Women in Ritual and Symbolic Roles

This volume of essays grew out of a symposium organized by Judith Hoch-Smith and Anita Spring for the 1974 American Anthropological Association meetings in Mexico City. The two-part symposium was enti­ tled "Women in Ritual and Symbolic Systems: I. Midwives, Madonnas, and Mediums; ll. Prostitutes, Witches, and Androgynes. " The sym­ posium participants were asked to explore theological, ritual, and sym­ bolic aspects-both positive and negative-of the feminine cultural do­ main, using ethnographic materials with which they were familiar. The resulting papers have been revised, edited, and gathered together in Women in Ritual and Symbolic Roles. The theoretical importance of these papers for the study of women's participation in culture and society rests on the assumption that reli­ gious ideas are paramount forces in social life, that relationships be­ tween the sexes, the nature of female sexuality, and the social and cul­ tural roles of women are in large part defined by religious ideas. That this proposition remains valid long after religion itself has ceased to be a living truth in the lives of many people can be seen from the tenacious­ ness of Judeo-Christian ideas about women in the contemporary West­ ern world. Both the expansion of life options for women and the creation of more positive cultural images of the female are intimately related to changes in the my tho-symbolic portraits that people carry around in their heads. These portraits are almost exclusively constructed from mythological and religious conceptions inherent in all facets of culture.

1. Introduction.- 1. Chaotic Female Sexuality.- 2. Positive Female Images.- 3. Women in Ritual and Symbolic Roles.- 4. Conclusion.- 4.1. Women and Divinity.- 4.2. Women and Healing.- 4.3. Women as Witches.- References.- I Women and Divinity.- 2. The Bride of Christ Is Filled with His Spirit.- 1. Introduction.- 2. The Nature of Metaphor.- 3. The Church.- 4. The Bride of Christ.- 5. Conclusion.- References.- 3. Célibes, Mothers, and Church Cockroaches: Religious Participation of Women in a Mexican Village.- 1. Célibes (Virginal Women).- 2. Mothers.- 3. Cucarachas del Templo (Church Cockroaches).- 4. Conclusion.- References.- 4. To Honor Her Head: Hats as a Symbol of Women’s Position in Three Evangelical Churches in Edinburgh, Scotland.- 1. Introduction.- 2. The Biblical Basis of Meaning.- 3. Core Meanings.- 3.1. Subordination.- 3.2. Dignity.- 3.3. Formality.- 4. Situational Meanings.- 5. Conclusion.- References.- 5. Coming of Age in Kelton: The Constraints on Gender Symbolism in Jewish Ritual.- 1. The Minyan.- 2. The Impact of the Social Field.- 3. The Planning of a Redressive Ritual.- 4. The Ritual Event.- 5. Conclusion.- References.- 6. The Misery of the Embodied: Representations of Women in Sinhalese Myth.- 1. Generation.- 2. Development.- 3. Aggression.- 4. Control.- 5. Conclusion.- 6. Appendix.- References.- II Dual Aspects of Women: Archetypic Nurturance.- 7. Careers of Midwives in a Mayan Community.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Juana, a Prototypical Midwife.- 3. Maria, an Atypical Midwife.- 4. Social and Economic Characteristics of Midwives.- 4.1. Family Background.- 4.2. Parental Expectation.- 4.3. Economic Situation.- 4.4. Personal Character.- References.- 8. Southern Lay Midwives as Ritual Specialists.- 1. Recruitment and Training.- 2. Symbolic Interactions—Nurses and Midwives.- 3. Birth Ceremonies and Rituals.- 4. Conclusion.- References.- 9. Epidemiology of Spirit Possession among the Luvale of Zambia.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Theories about Female Possession.- 3. Luvale Spirit Possession Ritual.- 4. Epidemiology of Ritual Participation.- 5. Categories of Persons Possessed and Matrilineal Continuity.- 6. Doctors and Adepts: A Cooperative System.- 7. Conclusion.- References.- 10. Convivial Sisterhood: Spirit Mediumship and Client-Core Network among Black South African Women.- 1. Recruitment: Liminality and Structural Inferiority.- 2. Mediumship: Reinterpretive Methods and Materials.- 3. Client-Core Network and Communitas.- References.- 11. Bobbes and Zeydes: Old and New Roles for Elderly Jews.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Male and Female Roles in the Shtetl.- 3. The Present Population.- 3.1. Sex Roles among the Elderly Men and Women.- 3.2. Men and Women in Ritual: The Sabbath.- 4. Men, Women, and Food: The Kahal Luncheon.- 5. Ritual and Food: Integration and Continuity.- 6. Men and Women: Present Roles in Present Circumstances.- References.- III Dual Aspects of Women: Archetypic Destruction.- 12. Radical Yoruba Female Sexuality: The Witch and the Prostitute.- 1. Introduction.- 1.1. European Witchcraft.- 1.2. Witchcraft in Africa.- 1.3. Yoruba Witches.- 2. The Carnal Witch in Yoruba Contemporary Theater.- 2.1. The Prostitute.- 2.2. The Co-Wife.- 2.3. Our Mothers.- 2.4. Half Human/Half Animal.- 2.5. The Transvestite.- 3. Conclusion.- References.- 13. Jive Dope Fiend Whoes: In the Street and in Rehabilitation.- 1. The Psychological Stereotype.- 2. Historical Perspective.- 3. So Low She Got to Look Up to Look Down.- 4. Turning Around.- 5. Sex Role Definition as Cultural Variation.- References.