Aztec Women Roles and Society

The images of women ar expedient to historians because they provide an discernment into the action experiences, mart-gardenings, thoughts, and every day life of a historical period. besides this essay allow for examine the single- treasured functions of women, which provide insight into the Aztec civilizations some(prenominal) strengths. The Aztec baby bird bearer/warrior, priestess and inner bigcosm leave behind be analyzed to display that sex activity relations were antonymous that produced equality. The midwife and weaver reveal that the Aztecs peculiarity proved sure-fire with fields uniform medicinal drug and the market.Finally the Aztec girl and take will be examined to show that the Aztecs had a strong socialising transcription established finished breeding and the family. For these reasons womens roles allow historians to look at the great picture and see that Aztec guild was go ad possess three percentageicular strengths cosmos that its sex activity complementarity social structure, a victorious specialness of labor party, as well as a passing efficiency in assimilation that allowed Aztec culture to retransmit itself. Gender relations in Aztec culture were base on a grammatical grammatical gender complementarity structure.This structure, Defines phallics and young-bearing(prenominal)s as classifiable except equal and interdependent part of a larger productive whole. The Aztec society was fairly gender divided just womens problems were usually in the heart of the home, taking care of the family and bearing electric razorren, whilst mens vault of heaven was outside and involved hunting, fishing, fighting etc. A clear voice of how roles were interdependent is seen through food production where men hunted and women cooked the catch. for each star role accompanied the other because without one another there would be no sustenance.This pagan ideology could d mad certain because both sexes may eat up understood that each had a specific press/role to fulfill in the end for God which is supported through an admonition in the Codex of Mendoza, This is the wish of our master and his decision that we shall obtain all that is call for for life precisely through sweat, whole through work. Furthermore inside Aztec religion there were two dual-sexed creator deities Ometechuhtli Lord of Durality and Omecihuatl Lady of Durality amongst many other male and female deity couples who were as accountable for a variety of things.This evidence may indicate that gender complementarity relations could have also originated from religion. Nonetheless gender relations in Aztec society were based on gender complementarity. The child bearer/warrior exemplifies how the Aztecs gender complementarity tproduced gender equality because she gained the same title and keep as male warriors. The child bearing role do women distinct from males all the same she was still equal, As the man gained honour by going valiantly into battle, so the cleaning woman gained honour and respect by bearing children because her battle was comparable. The pregnant mother was seen as a warrior entering battle child press because she had to fix her baby. The midwife reinforced this concept because she would emit a war outcry during stab. This evidence shows how child bearing was perceived valuably and made women equal to warriors who were highly respected in Aztec society. If a women died during labour she received the same honour as a warrior fallen in battle and was labeled mocihuacquetzque. in like manner to male warriors this name and honour meant that she would travel to a occidental solar realm where she accompanied the sun.This respect for child pay may have create in Aztec culture because they recognizes that, They too had made a sacrifice of their deliver lives so that a new life could come into the world. Nonetheless the child bearer/warrior role shows historians that s he was different barely also equal to male warriors through the title and honour she received. The priestess carried out certain delegates and responsibilities because of the gender complimentarity structure however her level of importance was fairly equal to male priests.When they were emeritus enough daughters became female priests or cihuatlmacazqui. In Aztec temples priests guarded the temple fires, made offerings, prayed and cleaned whilst female priests accompanied male tasks by spinning, weaving clothing and brush the temple. Although these tasks may be considered trivial in a modern/ western perspective, her responsibilities were equally important because cloth was used as currency/ recommendation in markets and sweeping was highly observed since the Aztecs believed this was purifying the world.Furthermore, whilst dress male priests performed many sacrificial rituals, priestesses were also essential to many rites because only they could perform certain rituals/feasts much(prenominal) as the Ochpanizli Important feast utilize to the mother goddess known as Toci. This may be because this was a female deity however priestesses had certain responsibilities that made them different than male priests exactly equal because these were highly valued. These ideas on gender complementarity or equality may have developed from religion.For example, male and female deities were two distinctive parts as Goddesses were responsible for sustaining life however both equally created valet life. Regardless the Aztec priestess shows historians that her responsibilities were different because she was a distinct part of the gender complementarity structure, however her roles and responsibilities were as equally valuable as male priests. The female sexual being embodies gender complementarity because like a male she was equally responsible to uph doddering sexual norms.This role is being analyzed because Colonial Spanish historians often examine labeled roles such as mother and warrior but sometimes ignore women just as sexual beings. In this role women were expected to be sexually abstinent until marriage, Nothing it, it is still untouched nowhere twisted, still virgin, pure undefiled. Similarly men were told not to desire for vice for filth (illicit sex) that which is deadly or else though wert a dog. therefrom both women and men were expected to be sexually abstinent.This focus on sexual abstention developed because it ensured fertile potency when sex in marriage occurred and allowed ont ao achieve a good heart. Both men and women were as well punished through sacrifice, decapitation, placed into slavery for being promiscuous or committing extra marital affairs as the Codex of Mendoza supports with images of couples being executed. and so although women were different than men, they were equally responsible to uphold sexual abstinence for the great lesson good.The midwife reveals that the Aztecs metier of labour was successful because this allowed one to have extensive fellowship in one field that liftd certain sectors like medicine. The Aztec thought was that each person had a distinctive specialized role to perform in the greater scheme. The Aztec field of medicine like other societal sectors was specialized and gendered so that males were predominantly doctors and healers whilst women were midwives. The midwife ciuatl temixiuitli treated disease, aided with childbirth, provided herbal medicines, message therapy as well as sweat baths.She would concoct a drink from the cuahalahuac tree ground up in water with a red stone called ezetl jasper and the tail of an possum to hasten delivery. Midwives knew that the cuauhalahuac slippery tree helped by lubricating the delivery and the jasper helped to prevent hemorrhaging. Similarly modern studies show that this oxytocic medicine assisted by do strong uterine contractions and cervical dilation. This concoction required extensive knowledge because the midwife had to know what natural ingredients were useful as well as the dosage and measurements needed per patient.According to Bernardino de Sahagun Franciscan Friar who lived amongst the Aztecs just before delivery, The midwife washed and massaged the mother in the steam bath and performed an external reading (turning the fetus by external manipulation) if the fetus was in a rear of tube beat. She would then place the mother in a squatting position for delivery rather than a lithotomic lying down position because midwives knew that this disadvantaged the baby of oxygen. This evidence shows that the midwifes medical knowledge was ecumenical because she had a detailed understanding of Obstetrics.This specialization of may have developed because the Aztecs recognized that having distinct roles like the complementarity system ensured every job or in this case field was filled or because women wagerer understood pregnancy. However this was streamlined because it allowed in dividuals in a certain task or field Obstetrics to collect extensive knowledge and advance the field unlike the possibility of a family doctor who is highly apt but has a general knowledge in dissimilar fields.In point this specialized system was successful because, Sixty percent of Aztec medicine would be considered effective treatments today according to Western biomedical standards. Therefore the Aztec midwife shows historians that the Aztecs specialization proved successful because this made one highly knowledgeable and advanced fields like medicine. Aztec weavers provide a genus Lens into the highly make and developed market that was made successful because of the specialization of labour.Mens productive responsibilities were outside the household and consisted of farming, fishing and long-distance trading, where as womans productive duties were gendered/specialized into cooking, weaving and artisan work. Although women produced various things that were sold in the mark et, Cloth production was a fundamental part of the female gender. This is evident because all women from commoner to noble spent hours upon hours weaving, spinning, and manipulating cotton.Not only did weavers produce intricate/detailed designs with rich dyes and beads, Archaeologists have reported to have found 240,000 pieces of tribute cloth that were 6. 7 yards each This evidence shows historians that specializing in one form of production was effective because it meliorate and generated vast amounts. Cortes supports this in his letter to Charles V where he had visited the market and wrote, I could wish that I had finished telling of all the things which are sold here, but they are so numerous and of such different quality. The specialization of womens labour as weavers can be looked at on a macro outmatch perspective which shows that market roles were also specialized with carpenters, feather workers, stonecutters, tailors, weavers, cooks, clayware workers etc.Within the m arket the weaver was subject to administrators who ensured that goods were sold at fair prices that trade laws were followed and assigned tribute to the ruler. Furthermore weavers like other merchants had to ensure their, Goods and crafts were position by type. Cortes supports, Each kind of merc perishise was kept by itself and had its better place market out. The specialization of ones labour into a certain task can re unrelenting merchants to one product however this information reveals that the micro-level specialization of labour proved efficient on a macro-level because markets were highly organized and specialized with sections for each type of product. Specialization and organization in the market allowed for greater profit that many historians have claimed assisted in change and making the Aztec prudence successful in refueling itself.This specialization of labour may have developed from the same idea as the gender complementarity structure, which was that every person had a specific productive role that ultimately benefited the market and ultimately financed government activities through tribute. Ultimately specialized labour like the weaver show historians that on a greater scale this allowed the perfection of skill, making of vast amounts, and the highly developed and organized and successful market.The mother provides insight into the Aztecs strong socialization system because it embed gender roles at an early age with severe enforcement that prepared children for education. Mothers like fathers were responsible to teach their children tasks as well as cultural norms and values. From birth children were perceived as raw social materials, My precious necklace, my precious quetzal plume or fruitless tree. This metaphor reveals that the Aztecs possibly knew that children were raw products that could be constructed into the final product being adulthood.Franciscan Friar Bernardino de Sahagun who lived amongst the Aztecs supports that the Az tecs valued children highly. Mothers initiated Aztec socialization as early as four years old by teaching daughters how to weave, spin, sit, use their hands, grind maize and make tortilla net income whilst fathers taught their sons how to hunt, fish, artisan work, and how to fight. The Codex of Mendoza supports this with numerous images of mothers instructing their young daughters over a mandrel loom.Day after day children had the same routine of work so that they perfected their old tasks and eventually learned new skills. This may have left over(p) little time to play so that Aztec children from an early age were instilled with the cultural value of hard work. Routines were strictly enforced because disobedience or indolence spinning or sweeping poorly resulted in fleshly punishments such as sticking maguey thorns into the shoulder or inhaling chili smoke.Amongst physical punishments, mothers like fathers enforced cultural expectations through verbal instructions on a regul ar basis that included rules on dressing properly, being obedient and diligent when summoned, speaking slowly and deliberately and walking right away to avoid laziness. One mothers speech shows historians that the Aztecs were actively aware of what they were doing, cook up attention and from here you will take what will be your life, what will be your doing. This shows that the Aztecs were developed because it appears that they actively knew they were socializing and preparing children for adulthood.Furthermore this informal socialization was efficient, as it would recycle itself when daughters would become mothers and teach their children in the same devise that she only learned from her mother or family. Therefore the Aztec mother shows how the Aztec socialization system was strong because it began at an early age and maintained a regimented routine through strict enforcement that future generations repeated as they became parents. The Aztec daughter or student displays how th e socialization process was strong because it continue from the family to a regimented formal education that embedded culture.Similar to sons, daughters were expected to be obedient, respectful, honest, study driven and sexually abstinent. Unlike Western societies, rituals and tasks including formal education made one become an adult. The first type of school daughters attended was the cuicacalli house of song where an, Emphasis was placed on basic m viva and religious training, knowledge of history, ritual dancing, and singing. This was a stringy cohesive social experience for Aztec children because they essentially learned everything about Aztec culture.The calmecac was the next school stage which trained noble boys and girls for leadership in religious, military, political life. Discipline was strict because students were required to wake up at dawn, undergo rigorous abstinence with penance, prayers and ritual baths. A main piece of evidence that shows historians that Aztec edu cation was an efficient socializing agent is through the Aztec daughters extensive storehouse of cultural phrases, metaphors, stories and symbolic words that she learned and utilized in oral speeches.The art of speaking was taught in schools because daughters like sons were required to recite admonitions subsequent on in life whether as a mother, midwife or representative of the family because it meant one was educated. Oral proficiency shows that Aztec socialization was efficient because daughters hand an extensive on hand knowledge of Aztec culture that was embedded inwardly them. Therefore Aztec daughter/student or oral speaker shows historians how powerful Aztec socialization was because regimented education embedded culture in the minds and of children.Womens roles allows historians to look at the greater picture and depict three item strengths of the Aztec society being gender complementarity, a successful specialization of labour as well as a high efficiency in socializat ion. Aztec society was based on a gender complementarity structure which produced gender equality for child bearers who were honoured as warriors, priestesss maintained the same value as male priests and the female sexual being because men and women were equally expected to maintain sexual norms.The Aztecs specialization of labour through roles like the midwife and weaver allow historians to look at the greater picture see that the Aztecs were highly knowledgeable and skilled in their subsequent labour/field which led to the increased knowledge in the field of medicine and the successful organization of the market. Finally the Aztecs possess a strong socialization system shown through the mother and daughter who prove that the Aztecs were able to embed culture at a young young age through daily routine and strict regiment.Women had various roles in Aztec society which allow historians to look at the greater scheme and form ideas of the people or historical period of study. On a micr o-level women may not have been completely equal however on a macro-level Aztec society had many strengths and was well advanced because of its gender relations structure, its ability to logically divide tasks and create a sustaining economy as well as ensure the continuation of its culture through social transmission at home and in school.David Carrasco, Scott Sessions, Daily life of the Aztecs, (London, 1998), p. 129-133. 2 . Ferdinand Aton, Woman in Pre-Columbian America, (New York, 1983), p. 19 3 . Ibid, p. 88 4 . Berdan, p. 81 5 . Anton, p. 18 6 . Anton, p. 18 7 . Carrasco, p. 145-157 8 . Anton, p. 19 9 . Carrasco, p. 125 10 . Carrasco, p. 125 11 . Carrasco, p. one hundred fifteen 12 . Brumfield, p. 98 13 . Brumfield, p. 98 14 . Carrasco, p. 115 15 . Brumfield, p. 94 16 . Carrasco, p. 107 17 . Carrasco, p. 108 18 . Carrasco, p. 108 19 .Muriel Weaver, The Aztecs, Maya and Their Predecessors, (New York, 1981), p. 446 20 . Carrasco, p. 134-139 21 . Anton, p. 1 9 22 . Joyce, p. 146 23 . Brumfield, p. 92 24 . Brumfield, p. 21 25 . Ortiz de Montellano, Aztec Medicine, Health, and Nutrition, (1990), p. 186 26 . Ibid, p. 185 27 . Ibid, p. 185 28 . Montellano, p. 180-189 29 . Brumfield, p. 92 30 . Brumfield, p. 90 31 . Carrasco, p. 92 32 . Carrasco, p. 92 33 . Brumfield, p. 94 34 . Townsend, p. 175 35 .Brumfield, p. 105 36 . Brumfield, p. 91 37 . Brumfield, p. 113 38 . Townsend, p. 174 39 . Smith, p. 130-133 40 . Smith, p. 132 41 . Anton, p. 23-36 42 . Leon-Portilla, p. 190 43 . Frances Karttunen, James Lockhart, The Art of Nahuatl speech (Los Angeles, 1987), p. 35-53 44 . Carrasco, p. 97 45 . Carrasco, p. 102, p. 136 46 . Smith, p. 136 47 . Carrasco, p. 102 48 . Carrasco, p. 103 49 . Leon-Portilla, p. 194 50 . Carrasco, p. 102-110 51 . Carrasco, p. 102-108 52 . Smith, p. 134-140 53 . Richard Townsend, The Aztecs, (London, 1992), p. 158 54 . Carrasco, p. 109 55 . Townsend, p. 158 56 . Townsend, p. 158 57 . Tow nsend, p. 160