Weaving the Past : A History of Latin America's Indigenous Women From the Prehispanic Period to the Present

"Weaving the Past" offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary history of Latin America's indigenous women. While the book concentrates on native women in Mesoamerica and the Andes, it covers indigenous people in other parts of South and Central America, including lowland peoples in and beyond Brazil, and Afro-indigenous peoples, such as the Garifuna, of Central America. Drawing on primary and secondary sources, it argues that change, not continuity, has been the norm for indigenous peoples whose resilience in the face of complex and long-term patterns of cultural change is due in no small part to the roles, actions, and agency of women. The book provides broad coverage of gender roles in native Latin America over many centuries, drawing upon a range of evidence from archaeology, anthropology, religion, and politics. Primary and secondary sources include chronicles, codices, newspaper articles, and monographic work on specific regions.; Arguing that Latin America's indigenous women were the critical force behind the more important events and processes of Latin America's history, Kellogg interweaves the region's history of family, sexual, and labour history with the origins of women's power in prehispanic, colonial, and modern South and Central America. Shying away from interpretations that treat women as house bound and passive, the book instead emphasizes women's long history of performing labour, being politically active, and contributing to, even supporting, family and community well-being CONTENTS......Page 11 ONE: Introducing the Indigenous Women of Latin America......Page 17 Some Introductory Remarks......Page 18 Some Useful Concepts......Page 19 Some Background on Latin America’s Earliest Women......Page 25 TWO: Of Warriors and Working Women: Gender in Later Prehispanic Mesoamerica and the Andes......Page 32 Women and Gender among Northern and Central Mexican Peoples: Parallel Organizations, Hierarchical Ideologies......Page 33 The Postclassic Ñudzahui: Elite Gender Complementarity......Page 44 The Maya of the Classic and Postclassic Periods: The Flexible Patriarchy......Page 49 The Andes: Women and Supernatural and State Power......Page 55 Conclusion......Page 65 THREE: Colliding Worlds: Indigenous Women, Conquest, and Colonialism......Page 67 Gender, Sex, and Violence in the Conquest Era......Page 69 Laboring Women: Paying Tribute, Losing Authority......Page 77 Family and Religious Life: The Paradoxes of Purity and Enclosure......Page 85 A Rebellious Spirit......Page 95 Conclusion......Page 100 FOUR: With Muted Voices: Mesoamerica’s Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century Women......Page 104 Nahua Women: Complementarity within Submissiveness......Page 106 Oaxaca: Land of the “Matriarchs”?......Page 117 Maya Women: Working, Weaving, Changing......Page 126 Conclusion......Page 139 FIVE: Fighting for Survival through Political Action and Cultural Creativity: Indigenous Women in Contemporary South and Central America......Page 141 Women in the Andes: Revolutionizing Tradition in the Highland Cultures of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia......Page 143 Women in the Tropical Lowlands of South America: Egalitarian Political Structures, Female Subordination, and the Fight for Cultural Survival......Page 156 Indigenous Women in Central America: Searching for Empowerment in Diverse Circumstances......Page 171 Conclusion......Page 181 SIX: Indigenous Women: Creating Agendas for Change......Page 183 ORGANIZATIONS MENTIONED IN THE TEXT AND THEIR ACRONYMS......Page 193 C......Page 195 I......Page 196 R......Page 197 Z......Page 198 NOTES......Page 199 BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 253 A......Page 331 B......Page 332 C......Page 333 D......Page 335 E......Page 336 F......Page 337 G......Page 338 H......Page 339 K......Page 340 L......Page 341 M......Page 342 P......Page 345 R......Page 347 S......Page 348 T......Page 350 W......Page 351 Z......Page 352 Introducing The Indigenous Women Of Latin America. Some Introductory Remarks ; Some Useful Concepts ; Some Background On Latin America's Earliest Women -- Of Warriors And Working Women: Gender In Later Prehispanic Mesoamerica And The Andes. Women And Gender Among Northern And Central Mexican Peoples: Parallel Organizations, Hierarchical Ideologies ; The Postclassic Ñudzahui: Elite Gender Complementarity ; The Maya Of The Classic And Postclassic Periods: The Flexible Patriarchy ; The Andes: Women And Supernatural And State Power ; Conclusion -- Colliding Worlds: Indigenous Women, Conquest, And Colonialism. Gender, Sex, And Violence In The Conquest Era ; Laboring Women: Paying Tribute, Losing Authority ; Family And Religious Life: The Paradoxes Of Purity And Enclosure ; A Rebellious Spirit ; Conclusion -- With Muted Voices: Mesoamerica's Twentieth- And Twenty-first Century Women. Nahua Women: Complementarity Within Submissiveness ; Oaxaca: Land Of The Matriarchs? ; Maya Women: Working, Weaving, Changing ; Conclusion -- Fighting For Survival Through Political Action And Cultural Creativity: Indigenous Women In Contemporary South And Central America. Women In The Andes: Revolutionizing Tradition In The Highland Cultures Of Ecuador, Peru, And Bolivia ; Women In The Tropical Lowlands Of South America: Egalitarian Political Structures, Female Subordination, And The Fight For Cultural Survival ; Indigenous Women In Central America: Searching For Empowerment In Diverse Circumstances ; Conclusion -- Indigenous Women: Creating Agendas For Change -- Organizations Mentioned In The Text And Their Acronyms. Susan Kellogg. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 239-315) And Index. Weaving the Past is the first comprehensive history of Latin America's indigenous women. Concentrating mainly on native women in Mesoamerica and the Andes, Susan Kellogg also uncovers the history of indigenous people in other parts of South and Central America, including lowland peoples in and beyond Brazil, and Afro-indigenous peoples, such as the Garifuna of Central America. Common to these diverse peoples has been women's long history of labor and industry, political activism, and family and community sustenance. Here we meet women as diverse as Malinche, the translator and sometime consort of Hernan Cortes; Rigoberta Menchu, an activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner; and Domitila Barrios de Chungara, an activist in Bolivia's mining communities in the 1970s. Spanning prehispanic, colonial, and modern Latin America, Weaving the Past is a work of remarkable historical synthesis, drawing upon a wide range of sources from archaeology, anthropology, religion, and politics. Offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary history of Latin America's indigenous women. Concentrating mainly on native women in Mesoamerica and the Andes, this book also covers indigenous peoples in a variety of areas of South and Central America. It also argues that change, not continuity, has been the norm for indigenous peoples.