58

Shelly EtlaAtott
I have asserted in this essay that "go1der" is not construed as a
direct reilection of male/female anatomical and physiological dif-
fetenccs in rnuch of islard Southeast Asia oi, I would hazard, ir1
many other parts o[ thc world
lthc
story ir each would certarnly be
quite complex, requirlng at lerst an account of the local anatomy
analoguel. We might there{ore ask ourselves why sex/gcndcr rs
so heavily biologized rn popular discourse ln the contemporary
United States.
Recent sirdics in the history of science give us some clues
about the biologization of gendcr and the invention of Sex. Lolda
Schiebinger and othc$
lsec
SchiebinSer r989 and its blbliography)
have recently argued that in Europe the study ol human anatomy
was cast or construcd as gcndered only at the end of the eighteenth
century. At that time, the illustration of thc geDdcrcd skcleton
made its debut a nice iliustration that the local anatomy xna-
logue may have relevance for local idcas about gender dilference
(ibid: ch.
71.
Such shifts in thc focus ol scientific expianations both
prefigurcd arrd laid the
Sroundwork
for thc sciertific racism and
scientific sexism for which the ninctecnth ccrtury has now he-
corne
(amous,
most acccssibly in thc work of Stephcn
lry
Could;
some aspects continue to be promulSated in this century.
ln island Southeasr Asia, differeDccs bcrvreen people, inclrCing
men and women, are ofren attributed to the activit;cs the peopie
in questior engage in or the spidtual powcr they exhibit or Iail to
cxhibit. lI we want to understand g(nder there, we cannot begin
with gendered bodies but must understand local ideas of power
and prcstige; the next step
lwhich
nra[y of the papr]rs ir this vc,l
ume illustrate) is to ask how people defined as malc, female, or
somethinS else arc mappcd onto, as it were, the prest4e and power
How Gender Makes a Difference
in Wana Society
I
ane
f'"\ornig
Atkinson
I
At*inso? s papet
on the )tana ol CcDttdtSutdw.sr. /r.lorcsia ,s,,o,
ccivad:n p t as n .ltulosut ||jtL Mi(:trllt ratn t).s \|o < on ltanxot
ro
der Like tha tloilsot of Natthen Lu2a dn.t ttla t4craLLs ot Katimantrn
treat.d by Tsing in ltis vol nt, LhL Wonu livc in lnd Dnsl.ntife.l
i(t!tcn"nt. wth r rt,b.t\r, n,
.
,, on,im. r n.d
^n
..n d.t, tt
p
, ult^,
tt'tn huattnr..n,l I4nttn\
tnlt!,cat ottn1..,_t,n,t tn
.1.
,r..n.tr!tp_
,\
mnimol- Altho,t_.h -
tan r,div,J"at\ mo, br tp,t,, t"d tu, !t)t,t on
tact- \q,th ..p
t_I, thc |au.t"d|- t.^ ,.r,t
ntrt
ry.
a!
t kpir I alot. l(ad.t,h+ t, tip . an p, , .ud
_
WhCthct.?ndrr etru,n.
_h t..,ta,,t_1..o1
,n t..t,.\
^t.tt,.,
,.n-t
hida:ch! olothet lx,ts hus been o sDbirct ol debate
t'at leminist schold.s
Marx^t tcnt_ni\t- ttkp
L n.o, L , to.<, a|d \..
p\
tt ,-o.
tt,t
e otgt,ea.t.Lr
stndet ?\iuol!tvh,'. ?^t._tt ln nmpl_ o,r,,".,n,n, ur.,.,pitit,,,
1ar
othcL.Itk,
M.Ro\rltl^tte.t
IaBo, t,t,n
n dWh
ph\.tI_tol.t.t.., t
Coli* and Rasdldo
lrgSt), hdvc maintdine.J thdt e,en n thc stmplex
soaeieB some
lotm
of
Bendet asylnhctry hos been
Uesent
The Wono.
Mdatur- oa.l tlon]ot b, n., n,",t;t ,,.p1, .
1t
Ttt
ttn.
t.4m|.t..
\, tL.tt?
un.toLL.hpd bt hNott u Njd, t p,.t|,r.,t .j?n^
rt.t.
,tL
\ tnnnt t.
solvP oiDotp\ dbot,t
tti.l, t .q,tn1,,\ ,,,,t..
tiD),_ Ltut t,
)
l^,.,. !
tromttp ot \!ct.t1,: \| h 1,,1rt^,1. ,. tt|.nt.,1, \.+.rt ..rJrt_
tn aLt-1t
\and?]
lund.r.tdr,.l
.nt
h-r
,not.
t tt.,tt..t."^,-.t.i
-:one.
tb a,it lun: p.ttu..tt cl.,ttn,ntt,i tt r:,
6"
lone
Mot1l1i( Atl,,insan
A paucn evident nat oril rd ,4llrre!'s esnry but
jn
a nLnber of
othet esstrys n this valumc os well sha\|\ that
scndet
typically seryes as
d "dilferen.e thatnakes. dll.Q1ce," yin.eally
jn
rclation k) spitjtDol
patency. SpnitDal potency
js
cLlturully the sitrc tlua Doi
for
p.)liticul
pawe. dnd authatuy in LhLt .hipala{
lcJ. And.rsol re72t wah.rs
1982). h1 .ontdst to EdsLen indanesidD socrcties
l.f. Hosl<ins, Kuip,.s
voleti. thjs \ alune), ||hcrc ndL dDd
lcntrlc
(lifterancz
be.(,nes
sie lat
the nill al athet petrosir. duahsms nulcfenate dilldc'.e is dawn.
played in Wana cultutul intagery about the "persctn"
bur is evi.tenL in p.
Atlirsor's ardlysk slorvs a slror.q drrpiasis i, W, no culnre on hL,-
lit|le 1nt'l.cted by mde fanate djlfelcncc, a patLe )
loLnd else||hercln Lhc Ccntrist AtchjpLlap.'the Wdtju
(rtty
this e phd
sis to an extrcne hy rts.rtjns Lh. rleDttty rdth.r thcn the complelnoj
tarity al wono s .n.l hen s rnes
jn
hund" ptoctcnttu\_ Ihe Wanu catL
as well as othe6 ucitctlr, r,5ir voluDz i!8.rl.rsl ./r ot n(tc t,nt}tropalogj.
cal attention sha11ld be pajd ta nandi.hakrnalLs ca1stnlctions ol k,r1
der thot strcss aontinuin6 tuther than onrdsts betw.aD nnlen,.ls ard
Fcminist scholars havc found ]t more compcllilg and pc raps
easier to dwell on the dichotonization of gender and the devalLa
tion of women than to unravcl the i:rtricacies of gcnder io x cul-
ture that downplays it
lAtkinson r
981).
My airr in rhis paper is to
explore cultural expressions oI gendcr among an Irrdolesian hill
population
Ior whom hurnan ',sameness,, rather than gendcr dif-
ference is a dominant idiom. lD addition to explorlng
Bendct
cor
structions of a sort rhat is underrepresentcd in the literature, this
paper has two alms. First, it develops a comprrisorl to Michellc
Rosaldo'.s writmgs on thc Ilongot, which are both rhroretically ancl
ethnographically
Sermanc
ro the Wan: case. Second, it reconsjdcrs
an early c#ort by Rosaldc and AtkiDson (r975
)
to compare thc corl
tours of gcndcr systcms i11 ishnd Solrihcast Asi.
TheWana people arc swidden culti,rrrors whoinh:rbit thc rugged
mountainous intcrior oI thc eastern ann of Central Sulawesi.
Whilc they.harc with orhcr
fcoDlcs
of the archipclaso a strons
re\pc(t iur rSe lrnJ spinrurl porercy
-nu
whrle rhry holJ rr aw,r
the holders of rank in the successivc coastal rcgimes (headcd
by
rfla, .o.o'1rJlr.r.
and nutr r. ronJl .r.lmrnr\r.olor\r rtr rr fronr r
Ge;der in Warr Socretv
drsdance-havc rlarnrcu rurhu||lv,,\(r rhcnr. UrnJ ,eprc\. nr rh
rel4tively eSalitarian end oI the Intlonesian political spectrum.
Thus the. construction of gcnder rn wana society has b;aring on
debltes about gender
equality in simplc socreties.
To ponray rhe Wrnr I. .rn (r.rnrtl(
ot
frimordiJl tfimrj,,
eEllitarxnrsn) w,,uld be J gri, voL\ Jr.rolinn ot *hrt i. knur, ,
of Wrna history. In the latter hall of the last centulv. nascei r
chiqtdomr rrnergcd irr rhc Wan r r,
I
oll in re\pur,\c ru wro(r
lrolrl
(.aldcvelofmcrt5
rn rhe rr,J l\c..Arkrrn,n r!Fv. ch. I il tor ,;
p/olima(elv rwu
xencraflon\. \\"nr kncu r rhrrc r,crcd r.rnl |
.
systemcompu.edof chrcn\ tJnrilrp. .u,nmoner, rrrdd<br,l-r1.,
although r}e dcgrre ro r hrch rhrs,r.rem .r, r rr;llr opcrared
rr ro..
theWana regrorr rs not r lcrr. u rLlr rh, rrrrvator rh" DUr.h il| rh(
firsq decaJe rrf Lhc rrcnrierh ,.,.rrrrrrv.
rhr. .rrr,.rn
.rl,,nr uir,r
w[atever degree rt
rrErorrrl rnr,Er.,rrurr nrL] he.rr arhreved r.l
lapsEJ, and IerdcrJrrp ri vF((d ro rt,, toL.rt tev(t
I.l recerr rime. WJn. hivc
S(r,Frrllv
1r( I Morrun I-rrrr1. r r
r.
-
llJcnteno lor a eEalirarrJn .o. iJI ordcr, orc rn uhrch rhcre srr
as rnanv
fo.,,r,,n\
of
tre.rig(
Ir
"1\
qrvcn,rqc \,.r
Er:Je
rr rher_
are persons raprble
ut fillrrrg rhcrn. t-rred. drfinrLrurr. or ,ou-c
be8s Ihe quc.rion oi equrtirv
b(r 8..1 ronrcn.rrrJ
rnen rhe po..r
birrLy ot which. pasr cnd rrrrurc hr. be.n r.uhiccr oi heared Je
bate in fenrrnrst crrcles. Marxr.r femrnrsr. ror whom gender ide.
olog{,devolves primrril! rrom relrrron. nf
tru,lucLion
nrr}e rhc
point rhr J
SenJered
,livr.rorr
or lrbor dnr. rror rn irset. ronsr turr
a lorm. ol inequilrrv
lc.g.
tc,rcocL r,-u. sJ.l,r ro-ot Tl,F] rerd
to rdrd cvrdenrt oi nrale privrlcgr
rn snrll rLrle non,enrr,LLzeo
sociities as a Iunctnrr of cither ctirnographic biss or debilirating
culr$rc conrrtt. Ot}rcrs .rnd I ir.l,,J. nrv.ctl L.,c
_.i,tu"
rn,;
ineqL,rlirie\ rn polrric;l
rurh,rrrv rh. ,rct,norteds.J flahL rn
-.
sen conrrol over kev .r.pe. rr
Lr,
-.,r"
,n'regr.rr, d
but oot cotcnninous wirh economic rclltions. h the Wana c.rsc,
gendgr incquality emcrgcs prircipally
in poLtic:rl contcxts 1t rhc
cornmunitv lcvtl .rnrl I,er,,rrd..rn.tr. r rurc or..e,nrhlc rn polrr.rt
prrctuce
thin iI tlrF (ult
LrrJ I ret'r(\ r,r. iurr" r h.r, pr-( u,. rnv,,l,F
(ret
1!illg. rhrs volunret. WhrlF IU, d \.uUnLrnB rhc rmn"Lr ot ecu.
nomic facrors:uclr .rr Iorrcdrsrancc rrJJ. un WUrr g""a", ,, f,
tions, I think the gendo asymmetrics of W.na
rrolitical dynamics
52 I
o n e Ma11r1 iN A t k I n so t)
are not rcducible to exploitrtive cconorric relations (sec Atkinson
r989). Whatevcr thek derivation and the effect of interaction with
more stratilied populations in the region, thcse as'/mnet es are
long standirg and confornr io n p.ttcm lound wi(lely across social
formatioDs in thc Archipelago whcrcby nlcn have privilegcd ac-
cess to prcshgious rcsources of a spiritual and poJrtrcal nature.
Rosaldo's Readings of Ilongot C cnder
To provide a context for my analysis of Wana curstlxctions ol
Sender,
ir will bc useful to review Rosaldot Ilongot work and to
note in particular some inportanr shifts in hcr understandinS of
Ilongot
8ender.
Rosaldo'.s lirst field slry among thc Ilongot, from
1967 to r969, predatcd thc rcsurgcnce of feminism in the United
States. Upon her return from the Irhill|pines, she wlts caught up in
the radical qucstioniDg of self and soclety that leminism pro-
voked. Spurred by the womeDt n1ovcrllcDt, hcr ir.itial concern was
with thc subordlDation ol women not only in her owll society but
cross'culturally as wcll. ThinklnS back on her llongot ficldwork,
she concluded rhat llonSot soclety, in compaison to most so'
cieties elsewhere, exhibrted a strong nreasure of cqu,rlity bct ccn
women alld men. It sccmcd to hcr that Ilongot hefld\unring :llrne
served to mark "men.rs special," though shc playe( down its im-
pact by noting that headhuntnrg was not nandatory that it was
valued only ill nrodcrarion, and tllat it Jid l1ot servc as a basis lor
male polirical hicrarchy (Rosaldo r97a:ao).
lo 1974, Rosaldo returned to thc ficld prepared to reevaluate
Ilongot socicty in tcrms ofa feminist frarnework. Duringthat time,
Rosatdo refined her word-oriented st),le of cultural analysis by
seekinS overarching sys tems of cohcrcuce in discourse. &rowJcdge
and ?assion
(r98o) is the result of her reanalysis of tlongot sex
rolcs iD light of her feminism and a maturiDg anproach to c tural
alralysis. sensitivc to ieminist crrticism oI dle fact that she cen-
tereJ her monograph on nrcn's hc,dhunting, Rosaldo sought to cx-
plairr why "womcn Iigurc mininlally in
lherl
account'/ (r980:23r1.
While women as social actors may hlvc tliffcrent interests iD the
systcm, ltongot ideology, she clarmeil, with its crrphasis on the
Cendet in Wana Society
6l
l
"equajity
and
,sameness,,,of
human rclatioDs, does not bifurcete
culturel expcnen,:c into repirirc
mrl( Jnd temalc rearm\. cr.enl
tbrouSh the rnsflruLion of herdhunllrx. \4hcrerr ,he
hJd
f,r..vr
ously defned hlrJhunr,r! rn r(rrns ,jr sh,Lr rr Jrrl
creai.e poliri(il
hrcr.rrchr
"hc
llo\^ r(,oLnire,] n,..rlhrrnrrng
as I
key.totlloogot social rcproduction,:rs
thc mcans rhrough rihiclr
eSahlalan cohons ot aoLrlr mrrr L.r,rl,lr.lr,rl thrrn.clvf..r.
rhc
krowlfdgtablc
aurrnranr
ot Ilorrl,,t n. r(rv ltv t,r u\rn! ,,n
h(.r,1.
hunring, Rosaldo claims to havc zrrucJ rn on thc rne Jrtferenic
tlat, if Bareson's fine phr,r.e.
makcs r drfferenrt ,n ,te fl"ngo,
SeDdersystem lhe roil|r
ts rhrr iI nLh-rcorrrextr
llontsor noriJn,
ol hunfan srmcnes. 'i,vcll
idc
rpndL I J. r
.y.rcm
or drncre cc\.
I
}}om Northem Luzon to
Cent l Sulawesi
.
Rosrldo! work on
jlonBor
q,.ndcr
lrrr. rlrru,.r lr un rnt rnrly.r. I
shall.de/(lop here. Nor ontv rrc d,. \ .tnj,rrd
the on5.or
_borh
populaiions
ol upland swiddeD fanncrs *itfr t.raiti""s'c,f
mrgi",
oratorrl and warla'e- .imrl.rr.
hur lrL, Roi,ldo!
""rl
m,,n,lr.
sis relids hear ilv orr er.rmrn.rr ron .t e\ (rvdr)
\ on!
p,5
,r ron .rnd c
plorarol'ydiscus\ron.
wrrh pF^fle on rlr,.r,rta(Lr ntlcndcr.ln (on
trast tqthc llongor. howcrer. W;nr.rr.
rrrorc irrclrrrcd ro ertLrn
tbeir ur.rld urdr rerercnLe ro;r mvrho'uyr-..J
f,r,
.tnJ rn.lrL"
rately epvrsiuned \pin, horlJ t hur. rnlrl,c Ro\-tLto, t ha\
p
J rnor(
highly dmhellr'hed rdcotorir;rt drrnenrron ru rn-t),,e J. w. I h(
coDtemPorar) Wa r.ou rcrp,rfl (u
tlonqnl h,,rdhunr rng r. shrm:n.
ship, almale corrrotted rrrsrrrrrrron B.,h mJiur .,gr;F(Jn.e
lur
Iitrana.sicial reproduction. I shall not ,*
"frr-rr.frip
," ,.rf p.t
Eary lens {orviewing Wana constructioDs
ofgena.. sirr.e t an tirt
lsewhlre
lAtkrI.oo roSo tr)\r(Jd I
.hJ .r,o*
i
""
U,n, ,.r-n.,
otSerdCr6h_ilt rcro$.ultrrrJt
JnmJrn, ru h(.(orrc : dr6, renre rh:r
ilates adrfl erenc( pnm,rrrlr whcr, r.rr_.,.rr conll,Inrrv JJrhnriry
lre at sthke.
The tonffSurarr,,ns
ol WJn:, qcr,,l,
r b,,rr rr,,ng ri.!(mL,,.rnc.\
to the lonsot ca5c \4Jnjt unLler,(urc
rlr, Iundrrrrenrrl
lrLrrress ur
lhc de'(es anJ the complrnrcnr.rrv
Il.rLjr,. .,t r 1,.r, *,.r t.. An.l tika
(,4
lo11e
Mannig Atkinsan
the Ilongot, wana prize experience that lies beyond the everyday
events oI their farming communlties. What OrtDer and WhiteLead
(r98rbl would deem the prestrge structures oI waDa society-
shamanship, leSal expertise, .gricultt ral magic, and miliena an
prophesy arc rooted in powerful forms of knowledge that de-
dve Imm sources spatially or temporally removed from Wana
coEmunities.
But Wana constructions ol gender dilfer from the Ilongot con-
structions rn two Inporrarrl w:r1r. flrr 6rst rs rn cmf rr\is upon
bioiogical reproduction. L1 a 1975 article, Rosaldo and Atkinson
attempted to construct a generalframcwolk fcr ana]yzing cultural
represertations of gender. Usine Southeast Asilrn materials, we
concentrated upon the symbolic associ.tions drawn among the
life
Siving
and life-txking acrivitics of farming, childbc rrnrg, hunL-
in& and warlare. An analysis of Ilongot maSic spells suggested
strong assoclations between farming and hundng and between
hunting and warfare. By contrast, IlonSor women's larming and
childbearnrg were only wcakly rssociatcd. Other forms of cultural
evidence hinted thrt hcadhuDtrrs was syrnbolically deemed an
tithetical to farrning and childbirth, and that childbirth and hunt-
ing were weakly opposed as well. Thc cvidence suggestecl that
Ilongot magic underscorcd thc simrlarities of womenh and men's
subsistence activities and dowrplayed the differences between
women'sroleinphysiologicalreproductionandmen'sactsof physi
cal destruction. We concluded that by strcssrng positively the par-
allels between womenh and men! sui,.istcD.:e activities and mini
mizinSwomen's childbearing,IloDgot, as reaC through thcir spells,
seem to say that women and men are the same, but men, by taking
heads, are somehow "more so."
Our initial hunch in r975, inspired by Ortner's influential r974
article, was that a cultural emphasis upon childbearing would ac-
centuate the differcnces betwcen the sexcs. Now intriguingl, the
Wana represent a case nr which sexual reproduction is a cultural
preoccupation. But instead of hidrliehtnre the physiological dif{er
ences between women and inen, Wana notions of procreation ap
pear to deny gender dif{erences and to assert an identjty between
men's and women's reproducove rolcs, Nccdless to sa, such an as-
Gender in Wana Socicty
65
sriorl violstes our own cultural common sense ofwhich anatomi-
cal differences between women and nrcn arc rhc botrom lrne...ln
rFe
(erms
ol Rosaldo and Arkinsonr model, both Wdna women
:1
WaEa m,en rre.represenred
a. Lfe.grverq *ith raenncat noi
onposrng and complcmentary.
role. rn prorrcaflon.
AIrhough, rn
rontrasr
to rhe llonSor, Wanr emphssi?e procre.r(ron.
they do so
rn ways rhar lollow rhc conloLr:. ot tlrc llnnjior cesc by assert
ing fundamental idcntity between
wornen ara_nl"n
".
p,oaul,iu"
members
of r c,,ntmunitv whrl. glonrrrng rr.r.otvpri:lly
mal.
rcnlcvlulrnts
rn rcatms hev,,nd rhrr ( nmmunrr
y
Wrnh represenrrtions
ut gcrrder
drrlcr trt,m rhu\p
or thc llongor
in anothcr
slgrrrficanl wry Torrhe or,Sor women.rnd
nren.h;rc
the sJmc brsir hl anirv. bur rhrouqh hcJd\u,,,,n*.
nr.n
,up
,n,,1
thc early r9,osl could achrcve r Inrm ot rr;n., .nJ.nc..
noi avail
able ro uomcn.
I he wana re8ro.r w..\ prr rnc,l rn rhe 6rsr Lle.aJe oi
rrr( ccn'ury. ljcf,'rc rhrr trmr. htrJhrrr,rrrrl wji\ rn rmlorranr
rn
stitution in Central Sulawesi.
gut
from ait ,c""""t",
it ,pp.r;s
lf-,-'11_:1",.g,.:,,
scrne
or
.hcrdt-
u,rr rn3., h. w.,,,, *..c' q,;;.
olten rIe heads._As porrravcd
b1 mr , onrt,..nrun,.
pJcrfi(
rrion did
not \perl tire end to, Iormer
jce
oI rncrrhooL] rnd
elnr y, hut ,nrrerd
came ai a welcome relic{. The histoical accuracy of these recent
perceptioo(
cannor be debr Led h(re. Mv
fornr
i\ I hrr unlr ke \om(
other pacifi(J
"wrdden
people\
tor who[r r uarrror rrrdrllon
rs
rundrmentrl
t ,
norronr n[ mrsLrrlrn]rv
,,
t. Mer.slt lqq)1. wsnr
nor bravado And.hJmrnshrn
lerJl.rllrorirv
rnLl rh, lerJer\hip
ot communiry
rice farmrnq- levs ro Wrna .ncr:rl
rcproducrron_
are no'. ,o e\plic ly defined as male rchrc!em(rr.
Bur rr t 5hrl,
examiire later, while the lnrks betweeo gendcr
aDd power arc
<rbtle,
the exercrse of au(horjtv in WJnjt cornmunl r(\ r\ r pnncl
pallv
rnale prerogative.
In conskuctixS
this paper
as a cotumcntary on Rosaldob wrir-
ings or gender,
I have emphasized the tcxtuat quality
of wrrra im
aEes oi
tsender. But in tredting cullurJl repr(.enrarlon\,
I hrve nor
as\umed
a prrori the c\rsren(e
o[ Jrr uverrrchrnq
or unrfurm gen.
d.r sysrem
rn.Wana
sorre(r. tnsread. I hJve irrendeo to dr..onrl
nu'ues rs we as conrinuille.,r.ru.\,ul:rJl
rontexrr.rnd
culrurat
66
- Iane
Mo]]nig Atl<inson
domains and approacned Wara talk about gerder not as a dis
embodied set of delinitive culturai statements, but rather as poly
logr.res among cultural actors.
Wana phrase gendeL relahons qurtc differently in reference to
daily activities, procrcador, and presrige. ln terms of daily work,
women and men arc paired with reference to their diffcrcnt but
parallcl actrvities. In talk about scxual procreatio,r, Wana mask
anatomical distinctrons to emphaslza the identity of women and
men. But in refererce to power and rr.rhority, men have an edge
that is rcpresenred physiologically by their penises, charactcrwisc
by their bravery; and cxperienrially with refcrcncc to their travels
to distant realms. This edgc is mitig.tcd physioloSically by no.
tions of women's allcged anatomical complctcncss; characterwise
by the sense that whilc mer are generatly bravcr thall women,
Wana as a pcople are quite cowardly; and experientially by thc fact
that access to exogenous forms of power is not limited to rhose
who travel long distances- Subscqucni discussion will show how
these systemic properties oi VJxIx txll< ,bout gcndcr operare in so
cial Iife. As this analysis will establish, wana social values are not
explicitly about gender.Instead,
ro borrcw Orrner and Whitehead,s
{r98rb}lelicitous
term, gender distinctions seem "invcigled" by a
structure of social vallres that on thc surlace dowrplays thenr.
Cender and Community Life
Wann communities share some affinitics with Colliei and Ro-
saldo's (r98r) model of "bridcervice societies," societies in which
mcn achicve wives by proving themsclves to their parents'in'law
with
8i{ts
oi meat. Most of Collicr and Rosaldo's examples came
ftom forrginS socictics, but thcy included simple horticultur,llists
as wcll and used the Ilorgot as a prrrnary example- In such sys
tcms, marriage appears to be a poinl ir the life cycle at which the
differcnccs tetween man and woman, husband and wife, are mcst
sharply drawn in cultural terms. By contlast, as the parents ol a
bride, the interests ol a woman aDd a rnall appear to he conjoined.
But WaDa mardrge pro.:edures represent a
"low
brdget" version
of the marriage payment systems of their Muslim c.rastal ncish'
bors, for whom rnarriage is an occ.sion for exchanges of hcirloom
obiecrs rrJ othcr f"rm. , 'werlrl'. Wl,dr r. morc.
tcacrrtron
u!(r.
Gender in Wana Socicty
shadows gendcr as the thcrne of Wana werldings, which are occ,
\rons.tor rhF
,arl
ba.p r{r , I
Sre/r
otJ
f(uple
In u.rrre rnFir d/,r/ry.,
(
chrldrrrr'1. Borh rhc groorn , Jnd rhc l,ri.l( . \rrrc
tr,..er,r nJyurcrr
although the groom's
fayment
may be somewhat largei in some
aleasi because, people sa, it is casler for mcn to acquire the
Aoods
'rirh
u hich to p.rv. Tu hrrc une.rJc pay ,ll r. to,ugge,t Lhal ,,n.
side has bouShr rolal rrEhr\ ovpr rhe rhrld ot the orhcr. the rtcm,
constli:utillli the marriage payment-typicaily,
brass trays, china
plates,
and cloth
^re
then divided .mon8 rhe eldcrs who ofllciate
Jt rhf mJrnrgc fhe:e cl,l<r. rrc..l]Ll ro holo rhc
mrr or rhc
worl{" tor r lre rouplc. .r rFrcr( |lc. ro rh( l|lrmc ol I lre , cnLr.rl mJ
-
Irrgepivmenr lhr\gi!(srhcm rlr, nl,hr r,.,nunrclanddr.crplrrl
the pair. Thus oarriage paynlents
do Dor constinrte a transler of
dghtsiin a womaD's
lora
mar,s)sexualiry or labor, but instead con
rflrurc an a\s,,rrion ol aurhorirv l,v ol-. r l,.n uver th( Lo
f.(
whr,sg uurt'n they lurmairzr.
Thb conjugal relationship is central to wrna social struclurc.
WJna commurrilies rrc rn,td. Lrt ,,r houthold. c.rrh ront.rrrrn!
olle cir m,,re
nrodUcrivc
ur,r\ rvf,rr.r ! LUmpll\cLt ot
-
nr.rrned
r:ou
'lc
and rhurr depenLlenr s. bor tr old rnr \ oung \uch
r ur|l
toF.
by thg name of 'woman, (ana) or
,hcarth,
(raprr). Thcrc is no singJe
lexer4e fora nuclear family. Adults with children are refereci to bv
\omc vaflrtiun .l Lhc
L'hrr-(
./r, ..rr,
. rhF) rogerhr r xr.h rr
..
dJerl'), It is assumed that people nrany, and with rare exception
the, do. Pcople teII ol Guma Langi
{,Sheath of the Sky,), who in-
tercelits the souls of unmarried peoplc and hammers rhem into
broadlbladed weednrg knives called pdnsuu. Their souls return to
earth
to
live arother life and mary, whilc their ghosts tum into
ants that pirch people.
Terhs Ior
"spouse,,*thc blunt word rongo or
,fuck,
and thc
more polite bela ot
,Itie\rd'-^tc
Dot
Scider-markcd.
Less inti,
nutely and more comfortably, peoplc refer to spouses their owr
and others'-as the 'mother, or
,Iathet
of oDe,s children,{indo nr:
ana, apa nu anal. Tcknonyms are a mark of adulthood. Childless
people
commonly take their titb from a niece or nephew.
The centrality of thc conjugal couplc in Wana life is evident in
everyday life aDd underscored ritually iD a number oI contexts
Typically, likeness, nor diffcrence, between husband anl wfe is
68
lane
Manni! Atkinson
expressed. A coll1parison can be drawD to Metcalft (r
982I
study of
death rites among the Bcrawan, a swiddcn poputation of northern
Bomeo. ln both the wara and Bera,raD cases, mourning dtes lor
widows and widowers are identical, with one Dotable c;ception.
A wana, malc orfemalc, who would c,bserve full traditio]1al moum-
ing Ior a spouse dons a white shjrt and hcadband made from the
same stulf that serves as bjndings on the coryse..During ihc perrod
of morrrning, the rpoulic \yatcher over thc bctei bag-of the r,le.
ceased, then carries ir out to the,,small house,,built at thc grave
site. As in the Bcrawan case, however, [ren appropriatc]y exprcss
their grief
through displays of angcr; *onr"r, by contrast, w,ril.
And mcnt greater mobility and capacit).for violencc once oflcrcd
them another outlet lor their grieL I wrs told rhai ,11 the past a
man could mantau lamawa nroya, carry out his grief,,by killiDe
someone. Aq Jn acr ot muurnrnB. hc wuuld dorr I whire heads..a,t
to wcar until he had fulfilled his vow to rake a life. At that nlo-
ment, he would translcr d1e scrrf to his victim to siSral thc com
pletion
of his resolution. The parallcls
to the Ilongoi case are ob
vious
lR.
Rosaldo r98oa, ro84). Wana I knew did not lament the
passinS
of this option. But after a death somc brave individr:als
undertake a similarly darlgerous qrreqr by keeping vigil overgraves
.rnd cnricrng the 6cr.e.nn.t .protr
who gJiher
rh;e ro b;onr,
sprrLr famrliars.
Thc conjugal relationship is abour work. Both yours and oid,
m;1, rnd fcmrle. srre\.eJ Indusr,iuu.nFs.
Jnd a cJracry tur hJrd
Iabor as attributes oI an ideal spouse. The ernphasis on inilustry
goeo for bnrh sc\es. h cxplarninS w .y a wrrc would bc iealour ot
hcr hu.band. Iorcr. one rrurnan cxl,lrrned th.lt ro seduce an urr
married woman, a mrrrjcd man disparages his ovn wife. He rells
his lover that his wife is lazy, wcah, ard will not work for his
mother. He proceeds to praise his would-be lover for her strength
and industrr ln rhis way a man,s adultery is an insult ro his wife,s
worth as a producer and as a considcrate daughrer in,law Simt-
larly, women will divorce men who are shiltless woikers. Wana
talk about marriage brings our th point that both spouses arc ex
pected to be hard working contnbutors to their productive
unit.
One might note a contrast to Colljcr and Rosatdo,s (r
98
r) model
ol brideseNicc socictics iD uhich nurri.rgc is rcpr.senrcd as r cx-
Gelrder ir Walla Society
:hr"F:
d
I:".
hunflns rbrti e. ror sonrcn\ rcxLrt
rJvo,., ,nJ
.r r,,lcs
adul((rv impJgnr lrer hurb.rnds nUrrhood
Cn re, Jn,r
^u5rruooo
not <xptore whrr , mrn ..rdullerv
rmplrcc \4) .en\F
i,
thr( tor rhc Wana.:dulrrrv
hv (irlrer
p"fl, .Jy.
.nc,ame
rh,n
abour lhe iniurcd rp,,urL._
h(
"r
.hc
r, r.rcl,rnc
".
, .,,,p",,, ,,
producer
in,l .r dc.ir:bl<
m.rre lu\r r.
tr,,po
mJrrrate\ J,, mi.rF
the de\,8n ol wrsr eiJrrs rhrn thc
-Lhrcvem,.rrr ur hiruc
m.r, ro
too they reltc(eIr Ihc iorhr
nro(lucllvc aUoflc ol women and_m.n
nol , trade of meat for sex
,.
fie w,,rk nt jr
contuf.rl unrr i. dirrdcu rn,,, gcnd(red
rJ,r.
Men tl.ar hnr.h. f.,ll rrc, inJ burn
tlur.
tur
f|"",,"g
*"..,,
-.,
prrrnafllv
rL\noll:rble
Ior pl.rnr
ng tree.rir,s.
.,nJ h;.,e..r,ng .I
ttrouSh rhe td\r of rhes,, rhrre r,r.k. r, rrr rrir one rn which b,.rh
se,(es ircrlv par(icrpar(
ln Jddrriun. men hunl rnJ lroth \cre5
lor
age 1or flvenne and lorerr food\. Men burlu ho .cs
Jno
Eranrnc..
wo.nen make irems lrk,. mrA bi\l (r.
rnd r Inrnrng
p.ni.
.m|or
tanllv men
(rJVci
lonS dr.rarrcer rn ru,r,trl m.,rl,cr,rorrad.Wr""
producls
lrke rice re.irr cnd rn
.ome.[ea\
rarrrn. tor (loth .J r,
and metal implements.,
,
lvana colceptualize
women,s dnd men,s work differcrtlv
from
the llonsor,
though the drvrs:un,,r
trb., b,
S;";.;
; ,;;,*;;;
cietres rs baqicallv thc \rnrc nnqor
resrrd rrce cr women
s conrrr
D!Uon (,, \ubsrsr(.nce
rnd
EjmF
i. 1r(D s W-n:r consrder
nre ru be
the product
of the couple in whose field it is grown
and in whose
Sranary
I issLored. Wana men prot(\. noneo t" ignorrn..n,
d.
:1:1i:enr
trorn rice
smwrns
rrrJr M Ro,rtdo
lro8-o:rorr rcpo.r,
ror llongor mcn. Scveral reason. mry bc crrcJ ror rhc d,ffer.n.e
ilrst. hrrntrng dr rhe Ilme o[ n ! fielJwork .cemcd
le.r ccnrral rn
Wana Iile lhir, rr wrs duong rlrn lto.rlrlos hr,t fielJ:rr;;;;^;
rhc,Jloogo(
ln conrrasr rollonqnt.
hrna bci gunr
rrd d"
^;;
lraue mea( lnr srorc
tootl:.
Second. LJurrng nry fieidworl.,
n, . r,r,
tne mlrror rrem ol Wana lr:rde Jr coJ\l3l mrrker.
,
ihis i( a ,(cen.
devolopment
Upunr.l rhcrrr6rl.. !v
,J
re.rn nr ct3nrar srs ot Len
::1 :1f".,,:.
rn exrcrnat tradc R ir e is. ar one otrl m;n pur r.
rne 'source ot spekrnS
Bood\' .t
,t mp,liwtt
Lr!en freqLer
snofrSes
ol nc(rnrherre:
pcupl,.urrhlrrS,
rrcc Irrrvesrs artrarr
lalge rollowrn6s ol Jependenr\ u h^ (
\chjtIAc labnr anri rrade g.od .
tor food during hard rimes. And finaly, *iifl ,t
"
higfriv ir..g"i"l
7o
ldnc
Morrig
^tkirs.rn
rain partems oI erstcm Ccntr.rl Sulawcsi, Wana mcn spcnd a goo.l
dcal more timc rhan Ilongot mcn do irr secondary clcaring of fields.
At the timc of my fieldwork, tlrerr appeared to be a generational
gap in ment hunting krowlcdge and cxpcrience. Most ofthc yours
men in the arca where I work.d were not huntcrs; clder men wctc.
ln the Ilongot casc too, hunrcrs rvcr! not at thgir pdme until
middle age
lR.
Rosaldo r98oa: 1431. But in the Vr'ana communities
I knew best, young marded men r,,cre hardly trying.
Though rrot as centrrl as in llol1got c lture, the inage of "mrn
the huntcr" is certainly salient for Want. And while the imagc of
men and women as cooperative farincrs is dominant, there is also
a notion of men as providers of n.cat for women, especially for
pregnaDt women atld new n,othcrs. For examplc, two women
laughcd when a younglathcr in need of mcat for his wife harvcsted
Ior another man to obtain somc birJs char the latter had rrapped.
Women spoke of their.nbarrassment:tt going to wait for drvi-
sions of meat at thc house of anodtcr woman,.s husband. Doin8 so
is parti:ularly embarlassiDg, they notcd, when one is pregnaDt and
Iooking lil<e a "brndle ticd on backwards.,,
A variety of folk tales, magicnl procedurcs, ard health concerns
suggcst an oppositjon between hunting and children. For insrance,
the presence of a grea. huntcr can provoke crying and stomach
pains in a baby. To prevcnt such trauma, a visiting hunter may be
asked to touch the navel of a small child, a reqrest that pubiicly
underscores thc reputation of thc visitor. Morc important is dre
idca that 6ne huntcrs know powc ul magic that can causc rheir
children to die. Spirrr owncrs of game give ovcr dleir animals to
hunters in retum for spccial offerings of bctel, if the spirits lccl
slighted, thcy may dernrnd rheir fair,'share,,from thc hunter by
krlling his children. Huntcrs can even use thcir huntirg mltgic to
kill themselves. Whereis most deeths are aftributed eirhcr to fate,
to sorcery/ or to malicious spirits, rhc dcaths of men in their prime
are frequently rcgarded as sricidcs illvited by oiferings to persoDal
hunting spirits. Thus, in contrast t() others who aro younger, oldet,
or femalc, dlese men are scer not as victins, but as controllers of
theii owD destinies.
The antithesis ol children and hunting relates ro an important
opposition in W:Da cuiture bctwe:n the huFxn scttlenent and
CeDdcr io WxDa Societt
,,
rhl, wrl.lern.,'s
b,\nnJ rr. \ t...,,,.
ro b( 5crrteo
lroJol rnen
^,.,
uit ro Jrsrrnr
t,J.r,
, .
rrnrrr whr, Ir ,
urrre h, rh rrrrS r
anf, por('. Ihc tottuwrns
r1^rui.,.
.rurv
.
u.LrJre\ rhe
6rrl,
.r
srrthvenrLrr.s.Alrunr,.rr(n
^jt
in \Jr.h ur mcir ror tji,;r-Bn. ,,
v ile-. \he wJired, huL he drd nor rerurn. A\ lre f,""*",'fr.
",-
f"
smell gardens
!o
Frovlde
him wtrh rood. Ftnaily. rhe woman \cnr
hel child in search oI his {ather. The man sent thc child home ivith
mqat for his wife, but would not return himself. fuerrtrally,
hl
grefi a long snout and hair all over his bod, :11d turned il1to a de
Jno,n
(no.r^
i
as Asu Osc rlrc ,lr"rgrr,1
.r,,x. rlro*. rrrEhrr:nrr,!
barl< can be hcard rn rhc foresr
This story [ray bc compared ro:rDothcr oit-toid tale about the
orrgin ol;norher tlangcrous sprl r rrlp rhlrr bcCin,
",,h,,
_;;
reavlng.hrs pr(gnJnl wr{c ,.rrhcr
ro hrrnt ur ro seck
8ooo.
r( rlr.
coaSr. Upon his rcrurn. rhe nran.rppro:r, lrcd rhc lrousi ar trrlrgflr
lndl saw hi\ wrf( holdrng.r newborn
q.
hc drcw clorer, ht rerl rz'eJ
that her fingunrrrls wcr. IorrS. hcr .r
r r hurxcd : rrd
.hrnrng,
anr hor
bacf I'ollow tt was nor hrs wrfL t,ur trer gho,r
rh.
jang"ro.,.
\priit ol d wornJn who hrr dred irr r hrlJbrrth.
Both stories depicr the origins of viciolts spirits from the dan-
Serous
activities oI v{olren an,l rnen. Both hunthS an.] childbear
ingtinvolve cluncy matten of liie and dcath. O; * *;;;;l;
read bv slrucrurdlsr \cholars
rs ,r purporcrul
a.,
"t
.rl, r,ri;;;;.;
tjle orhfr a: r passive
re\pon.F ro.pecr._ Jcmarrd,. Ir roulil .r
course be_counrered
rha( hunri q.
lrkp
tjr
llitlon r. a beh:vror
humirs sharc wir h o, her arrrnrels rrnrc rlre Lran\tormJtion
or tr!l
huntennto a J,'S rn rhe A\u Ose
.rurv
dnd rhrr somcn
and m,. I
rn rhrnv culr.urcr, rncludrng WJrrr rr. rh"rrghr crp.rble rhroug,r
theil knoulpdge ,rnd acr rorr of Jirecr irr q rlre ourcom( or prrrur rLror,
bdecJ, alrhouBl, arr analvrrt ,lr.rrn, rrnn or ..ulruul and n"r,,,
processcs
ha' value rn Jnrhrofol,,A (:rl
rnrcDrcrirrnn
t\ec VJIcI,
(his
volunr(r.
Lh| proper
use ur r\.. dr:riIlc|lun rr problem;rr.
\Vny should wc .rssume rhar wJrcrr. v"r hurrrrng rnJ chrldbrrth
ar.
prlrdd in svmbolr\m
rnJ nrr,rrv, rhc r\ru( nl prrrpo.erulagen.l
versus_specics passivity
is both central and scttled in advincei
Dues rhis p;irrng
rnvanrblv rrrrplv:rn r.vmnrtrrrcaJ
vJluJrron
of
thf\c ac(rv
je\
rlld, h\ imtlr(rtron
ur rlre *omcn Jnd men wllh
wnrchcachollei.r\rirIafllt
rdcntrficJl tustJ\I(\I \rrru.\,|9ottl
72 lane
MaLnig Atkinson
Iorg ago argucd that elcments in nryth should not be decoded in
isolation, but rather in terms of the relations dlnt obtair among
them, so too symbolic relations cannot be deciphcred accotding to
a 6xed and invariant codc, but require analysis within their nar
rative and cultural corrcxrs.
Like many comparablc socictics, wana associrte the mo-rt val
ucd forms of cultural knowlcdgc with distaDcc from drcir own
serrlen.ents. The,e form. of Lnos eJSe oper,rre ro urSanrz(', rn-
tegiatc, and translorm people and thcir activitics. Through pov,er
tul magic and spirit allies from the forest, sharnnns sustain thc
health and lives of rhelr patients. ln the past, victorious head
hunters uere credited with enhancrng the fertility of rice ffelds.
And through negotiations with leaders from afar, local Ieaders in
sure peace and prospedty for thcjr ncighbors. Thus, distinctive
and prestigious forms of purposeful ,gency exercised elsewhere
transcend and allegedly govem ordinary settlement lile. But rather
than elevatirrS men's punroseful actions in the forest overwomen's
biolosically bound fate ol bearilg babies in the settlernent, this
particular pair ol stories can be read as a briel against such gender
asyn,metry. ln a socicty wherc rncn's grater political authoiity
is culturally lir*ed to their
Ereatcr
physical mobility, these sto-
ries oller a counter-claim by illuminating thc common powcrs
and dangcrs sharcd by emblernadcally male and female activitios.
The transformations ot both characters are pregnrncy related. The
men in both stories are in search ol provisions for their wives in
childbed And the stories portray identical fates for a father and a
mother in the rcspectjvc
Frojec:s
gore wrong. Both lose their
agency and identit. to torces beyond mortal cortroi. ln a culture
where special power is typically a function of distalce Irom hu-
man communitics/ thc storics underscore that comparably fero
cious and powerful demons can Lave their origi,r within a human
scttlement as well as beyold it. The signiffcaDce of this point can
be seen in a woman'.s report that her shaman husband tried to
frighten her one evening by claiming he heard the cry of the
Shost
of a woman who had djed in childbirth close by the house. She re
torted that she was not ahaid bccairsc'thc origin of that spirit is
with us womer." CitiDg familiarity with spir.t orrgins is a form of
" Gehder in War1a Society
7l
"one-upsmanship" among claimants lo special power in WaDa so
aietl Why childbearing should bc voked in such contcsts of
po'ivs calls Ior some investigation.
Gdrdet and Prccreation
Conjugal pairs are about sex and reproduction as well as about
subs,5(cDce acliviries. tor rhp W.rnJ. .exrral ple;,urc is .nu8hr
and
valued apart frotn procreerion.
The ouBin of\(xual rnrerc;r,( t.
Lold rn a CarJcn ol tdcn-lrkn rLorv mrnu. all inrplrcJrron. or.rn
and divine disapproval. As the story goes, thc Owner (puel created
a man and put him down on carth. Later he heard the fellou
sclealning. He seflt his enissary, /<udsd rrpuo, to investigate. The
mAn was screaming, it was learncd, because his pclis was hard
and painful. So the Owner made a wornan and Dlaced her on cr h
But rhe screxminS pcrsirred.
OI.e rgain. rhc enrrs,ary was dr,
patched, only to ffnd that rhe couple did not know how to relievc
the pain.
So the kuasa mpuc taught them how to have sex. It was
quiet then, so quict that the Owner sent his emissary yet again to
6nd out iI the two 1^ crc dead. No, it was reDorted, simply happy.
It is assumed that young unmanied people
have sex_
,,It,s
their
rice," one elder told me. No onc miDds, so Iong as rhey keep the r
activities discreet (cI.
Ceddcs
lr957l
r96r:59-711. But if a; affarr
becomcs blataDt, if a pregnancy is involved, or if an umnarried per
son is known ro ha\ e \er r rr h ,r nrar ed
|crrorr,
rhcn rhe marr.r ,
subiecr ro lcgal nrBo arrur. rlre rrnr or whrch r. ro sort;
trr(l,.
concerned into ntonogamous or polygynous
conjugal units. Extra
marital sex has d.rngerous conscquences lor both parties to a mar
riage. They arc inevitably plagucd with what is called a kuse or
'monker' an exprcssion that identifies a dangcrous condition and
its spi t agent, a monkey-like creature that holds in irs grip inno
cent arld guilty party alike. Consrriction is a featurc oI the ililesse.
thrt resulr. fur tic,rlarly rearcd r. rhc c[ecr o, \ur h const ricr ron in
c.hiLdbifth-the retention of elther the baby or the placenta, or
both, in the mother,s womb. Womer oltcn seek preventive spells
for kuse belorc delivery to prorect
thernselves, ihey,ll say, irom
their husbands'reluctance to coDfess infidelities. No doubt, some
cover for their own indiscretions rs well.
lane
Monni:t Atl<inson
A puzzle in analyzing wana norlons of sexuality aDd reproduc-
tion is an apparent cortradiction betwccr the cultural importance
placed on procreatioD and $,har cnn bcst be callcd an ambivalence
about childbcaring in Wan, tife. As witl be secn, procreation is
phrased
as the central and mosl powcrlul mystcty in Wxna thoognt.
But iD lacr, pcople,
espccially women, scemed prcoccupied
with
avoiding it. Contraceptivc rnagic .Dd techniques abound. As for
magic to promote conccption, it is used mahciously to rnake
unwilling or rnsuslecting couplcs coDceive A
.,ariety
of stock
reasons to avoid pregnancy
ate givcn. Having chitdrcD interrupts
work. Cleaning up chiidren,s cxcr.meni is a nuisance. And for
women'.s pait/ the threat of death in childbirth is oI uaramount
concern
tA,
or,p tr(rd crJ.(J our to me rn.r l,rr..ragr or labur,
"Aba {our
rcciprocal nicknamel, this is what kiils w:ment,,l But
rl(hou8h pregnJnrre. rr g rrer.rl ar- rcqarJnd rr rbrvalcnrlr rnd
II(qucnl pretnJn, rp\ Jr' J \oul,p
o.di\mJv. rcrusrrrg ro hare.hrr-
drcn is regarded as a gravc,,sin,,,thr,
is, a violation of thc bontls
between parent
:rnd chiid. Indecd, the rcasons or having children
are phrased primarily in rhc negrtive. For cxample, a couplc that
dies childlcss "leavcs no trace and lus no mexning,,,.r person
without children may die alone aDd be eaten bv thc trouschot,t
dogs. lnrtrunonrlizpd rr-, rrrrrc. irl,e pcryeru:rrng,r Lncrge, rn
\uIIn8
a cur,\r.rL(ncv. or hreedirre sLr".c."ors
'o
p,op.r,y.,
oin."
"re:b'enr
n Wrna socren
ln rprnr ur rhe JrfL ryrtc, rlxa
.hit-
dren are thought to irhibit a couplc,.s economic productivityj ado-
Iescent children are rcgarded as an asscr since they increase house
hold productivjty
through their worlt; brrt after chilriren marry and
"seek thcir own forruncs,, as nenrbers of separatc productlon
units, parents are "no longer happ).,, Although adult children nuv
Irvc rn rhe rrme rornmllnrrv
l. rh(r parFnLs Jlla rrc cxpe.lcJ ro
show respccL and concern for their parents and parcnts-in law by
heJping thcm occasionally with farrn work, their irlterests are
separate
lunless or until a widowcd
lrarent
joins
their househcldl.
It wrs rppJrenr ru mc rhrr ..oulr .l rl rrcn , oulo be ,r no[tical a.stL
ro_rhcir Flocr".
bur Lhi. J.tlc-r ol
n-r
.r,rhood
*,, noi pl;yed ,,p r.r
talk about parenthood. Thus thc puzzle rcmains why a heavy
preoccupation
with proctc.rrioD
in a eociety wherc childbearilg is
not an uncquivoczl socirl goodt
Cender in Wana Societl
,,
.
TlrechenurIcronccrn
rrrh prorrc.rrrorr
rn Wrn" tulLure.;rnrrr
be reduced to irr.rrturronal dirrer,rro.l.
ot Winl \..rely
bu, Jp
riris.insread I rtrnk.. r,om,a,..r.;r,,i
co"rra..,,,r.n\
^r
sen.l,
r
and lrunr rhe crrlrurrl cunsr.rrrrrorr nl por^t.r
D Urrr
rtc. R(
iaforcemeni m:y comc as wellfrcm traditions
"f
r.fr_i",.iUf.".
thought, prevalent
at the coasts that border the Wana region.lhis
is suggested by claims to the effect that the sour"" oi pio.r"*ir"
lrldi
,:il.d'rhe serr
or 1\hrr( tio,d
.porundd ,, ,"" A,,_1, ,-
tr
_hokiki
nu agamr (l rrurlr or relrrion.l and rh.rr rh, nrrel
cord and placenta
represenr
rhe kanuli
iacli 1tfr. l"gir"irg .i
seafion or bemS/).
.
The Wana word pu'u
can be translated as
,source,, ,origin,,
'base,
or toundrrron. arrJ
ncrh-p.
r. re:rurr ur
.rau\c..l
Jna on
tulogy dnd epi.Ifmolorry.on.c
r rlren.JJvc,,,o,
*,,h,rp.rn,,-i
I:,-rllyt :'1, "'rh lhc
urrdcrtvrrrr .,rrri,,
rrom whr.h
rhc,rs,rrrr
cancl ot ourw11rd JtpcJrrn,, rnd c\.nL\ d.rve.
.,"ln.,t,ni,t"1
l,-*:-,-1,1",'".,,,,"ures.
rnJ, nnse
runnr,v,,.,,",,,"r... r;";r;
rno peoples jrJ!
r ofl)irns
, /uLr r rrrru i/ .,r,.
l\collc
who dcrivr trom
Lne same plac, or \roL(1,
I,,rn r ol pou,rru,
knuu.edqc
narc o.r.
grns
lrnc
\trri,,,nsner. rrurrl
wh,,rr. lhc\ ur,; ,rll\ .
ne, .,
nous rttnc\ses hr\poriXrn\lrn
rh(J.t-ot
hrrmrl.r -lr r rsenr.l,
humtrn act ion\ rni\r luvc unJ,.rl\ rn! mor r\ Jl|o",. A,," .*"".f"g,
cally an lrisroncrllv.
Wrlr \ee thel lronrelrnd r. ,hc po,,,r
o, n-.-
g'n-from
whrch
L,ower knowt.dtse wertrh rrd rlt p.optc.
rnd ,,.
n8ro0s drsp(rseLt.
-Io
bc pregnant
and to give
L.irth is called rnpu,u. Thcse pro
csses are not reg^rded as exclusivety
fernale ones tnde:d, raiher
than conccptualizDs
male aDd lemalc roles rn procrcation
as com-
ll::*,,,1r
y,""
'e"toSrcr
v i*e,, rr,.ir idFnn,v 1
q
o expran
r.
trons mr&hr be sug5q51s,l
Onc rr rhaL recugnllinA
drH(reDriarcJ
runcrlon\ ol women.,nd
men in .cxual
,.n;;;:;,;";;"i;';;
;
"^anli:ll 1,u,.,
cuttur,rr e,npharr.
o,, u,,,,Jr) pu,nr\ nr
unt|n.
Anorner rj tlrr r
jn (crms
ul Wanr seru.rl pul. rr, .,
n,en (rnn",
l;v.
anvtnrnS ds onroloqrc,rllv poBpnu,
r\ chrldbcarrng
r, women.
Borh or thesc erplanrnori"
wrll l-r c.n\rd! rpd lrrcr 8,, 6,.,,
,;;
detail! oI thc case
A" Wanr tell ir. men u\eJ to be I h. on,\ r,,
Err
(
L,rr rlr. \4en
sur
Iered Ierfllll\ rrr rhildbc(i.
rev,l ,rrmp
rhrrr rr.r rrr rJe., t-lr
76
ta)e MaDnjE Atkinson
down the rafters and after atl thcir sufIeriDS, rhev'd deliver mea'
slv un\i.rhle liule rnlrnr.
\r- lllcr rhrn t-dl',et. Jnd rrthcr like
anr.. Then a womrn
.rrd Io.r inJn l\om(
srv' to her lrrothcd' let
mc take that ovcr, I have a'pocket'lsalcmbu)
for it' The word
salembrr rcfers to the lold ln a wonun's sarong and netaphori_
cally, I'm told, suggests her wonlb. In arother vcrsion, a man left
his chikl with a woman while hc went to atterrd a legal dbate He
came back to find the chiid anusing itscll at the woma['s breast
and unwillirg to come back to him. Hc told rhe wornan drat hom
here on out shc should have the children, tlrat it was morc
"appro'
priatc." As a consequcncc,
womcn are now thc ones to give birth
,"d tu n"."" small children And bv implication, lcgal authority
is a m::,lc domain, somehow inr:onpatible wjth childbcarinS and
tending-
But although womcn hear childrcn, mcn are pregnart Ilrst'
A man caries ihc child fcr scvcn days then pr.rts it into a wornau'
Stedlity is attributed by some t,) men, not to wonen' lf a man is a
tau ri dna or'a person with children,' and his wife doesn't 3bort, a
couple will havc a child. Sorne say wom,n is fcrtile at all dmeB,
*hcre;' I mrn r' r rrle onlv
'F
"n
drv' r rnnr r:r
In the past, men menstrurtLd One story describes men engaged
in legal proceedings with bamhoo tubes han8ing down throu8hth'
flnn.
"trts
to catch their menstrual blood. Somc
peoPlc say that
today all mel menstruate- Others say only some do' Men's meIr'
stru;l btood is said to bc raa bura, 'whitc
blood.'
(l'm unclear how
literally this is identified wlth scmen.) "whitc
blood," for the
Wana, who were on the periplrcries ol lslamic coastal sultanat$,
connotes Drraka, thc supernatural
power of -rala Raa buva is sr
to be thc liquid in which mdn|srd, 'humanitr'is
suspen'led'
solidifies in the womb ns a fetus. Regarding the creation of the
fetus, there is a dilersity of opinion. According to some
feople,
mcn alone carry the substaoce that bccomcs humaDity' By ihis
count, womcn/s womhs 3re simply "cmPty nests" waitirg to re'
ceivc cmbryos. But c,ther evidcnce, direct aDd indircct, havint
to do with the special nature o[ menstrual blood, sugScsts that
womel too contribute to the crcation oF a child. And ar the other
extrcme, I was told th.rt 'humanity'
(maDusia) is already present
Cepdff irr Wana Socicty
ir tbe w,rm.rn aud merr srmpty.,rrrl thc wrrtr rhrt
T7
,
condition ot rhinn,ss r.rljed mJ\,, An{l arrhough I ncrr r u r.
les+ed it mvself I harc lrerrd r w,, rn, rr rins( r rte h,,w, h(\,u-Lte.r
dildren at thrrr bru'r'. Ir or( (.r.,
rlrr JrrtL.r hr\ w r,. t.r, ,h,
r6cific, gcrrer.rllr
rl,e! .rre no,. I,,r , rJmtI(. t,onllrnJ. Ihe W1r ,
te$ron ol a prn-lndonc\rro
Jtmorr rhar atflr. Lr wnmcn rn mL.n
ttruatior and childbirth, also attacks boys 3t superincision (about
t,lryhic.i
more ir a moment) and causes genital pains and inconri-
leDqe of bladder and bowel for both scxes. Kapuwau is a condjtion
.hought on by spirits who are atrr.cted by rhc,smell,{woul
ol
r
blood. It plaCucs newborn childrcn, ,nd womcn at childbjrth and
78
lanc
Monni!: ALkinlx)jt
menstruation/ but it rs a problem as well for boys .rt supcrincision
and for pcrsons of both sexcs lvho cxpcnence heavy bleedrng.
Thc saure namc and thc samc medi.,ncs are rppticd to prolapscd
wonbs and rectums-thus pcople of borh scxes can suffer this xil,
ment. Sinrjlarly, diaSnoscs of inlpoaence rnd its cures epply to
both womcn and mcn.
Arnong the most irtriguing parallels in rnale and Icmale atrat-
omy derivcs from a male
Scnjtal
opcration that iD arothei cukure
might well cxaggeratc the diffcrcDces bctween women and rnen
(sec
Valerl, rhis volume). Somc timc bclore pubcrty, most Wana
boys undergo a bricl and rather casLrally perfonned
oleration on
their foreskins. The procedur. i. done irr the houscyard in the fult
vrew ot rn!une
irnu,Jrc..
lu wJ(.h A \mrll .rrc} r pl:r, e,l h.-
tween the loreskin and the glal1s, anil rhe foreskin is sllt verricall,
then folded back to exposc rhe gl:tns.
The,teal narne,,of tlie
operation is sui, 'to slit.' I was told that a euphemisn is sed
bccause the splrit owner ol pigs, whose pets are not so c r, takcs
offcnse rt thc namc. Thc f:rct rhar slrr bambrxr is rscd in pi8 traps
seems to be involved here too.
'I'he
trcfcred
term is ponte, whrch
means'to hatch,'an exprcssioD tl.ar plays
on the frct that mxlc
tesdcles are called gulr, a v,,ord coDsciously iikencd to thc worrl
Ior egg
;u,r'u
the euph, rrr.ti.
.rrl,.
r,ru,ron lccrL. ro !\^rtch rle
association from hunting tc birth, al1d from wild animals to do-
mesticatcd chickeDs, a common mctrphor for children and corn-
munity members. Reasons given for the operation iuchde the
notions that women llnd uninciscd peniscs distastcful and that
a man who is afraid oI a tjny knife is not prepared to hardle a
bi8 onc
li.e.,
to do men's work). Somr say roo that penile incision
promotes
the
Srowth
of young bots. The similjrity to the Is
lamic sunnar is openly acknowledgcd, and Wana term circumci-
sion pont
as well.
Suprincision does underscorc the dilfcrence bctween males
and fcmales. The fact that young boys must confrort a krilc ir
ordcr to make themsclve3 brave and attr.tctive to womcr iD
plicitly dif{crentiates mrles and fern.rlcs ilr Wana societv. Rut rh.
operJrron al.o c5rablr.hcr rn idnntrtr l)irw(cD lh, .cxci. nrn,cll
bleeding as a prelude ro marurity. Cllildrcn oI both sexes
^rc
told
to obscrve a variety ol prohibitions lesr boys bleed hcavily whcn
Gender iD WaDa Socicty
7t)
they 3re incised and girls blccd heavily rt menstruation and chrld.
birth. These includc prohibitions on bctcl chcwing
lonly casually
nhrcrrcdl. srtptrnr nvcr
b, r, I sprr
.rn.rnx
hrr,l
.pr
wrh w1r(l
.inddrinl ing,rrnee. Anorhcr r,..r..,r,xrv.n to.wh) Ll lJren'h^ulJ
avoid betel nuts is that they hastcr rhe deaths ol their parents by
such precocious demonstrations of matluity-iln cxaDple ouce
again of generation eclipsirg gender. Supcrillcisron f()r the Wana
then emphasizes an identity rn thc physical n.rture ol boys and
girls, and at the same time suggcsts a link betwecn rhc penis and
briverv. rn rs\ocraliun rn h. rnvc.rrtsarr.l in r m^mcnr.
Cender and Pawer
No doubt one who favors cxplairin8 cukural theues in terms
of psychodynamics
woultt frnd thc prcceding account replete with
cvidence Jor a mJ\sr\ e ca\c,,1 B nmh
cr)! v oI I h(
fJrl
nt Wlrnr m, rr
Unqualifierl 3\ lam ro.nJlvz( Wanr p1.h,-, lrowever I rouIrl
stresa tdat Wan. ideas of procrc:rrion irc quitc consistcnt with
a cultural emphasis upon unit.ry origins that does not pcrmit
dichotomous oreative principles, and with an assumptioD that
-womcn
and men are fundarnentalLy thc same sort of bcinss who
are diffcrertiated prinu ly through rhcrr activities, not in their
fundamental nature. Rather thar opposingwomcr as life
Sivers
and
mer as life'takers, or downplaying women,s life-givins as Ilonsot
d., Vr'anc tdcltitv borh womerr and men a' lirc.srvers. e,.errrns r
tundanrenral likcncs. terween ,h( s(\er lrosever, WJru rulrure
celebrates powen removed by space and time lrorn human settle-
ments aDd defines access to these powcrs ir a manner bcffttillg
men'.s, not women's, activitics. Achievement oI these powers tep-
resents conirol over proccsses of life ,nd dcarh ir1 the Wana worltl.
Thus,
for the Wana, ,s Ior thc llongor, there is an arena beyond
the commu ty in which some individuals can reach the fullest
expression ol human achievcDenr. Aldrorgh rot pluased care
gorically in gendered tcims, it is in this arcna that gender is a dil-
{erence that makes a diffcrcnce.
Wara are preoccupicd \,,,ith powcrlul knowledge, epitomized rn
rnagical spells
{do
al thrt dcrive from hiddcn spidt reatms that lir
beyond the ordinary social worid. Likc similar societies in rhc
aroal Wana pursue thc powers of thc wild that lie far bcyond their
80 /tnc
Monni{ ALl<insan
swidden comnlunitics. At the samc irme, otherformsol exogcnous
powers havc impressed thcmselves upon Wrna corsciousness in
recert ceDturies, in particular thc
Power
of thc state, meaDing here
both the tradltional ,e8ara and nrorc recent colonial and rutional
institutions. Although mcn and womcr may be the sarne solt of
leings going about their iasks rn Wana communities, men gaiu
somethins extra by travelling ftther in the realms of both the
wilderress arrd the siate.
tn their encounters with far olf dangers, men protect thcm_
sclves with dle magical powers of substances associatcd with
birth. Infants'cauls, clots of blood clenched in a ncwborn's fist,
and evcn alrorted {etuscs arc prizcd as powcrful tlllismans. Pcople
listen to catch rhc sound a child r.rtters with its tust brcath the
kind ol magic that can calrse guns to 6re water instcrd ol bullers.
One shaman I know dug up a stillhorn child rnd danced it up :,nd
down until it rcvcaled m^8ic to hlm. A \voman of my acquaint'
ance was said to possess a stillborn child thar was d ed b, the
Iight of the moon urtil it turned into s whitc stone, th size o[ a
srrall betel nut. Such items posscss special power through then
assocration with the womb. The Lrsc of wornb'relatcd magic is
great. AIonS with othcr forms of magic used to ward off danger
{rom sorcery and violent attack, it is commonly called sangka
sangka langkai or pakepale ldr3lrr,
'men's
accoutrements.' This
is not to say that women rnay not possess it, but d1c associatioil oI
womb-relatcd magic with men is said to come frorn thc Iact that
men tra,'el farther and require protcction aSainst the violcDce and
sorcery ol strangcrs.'what is more, mcn travel in multicthnic
and heavily lslamic rreas where such knowledge is both prized
and necessarl The suggestion is that men, becnuse they travel far,
have special uses to which they can put the powerlul substances
and knowledge associated l\]ith the source of human Lfe. This Iact
does not alter the notion that women and mcD are identically in_
volved in biological reproductioll; it only suggests that rnen have
a distanr arena in which the powers o[ procreation have added
siSnificance.
The magical power Wana attributc to reproductive substan.es
derivcs not from a Melancsiarr-like notiol of mcn's control of con_
taminating female marerials, nor from principles of cosmjc du_
Cenderhw n Socicty
8r
alism such as oDe ffDds in the mythologics of thc ancicnr Ne:rr
East and Chrna. lnsrerd r\ b,r-.lor rlr(
fo$(r
rlrJr ronrc,
frurn
unitlrv pornr\ uf orrgrn rn,j q,.rr,
r,rrrnn.rl
tllu
-\.
Refrodu.,rv.
substances are the uliimate defcnsc against sorccry aDd violencc
becapse a source cannot bc defeated by its of{sprirg. A chiid rvho
woufd curse rt' parenrs'genrrJl. i. nvercome h\ .in.
Magr( irun
the yomb rannor bc r"rr,;uer.d DccJ,r\r. r r\ \J d.
'.one"
morhc.
cannpr be dcfcJrid." l r t. rh rs a ll s ron ro r he prior.rv oJ r n< sou r. c.
and
lot
J nouon ol femrle pollurinr,
rhat c:.plain. l\c dcarlr
nr
r
rnan al lhe hrnd\ oJ a tr r'man whu prefarcd hcr murder wc.rporr nt
wipihg it with her mensrrual hlood.
The powcr of rcproductrr r rrr.rr.r lr.r. :t
t,r
r rr $.,nr \ IUJ I
t,,lr.
tics. No m.rtLer how well pror,rred J8Jrnsr rnJIrEn nragr( ur( r\,
one
is
\.ulncrilDL (o
sorccrv hv ,r rn,.rrrhcr nr Lhc ,,rhr'\ex
M,.n
hav- an rdvarrtage rhuugh. bcL.ru*( rhnv. whu rre \uppos(Ll ,n
travd furthcr ;nd havc mor( need tor
.urcery
and rr(,rnIldolc., Lan
assutrle that most womcn are llot their equa]s in dangerous magic.
Io fart, there arc notable exceprions, but by ard large, the stereott?e
Loldi. Men use rhre;rL rn Lourr.hrt
youns
wom(n
etrd iheir familres rre carerul in uerl,ng. *rrh .u
or\ *ho mJy
vent
Fheir
ragc rt retecUorr tl'rough
'"rcery.
And.haman5 borh er,
ha:rcp their reput:rtion5 rnd cre.rre rny,crics ror womrn or chrld.
btrri,hg age bv cldrmirB ro undo (unrracetlrvc
mrsrr rnd move
fetuses hom w,mb to womh
I
Cen\er as Dilf ercnce
Aitbough n,, gcn.l.r dr\uncLiun r. mldc r(B.rrdrnE rhc spinrr.rt
(oDffEurarion
ilr 3 pe,\o . :rnd dricrrrrLes rn rcpruJu, rrve lun(.
tions arc playcd down. rwo r.pecr.
^r
JnJromy ,rc ritrrrhcrntl!
geDder-marked. I'll start with what might srrike us as the odder ol
the two. As Wani plrvsrologr h} rr. womcn po."es.
,cnuu3h
ribs, but mcn arc missrnS rsu. Wherc.r, wumen havc: cumplere
set, dine oII a side, men have only eight on a sidc. For this rcason,
it is said, men strap on a knire.
Tlie numbcr oI ribs a persor possesses has significance in Wan,
lrortFary ritual. Legend says that the iDventor of present practicc
confSed a man and a woman cach in a scparare room. The man
R,
lane
MaD ig Atl<insnn
had a musical instrument crllcd a r/u r:r thc womrn had a flute. Itv
the'oundolrlrern\rru.rr(nr\ rr L, .rlJ be dcLcrrnirred l rhcy wcre
still alive. lD eight days the man died. In nrnc days the woman
died: The woman survivcd a day longer, it is said, because shc h.rd
a piece of coconut, such as one would use for oiling one,s hair,
tucked rn the fo|l ol her sarong., As i conscqlre[cc, fuDera] rjtcs
{or a man take sixteen days, doubtr the number of days it took lor
the man to die and cqualjng thc c(,unt of his ribs. Funeral rrtcs Ior
a woman last eightcen days, onc again in liDe with the exped-
ment and the ib count. The symbolism involved here is comflex.
Eigit and nine are inruspicious numbcrs that iollow the ar:s
picious
count Irom one ro seven rhat spells oui a full lilc in othcr
Wflna rituals. The days of a funcral observance are counted oI{ ol a
bladc .rf house thatch with paired lcaves rcpresentinJa the ribs of
rhc JeJd And nnallv dcarh rs in
"
rur\e:l rourley r. l r\ el\e
\^hpre .n lhr archrpcl,rgo
l(r.
Mcr,.rlr lo8rr_ anJ trorncn. I)e rg
Iers srronq rhan men anLl morc, n.
,rnrbered
by chrldrcrr, rrc rlovrci
totravcl on both mundane and spirjt paths. By thc same token, girl
babics aresaid to bc.r month longcr in the wonb than boy babiis.,
Cive. the presence
ol borh Istanr and Chdsrianity in the regior,
thcre may well be a connection bdween the Wana rcckor;n'g oi
ribs and the Cenesis accourt of Eve,s creation from Adam,s r;h
But the Wana rcrdition is sigifrcaDtly different from a cornmon
Euro Americar onc, lor its message is not that womell nre mcn,s
helpmates or dcpendents, but that women are anatomicallv com
plete rvherers
men :r, lackrng. Frr rrom irrrrrhuirng a ca\ r on
com;le:r ro uomen W"n,
.lnd
I
n,..e..rrr ror m(n r; compensat(
ior rherr phv.r,rJ
den, rcncv. The nh rrte wo,,td erptarn men,s
character as a functiol oI their anaromical inadequacy. t\,tissing a
rib on each side, a man straps on another long, hard object, to ;ir
(or
to whetl, a knife.
Not all refercnces to gender differcnces are so scxually obliquc
as the rib story- Manhood is l ked more directly to mal; genitals
in a complex associarion of meD, selualit, indcpendelce,
nrr;bil
ii, spirit realms, aDd the sourccs
,rf
power in the wana wotld. Na,e
yau n9kdlio, ma'i tt)te /ampu is a continual refraiD in Wara conl-
munities:'dont go out rlonc, a lcral cat will come
[to
get youj.,
The world beyond thc settlenent i^ populated
l,y all soris oispir
Gcuder iD WaDa Socrety
8l
i
its, somc malicious by nrturc, orhers casily provoked by humar
mibcolxluct. Venruring forth alonr: in the forcst is a dangcrous
business thac oDly the very bravc ivill casualiy urdertakc.
lusr
rs ir
is trraught with danger, so too drc workl beyond the settlement is
the site of the most valued rcsource ln WeDn life, powcrlul spint
knowledgc. Succcss ill any and a]l cndotvors in Wxna cxpcrjcncr is
predicated
upon such knowledge from exogenous sources. Sh anan
ship, though, is the Wa[a activiry that tclies most oirecrly upoD
personrl ct,nrdLL with hrddcn sprrrr rcalms. Wrren a.krrr whn L.,n
bc(ome a
'ham.rn.
WJnJ /nshcr Inrnnp Jrvune. rhrt r., wrrh :
lrLcky'palm lrne rr,a mraler rrr.l r lre,
^urrBc
ro prrr. u( \prrr ci,n
racls. Il is qurL( evidenr from rhI orcrwhrlmrng preJomrnan, r. r
lnen in rhe.lrimrnrc rrnls rhrr mrrr. nor womcn .tre lrkc.) ri I,e
so lortunjrri. lo rh:I oh:crvrllnIL UJn.r iI mv.rp(ricr,.c. (.,.,
m:p and nornan. rcplr rhar mcn rerrJ Lo b( brrver rn rlrerr
1ur.u..
of spidt knowlcLlge.
A srnrple functionalrsr cxp),.rrrrrrun worrld nore rhJr .hJmJr I
resource5 hrppen to bc locrrcd ir rhF srrc ut r!pr.Jll) mdle J.
tiyity. Since spirits arc more Lkcly to bc cncormtercd in the forcsts
that rl1en {rcquent, it's no wondcr that morc men a;c sh:rnrns
Anilgiven thrr womcn,rre rv;rr.rllv preo.rupred w,Lh *.r1em,,,..
bound tasks, it is obvious that they dort get arountl as nuch and
consequeDtly do not entcr the sharnanic linc of work as often .rs
thci male compatriots do. Such at1 explanation is dcciciedly :n
line wrth Wana reasoninS on rhe subiect. There is no mle thir
catiSoricilly ercludes wornrrr norr rhr ranl,r ol ,lram.rn. rr
.l
tndeed my notc< ire tull o, .rofle\
ol women \hamrn,
ol urlllr
time\ and phces. a\ well as h r.thand rccnunr\ of
Si,
t. and wom, n
scelins.h:rnunrc \kills Brrr rn rr rp)rr r rnu
.ubrle
wJyr
Brrd"',.d
notions of approp ateness drctate who will movc casilv inro rhe
con]renrronal rulp ot 5h:rm;tn inJ shi,.
.r
.hc
r,Lrr l,ear Lht udd,,
will carve I n'che ior h.r.elf J. ., dr.rncrr\. ,on , f
.nrdirror
bL
twe;n human and spidr rcalms.
'lDor't go out llone, a feral cat will conrc.,,A feral cat is. eu
pheinisn,
fc; a liver-cating demon. The paradox rs that a demon is
precisely the sort of creatutc a person in serrch ol spirit powers
wants to mect. A clue to the nssociarion berwccD men and the
wiid came to me one day whcn Mpaa, a strong and handsome
84
l,tn.
Monnt\ Al,,ns,rt
youns hachelor/ wenr {)fl ro thc woods. Someonc :rsked who his
companion was.
//He
has no conrpaDion. He,s a mar, he has a com-
panion,"
came thc answer. The
loke
was explained to mei .rs a
male, he had his genirals to keep him company. But what about
womenl They have
SeDirals
too.
yes,
i was tolj,
,,but
a mar,s geni-
trls a.c hard rnd hrrr
".
r u,,mrn! qenrt:rls
arc (,,wrrJly
:l nd itJ,.
Thrr rrrsu<r mrr(ed a r.rorF,,.mplc(( \et otJ..nciJ on5 A m1n5
genitals,
in this phrasing,
are called his bebela_a word corD-
monlr rpphed to
"
shanrans sprrit trmtliars. Women
arE told nor
to venturc alonc in the forcst at a measo ot,Liemon, will come.
Measa are spiri ts t hat become spiri r {amiliars. I.Lt Ic 1arr D1l ti
,t?r
a1
cJr' rr r eufhem,srn r^r bor h Jt rn,,rrr anJ gen,r.,:s. th,.t,un h.:e ,,
that ofi in the woods on her own, r woman may mecr a dcm(,n of
ore \urr or Jnothpr. ll rro, as.rulr, rJ bv I li\er ririllt L]emon, .hc
mir he rllred Logrrallv I lon, m" , ill rhc t,,rcsr rn ho encour,,ert,l
a woman would be mecring a
,,deD1on,,
as wcll-thc pun rvorks Ior
both male and femate gcnitals.
BLrt the criterion of bravcn is ar
wurk hcre Su r no r. rncn!
!rcar
Fr.
L ce.. ro r.rd. good,. Wher.,r. a
woman rs supposed to avoid scduition lcst shc be forced to pay
a legal iine, a man, I,ft told, woultl bc embarr,,ssed
to resist a
uomarr\ rc:,rrrI
uverrJre.
i(.r
rr
-Dfc: r rhJt le ..uuld nor p.r* a
leral tinc Ior rdultcrv
Stereotypes aside, adolcscents of both sexcs venture lorth inro
the.loresL o.rcnsrblr ur \e"r.l,
ot sp,rL rrnrjlir,,
yr.,"S
,".*
")a;; hoth Icas ng rId
jpDr^vjl
rs rhev ,cr k ro crnrrl.,re r,rc ma.cuirnc
idcal of brrr( vnunq.lramar.-ru
h,.
yount,
srrt may rrrecL *rrh
\umethrng (l\e
J. w.lr -rnUmrr.,. . ot rJpe One i^idowcr jnkeo
ihat he was going to go out and wa I lor two yo ng teenrgc girls
who had taken to roamins thc fo.cs1. A younr
nrorhcr, co;vulsed
with laughter, declarcd that shc too would go out iD search of sDir
its rn rhe Ioresr. H, r hLrh.,nJ rirnrr,xJv rc\lnnJcd rhJr heit hr.,e
rn the dJr( ar J rn rhe ntiinn(r or
-
rpirrr
rLldrcscllrg; y1g113111,
would a'1, \rr wh.rr .he rrnrcd. rt,e olJ rnerrcine
-*r.
ih. ,rp
propriate
answer, namcly, his penis Anrl one young
tarher in a se_
rious tonc told his wiIe,s youDS
cousin that il he caught hcr alcue
in the forest he would rape her. After all, hc noted. she was not his
parent
i[ law, rhrt is, someone whose petson
hc had to respect.
ei er in WanJ SoLrety
When she snillcd rhat r,rrdt was not what she was seeking in thc
forest, he told her that her wishcs wcre no matter. Att ol rhis s1r!
Sests
the inappropriateness
of women venturing alone il1to thc irr
est, the site of men'S activitics ancl the source of powerful
spirrt
Whereastheydownplaydimorphisminprocreatior,
WanaIree.v
assocrate hravcr) wlth llro\e sho pos{5\
malc genllrls. Ar or(
point durirrg my liclduork rumor\ nr
a mtllenrrian movcm( I
wete ceusing a
(
onslderJble \t tr tn rhc cr,mmuntry u here I workeJ
ApaMene. the.lramrn sllh whonr I lived wa.d6qpl1 c6ns.,,,.6
tIs nrfe. lnoo lrn.r. wr. flrptanr :rrrd ,corrrfrrl
or ri,e drrc pred,..
iions. Apa Menc told her rhat it wrs 6nc for her to sound
,,bravc ,,
that rf uoublc r.rrvcrl she w,,uld.rmplv
flrr. rhc r,sponJ,..l h1
sayin& of coursc, she could sould brave, thcn die to the bone,
{mate
wrrT<ul wheu the tin1c came to be afraiLl.
you
worrv. she told
hilr. herrrse wl,en yuu Jrc rhrerreneJ
vuu teet iumfcrted ro
ffg\t. We women doDt. Shc said she feels not thc stightcit ursc to
stryand iighr.lr\ \ou nr.rr whowanr rohqhr I hrr..he, rn
.ound
br;ve and I"r..r "re wompn w,,n't be rshrmerl ro flee. Mcn
.hc
obsefied, are ashamed to do so. Another woman told me rhat
wcmen \^ere cowrrdlr ur Jccuunr nr rherr rlrrldren Wl-en,Lrr5. r
con]cs thcv srnr r,i pr^rc(r rl,.-n 1rr.,,,o,,rn :r. rn rlre
jlonlo.
ca"! when m, n grr drurl ;nd tr(rrr r^.tu,rrr.t. u"nr
*omen nrJe
the
lnivcs and scurry our oI thc housc with rhcir children.
lhvsicr I vrolcn( e rr
tlrased
:. a
tcnr-r
mrr, cd r r. r,r, rer,. r r. .
i\lrhough Ihcvr rrr frcr recorLted.l\(. or \puu.e
bcrrrnr br borh
sexes ment porenrrrl lnr vrolpr,.,..\, hir-Lrcr,r"u r. g,.",., f *",
tuld]ol r rrunrhcr of rncll wh,, $,,,, ,,r trpr rt-r,r urvr^hvrhIrr.,,r
vroltncc. Onc l,,vrnq iurrllc J(* rh,rl rn nrr h,,w wlr, rr hr hr.r
com/nrtrcJ adulrr ry.rnd.rre h,J wJntcu .. Jrv^r(,. lo mJI\ J nr,rr
ilcoe\sful mrn, Lc lrrd rlrrcrrcrr. J ro ki hcr. Ar utd
qur,r"r
ur
mv:cqu.rinrancr, Ir.rd pcrrnllcJ
lrer
't(phew
ro mrrry hpr nre(,.
.n
violat,oll or WJnJ nrJnirqe rule.l,ci.ruse hc rnrr-rcncd hcr
lhy.r
cally she o(nralld(u ;rnd rr, nrvc.l i
psJ.
p.,ynr enrrtt, J rhc
chrllof rhc bodv'ror rhc tuqhL rlr. re,r tn anorl.err.trr, a uonrar
dirorced I r-rrrr who th(
-mt.U.lreo Irrr nn J rrrt tore,,Lr he,
pubic hiir. Jnd rhrnrrencd ro t,,ll t,(r th. lreal
,,,pcrr.
Jir,rrn.
l
86
lane
Monnig Atl<.inson
her to rcturD to him, saynrg simpl, "lf you don't, he'llkill you-"
Thc expcctation that maie violcncc must be reckoned with serves
to enlorce men's will withour actrr.rl demonstrrtion of its forcc.'
But whereas bravery has its placc iD sexual politics, ethnjcity
overrides gender in other contexts. Although soDre iDdividuals are
reSarded as brave, Wana charactcnzc themseltes as a cowardly
people. Flight from danger-especialiy danger lrom a non-Wana
source, either spirit or hurnan,ln nost situarrons is not deemed
unmanlv Mcrr a. uell r: wonrer,-reelv Jdmrr lo t(ar. Wtrer, Apa
ngcoru heard a strange noise in thc lorest and returued to have a
shaman trear him for a spirit attack, no one IouDd drar Iact amus-
ing. Wher he returncd to $e fores'. to chcck his bird traps
jn
thc
company of his wife and child, that was a scurce of humor-not
only did it susgesr that he rclicd orl his wife and Laby son for pro
tection, but the cries oI the child, pcople laughed, were surc to
frighten away thc birds.
Rosaido's
lr98o)
analysis of Ilongot gender suggcsts that women
and men are felt io bc fundamentalLy thc same, but n)en, througll
acts epitomized by headhunring, are somehow
,more
so.,, Wana
portray womeD and men as rdcntical in respect to procreAtion aid
similarly engagcd in respect to labor But men, ostcnsibly because
their sphere of activity includcs rerlms ar a d,srance from setrle
ment life, have an "cdgc" in terms of power:Ird knowledgc. This
"edge" is not as clearly defincd as ir is in thc Ilongot case, whcrc
headhunti,rg was an cxclusively male activity that rntil rcccntly
markcd men as people
'who had reached the limits ol cukursl
fulfilment. "Transccndence" in thc Wana case is not so cxplicitly
gender mrrkcd. It is phrased as an irdividual rathcr than a cate
gorically male achievemcnt
1cf.
Tsin8, this votumel.
Complicating the prcture is thc lact rhat although men may
have the corncr on bravery courage is not the only route to spiri
tual assistance in Wana theory. Sprrrrs reward not only ihe brave.
but also the weak, the unloved, and the pathetic. A strong themc
in the cultnre is the unexpected reward of a poor and lowly pcrsol
by spirit bencfactors. No doubt this scenario has special mean
ing for a people like tlre \vana, whose ethnic sclf-identity is con-
structed around marSinaljty, povcrry, and exploitatioD by more
powerlul pcoples. Stories ,bound ol:Ioor, u81y litdc mer who arc
Cerlder irr W.rnr Socrrry
I
sallJied away by sptrits touched by thcrr miscry. tsalancinS such ac
couhts are stories
like
that of N.lci rTanajars, who had iust borne
a child whcn rhe cncnrv crrrcked. shc rose from hFr n,ar, sei/.J.,
sword,;nd
(orrghr
oh rhe cn,.r.v.r, rts htn,,J rrnnr chrtdhrrrh
rJripped 'rhrck r. rars rJl.'dow,rr(r lpts. wirhrh( hetpn,.prr
its, she defeated her euemies, and shc and her neighbors wire
ua4sported to a mole pleasant existe[ce by her spirit friends.
lOne
mrglit note that shc did not return to becomc the pohtical
leader
of air ordina'y Wana community. Likewise, thc me; in sto es whc)
win hclp fron, spirits solely on accou[t of their wretchedness are
generalJv
tranrported ro.r h,rpprcr pl.rce. rrrlrer rh.rr rerognrz.d .r.
lerdqrs in rhcir own L.umnlunllre\
'
A\ rherc (
xamplc, .how
mr).
braterv
's
nur (hc
onlv grouno5 jur
.|lrrrnrng rl-c pri,,ed \alue. or
Wlna <ocreLy.
lI lrcr. .ome
brrve rnuir rdu.rl. rrrl ro obrarn sprrrr
assistrncc although they scourthcforests forit. Others gain powcr-
ful knowledge through srudy with othcr peoplc. Still others man-
a8e (o
cnrounrer sprrrts rrrhorrr r.nLurirrE frr rrnm rherr.e.rl.
mcrlts. t hus r he a..rcrrLron ot m,.n'. I rr! cls. r IrelI br,rvery .rnd r he
p|zpd vrluer oi \a.rn; so, rerv i, ror JUrum,rfi. or rnttexrble.
lrut at rhis pornr. the flu Llirv nf rlro \\.rn:r
rnnJt.r-sy.rcnr.nn
strucrs h;r. a lirnrr. tn f.rcr rh.'e Jr. rninv
ncotte.r
borh \c\(.
who pu.ses: wh.rr rr ruppnseJlv rh( prircqrr!re tnr \urr"t
rnfl I
ence, namcly spccial knowledgc and spirit contacts. But not all oi
these people are accorded a measurc of authoritv on this accouni
Women, lli
frrhculJr.
shy
jw,rv
rrurn mrti|lg rhr surr;t rtarm.
that their klowledgC would seemingty warrant. when asked why
so-aDd-so did not pcrform publicly
as a shaman or come ro the fore
in public debate, the excuse often given is thar the person
is shy or
ashqmed p
rear. Ahhuugh (hi\
is .rrd or torh nr(n rnd wornen, I
i( phrrcularlv
rru( ol sornpr. 1rJ denron..rrre, Lhrr. roculos\
aside Wana \n(rery rs hrshly hu-no.ncirt ro u.( Ceodci, \ re,n
llr srzl r or r :
;s). especr.rlly rvhcrr rr . omes r^ fr,.rrr rn rz rnB . Irquc.
ofinfluenrral peonlc Ior exrn,pte
"orn.n
wirh rhe qurlrh.ari,
rr.
to prrtorrn .r"
"ham:rns
nrrcn do
.o
ur rly ror rlreir rmmedrare hou,e
holqs, not in the contcxt of la:ge scalc gatherings. Thus the ba,
sis lbr socirl influence is casr iD terms of pcrsonal
access to rlis
tanl rcalm<. but rts pracrice
rr iimrreu br .norh,r .Fr nf rJ(r anJ
mort gcnder
b,Jund cxp<crrrrorr. ,rhnut rhe .rppropnaL. .onduct ,,r
88
lane
Monnig ALkinsan
women and mcD. Whereas rhe socirl goods oI Wana society arc cx-
ternal to it, and externality is associated with distance, ard dis
tance is an aspcct of men's erpcnencc, Dot women's, becrusc mcn
are bravcr than womcn nevcrthclcss the rttxinn.crt ol spccirl
knowledge and spiritual aid is phrescd a lluke of personal Iortune
irespective ol gender. The iact that men and not women more
commonly and more publiciy attcmpt to translatc such fo/tune
into political capital is a fLrnction not of a catcgorical rule, but of a
iacit assumption that the excrcisc ol authority rn Wana lilc is a
nule prerogative.
:
That siatement is itself modulated by the laci
that autho ty in Wana society is Dither monolithic nor
ltcnrr-
alizable beyond vcry speciflc contc\ts, and it coDsists primarily of
the right in ccrtair situatr.rrs to del iver commertary on mattcrs ol
general concem (Atkinson
r984). llow much more intluential arr
individual can be dcpends upon his or hcr skills of persuasion.
fo complete the comparison thrt has been v/ovcn through this
essay-in contrast to Il(Dgot socicty, where rnen oncc csrablished
thcmselves as peers through the act ol hcadhuntinS, Wana society
has no singlc, all'rnale route to cq.-rality, power, and iufluence. lD
fact, Wana society posscsses a rnore drffcrentiareC set of spcciaiiza-
tions to which ilrdividuals can aspire than docs llongot societ,
and Wana seem morc openly accepting oI social diffcrcnccs and hi
erarchy. What is more, thc
Srounds
for one,s prcemilence arc nor
explicitly gerder bound. "tulyone,' can become a shrman, a ricc
spccialist, or a legal expert. That those "anyones,, arc prcdomi
nantly male is treated .rs a flukc ol fortune, rathcr than a categori
cal process of inclusion and exclusion. In this serse, Wana womcr
rcpresent the "cverymar," the majority, who because of lack of
bravery, fortune, good menory, or inclinarion nevcr come to excel
at what it takes to be a political leader in a Wana community.
A Postscript on Gender Shiltrng
The gender constnrctions analyzcd here posscss a Ioophole that
illuminatcs their contours in a sfecirl wxy. The loopholc is a
mixed-Sender status cailed l,dnle.,. This sratus is hardly an o,ldity
in thclndonesian archipelago. Ind,:cd, as a fieldworkcr irteres red in
Gender in Wana Socjety 89
sh.manic practlce, I was
jntenscly
interested to see iI Wana fol
lowed a pattern familiar in other parts of island Southeast Asia
wherebv lhamrn. wcrc erher vr, nrr n or male rr/n.\csrre.
{.ee
AdriJnian.lKruyr rr,o, Ilirr,,ni, rrl,,IIJll ryhx,Bl.,nr \rinr, n
this volume, Van der Kroef r954 56jYen8oynnr98l).lnfact,they
did not. The overwhelminS majority of wana shamans are mc r,
end elthouSh somo occa$ionally call upon spirit familiars de-
scribed as bdnto mwe'd, or
/rmpersoratirg
woncn,'Wana sha-
manship remains a rathcr unrcmittingly malc domain. Then too, I
was told oI headhunting ritu.ls of times pxst in which a woman,
dressed rs o nlrn, would go lorrh ro chrllrngt wrrnor\ rcrurnrns
Irom a successful raid. Neither memory or exegesis went furthcr
than that. Brt I did obtain reports ol
jndividuxls
who wcrc baDte
in thir daily cxistcnce. Adn;ttcdly, my "sample" is quite sm)iI,
bur my concerr, here is not with thc lndividuals and any pcrsonal
aberrations involved, but rarher with the gcneral interyretations
people placcd opoD them. Thcsc accourts dcscrvc attcntion both
in light of my reading of Wan, gender and in light of whiteherd's
(r98r)importart picce on homoscxuality aud thcAmcricaD lndian
berdache.
Whitehead, eschewing the notion that cr tural constflctions ol
sexuality ard
8elder
are reflections ol sexual physioiogy or erotic
o entation, examines standrrd theorics of homosexuaLty in light
of a widespread Amerl,'rdian institrtion of transvestism. Her ar
gumett is that cultural notioDs of scxuality arc a function of thc
gender systen of which rhey are a part, end gcndcr systems thcm.
selves are shaped by the prestiSe structures oI a giver society. Her
speculation has bcarinS on what Iolloirs.
My acquaintalccs catcgodca]ly dcnicd knowlcdgc ol homo
sexuality. They speculated, when questioned, that a person who
hrd sex with another individual of the same sex would be enterecl
by a demon and wculd probably grow wcxk and sickly as a result
of a violrtion of socirl order. Indo Lina, a characte stically morr
liheral individual, dwclt oD the positive rathcr lhan thc negativc
sid. To the notion of 3 homosexu:rl couple, she responded, "That
would be good; thc'e would not bc children, so they couid be com.
panions." I
q/as
toll of one teenage girl who enioyed rubbing up
against anotle voman, bchavror thar leemed qu,i. p.cular tt
9o ldne
Mt)nnjg Atl<iDson
my companiors/ but did nor fir into . cultural crteSory oI
/,homo
sexuality." Although thcnotion ol honlosexuality w.s alien, peoplc
told me ol several womcn who had
,,bccome
mcn,,and maried
women. Seemingly, the swirch in rheir
Sender
status exemptcd
them from the dcbilirating dangers oi sex with other women_
The bcst case I havc of this concerns
painrobo,
the aunt, or
as shc preferred, tire "uncle" of one of the elders of the settle-
ment in which I worked. I nevcr met
paintobo.
She,d been dead for
many years before my nrival. But a Dunbcr of my oldct neighbors
knew hcr. Accordilg to thc clearest iccounts,
panrtobo
had bcen
maried and had borne a child. The child died, and in Ler gricf,
Paintobo cut off a breasr, divorced her husband. and assumed
the lir< o l nrJn \h. dunred
-
lurr"lnrh rrrLl J mJn,\hlr,,Lr
her hair, and bound her head with a scarf in malc style_ Shc clid
male farm work, set traps lor
8amc,
and worked like a man. Mv
c"mpan:^n. Jrelr on h, r phv'rcrl r haracrerisrrc: \h" wa, \horr,
hearryset, and like a man in appearance, but she lacked a bearC.
She trenstruated, said onc woman, and when she peed, her uine
sprayed insrcad of strcaming suaiSht like a ma[,s. Whcther or
not she had a penis was a source ol much pcrplexed
discussioir.
Altershc died, sorne said, ir was disco!ered that shc wore awooden
top in her loircloth to slmulate male genitals.
One rcport had it
that her Iake genitals wcrc constructed ol a bamboo iube auC a
piece of wood thaL ratrlcd, when she wrote pants, Iike thc woodcD
bells hung on carabao necks Accordi:rg to most reports, she mar
ried a woman. Onc person claimed tLat {or sexual il1trcorllse she
used a pointed
implenrcnt like a deer horn that hurt her parrrer.
Anothcrclaimcd that shchada smallpcnis that only emergcd whcn
she had sexual relations. This womai roted that rt was probably
her clitoris.
lln
other contexts, people likened rLe clitoris ro r
penis.l Despitc the Iact she married, however, she and her wifc
had no childrcn, I was told. Was shr rrocked for her peculiaities?
Iasked- At lirsr, yes, it seems. But aftcr awhile, [o, said hernephcw,
she'd chasc you with a kDile if you.rid
so. No, srid anothcr old
man, her spidt Iamiliars were powerful.
He could recall the foods
she requested for her spirits when she performed as rL shaman. Hc
could also rccall a poem that she had composed in a poetic style
characteristic of i luentjal Wana men (Atkirson
r98;), but h;, a
Gcnder nr Wana Socicty
fiue
fompo.er
hrnrrclr round rr .rorr .rnJ.r.,rrJ Jnd w^utJ ro.
relcCI rt [or nru. S,'rrrrorrc ,1" r,l.,rrrJ thrr .)r.
r(fc.,r(,1 h.r
words many times when she spokc. I[ general, thc memory ol her
was qf a generous, hard worknls mxn.
Bdsides Pailtobo, I was told, without elaboration. of two othcr
wom(n who "be,':me'
mcn .rrrd n'rrrrcd. Wrrerr I csleJ rr men
mi8dt "become women," one old couple denied that possibility
categoically, saying a rnal1 lackcd a "hole,'and would irave to cut
ofl his genjtals to becorne a wonlaD. But in othcr contexts I was
told of men who wore their hair ln the {cm:le style and preferred
wombn's work. I rccorded Do casc of a man having sex witl or mar
iying another man. lnstead, their bantc st.tus was bascd .rn either
drcs< or work., lJnb(und,.. ror e\Jnrpl( $.r. de.c bLJ J: rn qld
ma'r n rth; rhrLe brrrd wl.o nr, nrarrred our h rJ rro ch rtdr<rr fi"
did ot wear women's clothes, but perfomred wo cn,s work likc
planting, sewirrg, ard making mars and brskcts. He was not stronp
at doin6 men's;ork. He was a shaman who danced in the style oi
a woJnan (maDy
milc sharnans do so oI occasion, when insprred
by a bpi t that 'impersonates a woman,' barrrc rnwe'a). Whereas
Paintobo would attack anyone who called her,,aunt,,,Tangkonde
annltered with eq Damity to altnt or uncle.
lainrobo lar'1kondc. rnd orhr. .rke rhenr rre re8a.dcd a
bant3. Thrs term can bL .rpplred rr r, Lrrve deg,(cr. Tr,akonJc $" .
s6,'i to be somcwlrar hanrc. wlrere;. Prrnrobo w.-r. cxtr(mely !.
lbante
koio). Whirehead
lr98r:91)
found rhat Nativc American
coocepts ol gender changnrg ilcludcd both physical and social cli-
mensions of gender sexual oricntation, work, and appearance
raer" all heton rn ,hc Jr finr o,, .,t
i, rJFr JnJ
;(rd"r
rnr.rn(Jl
rcy. Su, roo, Lhc l{in, notro|l ut l.-nrc rrrrolve.
."vcr:rl
JrDecrr ol
pLrsonhood. For'lrnsl unJe rhF(r rphJ.r"wa\ urun hr\-crrviLi(.
rrrd, lo .r lrs.er de5,Lc hr. .rppc:r rnce, expr..{ o t-.} hr. cho,, c or
hairstyle. In the case of Paintobo, my neighbors, concern and
I'aintpbo's, as well, it would sccn-was with rhe physiological di
mensions cf hcr switch. Hcr femnle physiology per
se was not the
prirrr ipal problrm rn rffccr irs hpr.hi
!e .r
lr h^ugn .h(
d1d hrc k ub
r; breAst in i relecron ur
-n.rFru
r.rnl. Ihe rrrl rrrcl,l"r
*a, lrer
lack of male
Scritals.
To livc as a man without x pcnis is thc
puzzti. With her adaptatior of a rrasculine way oI life, people
9, l.ne Mannis Atkinson
woDdered whether she had m iact
Srown
a penis. A peDis, it would
seem, is a prerequisite for her ch.rsen mode of being. Ir contrast lo
rhe Native Americau cases ir wlich by Whitehcad's
{r98r)rcad-
Ln8-wornen'. and , hrldb(a ng cJpJ( rflL \ Jpp:r-
cDtly hampered thcir eflorts to achicve rnalc stat\rs, Painiobo's Ic-
rnale ana!omy and reproductive proccsses were not her limitation.
ltor a male bante, genitals apparently are noean issue, As my com-
tlalions
put it, no man wonld "become a woman." To do so, he
would have to sacriiicc his pcnis, and that sccmcd too impc,ssjhle
lo imagine. Instcad, ir becorning bantc, a mrn keeps a loot in both
camps. Possessing male genrtals, he can adopt aspccts of lcmale
,ppearancc, most typically by wcadng his hair in a bun, ald
concenuatc on fcmiDire tasks like plandns, and rnat and basket
weaving.
Why mlght someone be provoked to bccomc bante? Rcvcalingl,
rny leighbors cxphined Parntolm's bchavior rs a rciection of child
bearinSand Tangkondc's as a prcfercnce lor lcrnale.vork overmore
strcnuous malc lahor. Paintoho t(x)k on m:r1c trsks, but T.rngkonde
did rot scck to rcplicate iernale sexuality or reproductive func
tions. But for a wo:naD, simply undertaking male activitics is not
enough. Nor is establlshiog her bravcry, thc critical charactcr dil-
ference said to dif{crcntiatc mcn lrorr womcn. A brave woman, I
\vas told, is simply bravc, not bante. To rpproach male status,
sorne "alutomical flumrnery"
{Whlteherd
r98r:9ol is in order
es well.
Further speculation from the data i nave is, cf coursc, sky and
quite skewed by the two cases I know best But my hunch is the
Iollowing. Cender'shifting is a rather cesual, though not com
monly used, option in Wana social life. It is opcn to both womcn
dnd men. But given cc.tain cultural assumptions, the nature of
lietlder-shifting
is not synlmetrical for rvomcn and rncl. This de-
rives from the lact that Wana dcfine rvomcn and men as funda
rncntally the same, but expect that men, by and largc, and 1ror
women, will be the ones to engage in a qucst ior the most highly
valued resoruccs in Wana culture. Whilc not explicitly dellned as
oxcluding womcr, the certral political insiitutjons of Wara so-
ciety are presumed to be male controlled, although not ail Wana
r:nen are expected to control thcm. Maleness, for ihe Wana, ap
Gc[der tu t{aDa Societt
gt
perr. toencomp:ssborh
rlre brrrr hum-I,.\ ot horr,r J rJ ,r,en
3no mcil's extra ed8e .r. v/(ll. A rn. r M lr,, r\ harr rt
.
impll .\
rfr, r o
r sri, u,
in::,
m, d'i,e ,o wonrrrrhooJ .,ro rn ,nhu.d. lur a $ um,r,
Sendcr-\hilri,rg i\ .:1.,rlrcr mJrr,.r. Wunrcll rn rr hc c,,rr
llcre
rn
their rrb court. but they hcl a plrrllu.
.rn ,t,. tr.rn,r,r."n..:,
who\c \rtnlffcance
derives nor hom it. pun.ly.c,rutlor
reoroduc.
rjve applicatlon5.
bul llom lrs \er!ice
r\ a brd5e rhrr enipor^er.
its orvner to exceed thc limits of Wana commlrnrtres
to confront
the dengerr arrd tu obrarn r he rdv,rntrtse.
tn. lr. rrr rc.rln.r b, vor-d
For lJngl.ond.
occrnyinS.rn irrrcrmrdr,rre
r, nrlcr ,
"
1,
q,,ry
rnc;nr
tmplrasrzirrq
rhe comtl(menr rn hi. nrrler,.s I,ur
prinrobo,
meJnt bi.nmrnS:r mJn, sorrr.r hrrrt rlrar m, rc cn.r.rScr r dre*.rnd
,criviric\ could nur ,Jequrr.ly,.rrer,
A. J , nn.rqu,
I.. \hp \,rnvc
turrhcr r^ rlJrn borh I rrrc rnd I pcIi.
t,,..er.ron rhs, trrrorn
lroT\r notes 1re t\trcillv hrvnn.l rlc rc.rcl. .t hnnx r) I|l W.rn.r
tenr)s, lhr\ i((rncd
llc(.r's"r v srnt, mrrr.rrr lil,r r,,nrr n, rrrJ..rmc
thing morc.