were suppose to start these tasks. In the Nahua culture the children take on these gender roles after they turn four, currently in America children don't start school until they are five and until then have it rather easy. I also found it strange that every four years the Nahua perform a purifying ritual especially because it sounds like the ritual was painful. Overall, the Nahua culture is different from current American culture but their definitely are some similar aspects found in both.
ReplyDeleteLauren, this is insightful and the similarities and differences with American culture are interesting too; greatly appreciated. I would also like you to apply some anthropological reflection based on what you have watched in class, or the readings or lectures. You will also need to fix your references to make them AAA style. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteWhat I commented earlier is important for your evaluation Lauren. I also, think we talked about gender roles in class, and we watched a film, "Milking the Rhino," which mentions part of that (relate to another human group, but that does not matter). Your refs still need to be revised. Please look at Kelly's refs, and try to make it consistent with the rest of the group. Remember, I also look at aesthetic aspects of all this. Thank you
ReplyDeleteAlso, when you talk about surprise, it would be ideal to mention ethnocentrism and cultural relativism, which we discussed in class. You may not have time to do this now, but you can still include it in your talk, and worry about making changes after your presentation. I will look at it all tomorrow afternoon. Thanks
ReplyDeleteInitially, after reading this article I wasn't as surprised by the tasks the children of the Nahua culture are suppose to perform as I thought I would be. The reason I wasn’t as surprised as I had originally had thought I would be is due to ethnocentrism. The values and standards of the American culture follow certain aspects of the Nahua Culture. In America, the majority of the population views men as the dominant sex and women as the submissive sex a lot like the Nahua. The tasks seem manageable and normal for both genders but what I found to be surprising was how young the children were suppose to start these tasks. Cultural relativism also plays a role when comparing the roles for the Nahua versus America. In America, the izcalli ritual would be viewed as wrong but in the Nahua culture it is the cultural norm and what is expected for the Nahua children. In the Nahua culture the children take on these gender roles after they turn four, currently in America children don't start school until they are five and until then have it rather easy. I also found it strange that every four years the Nahua perform a purifying ritual especially because it sounds like the ritual was painful. Overall, the Nahua culture is different from current American culture but there definitely are some similar aspects found in both.
ReplyDelete