To love honnor and obey

this week read the book To Love Honor and Obey in Colonial Mexico. the book was a slow read but we luckily had spring break to work on it. the work is interesting however, it argues that changes in the social views in marital patterns in Latin America. the issues of parental control over the children and their choice in marital partners, the idea of individuals marrying not for duty to family or country but for love, as well as the importance of people not being "sold" to marriage as property. the book was broken up into a structural chronology. going from event to event, which really aided in understanding the progression of events and ideas in Latin America. the story of Geronimo and Juana really caught me. i have always enjoyed the Romeo and Juliet tales as well as Tristan and Isolde. the great difference is that the opposing forces in the Geronimo and Juana tale is that Geronimo and Juana did not come from feuding rival families but rather it was merely each of their fathers hated the other's father. as well as Juana being imprisoned in order to separate her from Geronimo. the church, a more powerful force in the Geronimo and Juana tale than it was in the Romeo and Juliet tale, goes to bat for the star crossed lovers and wins. the couple are not forced to commit some great show of love in death because thanks to the pressure of the church and the social pressures and changing social attitudes about love the couple live 'happily ever after' in comparison to the romeo tale in which both lovers commit suicide. it is interesting that in Latin America in the sixteenth century the church could undermine the father's parental authority where as going into the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Patria Potestad, or Father's will, would rule above the church. the council of Trent had a large impact on the ideas of marriage, it redefined the idea of sex and sexuality in the Catholic faith. it also redefined marriage against a parent's will. this was in addition to rising popular opinion that their should be choice and free will involved in the marriage process. the situation in Latin America is vastly different, as seen in Geronimo and Juana from the situations and practises of Europe and those shown in the story of Romeo and Juliet.

Nahuatl Wills

The writings on Nahuatl Last Will and Testaments are very interesting in that they are a very foreign to the Nahuatl people but were brought by the Spaniards into the New World all the same, however the Nahuatl take on this new idea and bend it to their will and use it in order to continue their ways of life. like the town councils, which were merely a renaming of the city elders and chiefs, the people wrote, or had written for them by notaries, Last Wills and Testaments, but they are molding these specifically Spanish imports. The Nahuatl used the Spanish form of passing things onto those left behind after one died in order to perpetuate their own beliefs, such as the dichotomy of what belonged to women and the importance of social roles in Nahuatl society. For example they Nahuatl women perpetuated the women's role in society even in the items they left their daughters after they passed on, such as combs or cookware, which perpetuated the pre-conquest ideals of women at the home and hearth and men as protectors and warriors. it also further proves that women were not as helpless and non-entities as much of history or a Man's world would have individuals believe. the Nahuatl women not only held property but also passed it onto their heirs as a women or man of today's culture might do. they passed on what they believed their heirs would need most to help them live happily and successfully.

Spanish Marriage

The institute of marriage is one which is highly contested in modern culture, mainly the situation of who may marry, but no one outside of the church raises the question of whom may get divorced. in the 15th to the 17th Centuries the issue of divorce was a hot topic. in the 15th to 17th Centuries marriage was a sacred and inseparable bond that no one could break save God. to put aside a marriage by divorce was not only incredibly hard it was considered a sin, and in a culture largely governed by the church and religious practice, this was more important than law. in Spain however, there were numerous laws governing what situations allowed a divorce, such as the inability to have children, or if it could be proven the marriage was forced. a forced marriage could be nullified based on the fact that it was not a true holy marriage in the eyes of God because it was not take willingly. it would be difficult to prove a marriage was taken unwillingly if the victim had less witnesses than their souse or more feasibly none at all. the law did have a way out even for this however because divorce was allowed should one of the spouses choose to enter religious service in a monastery or convent. so even if a woman had no way of proving her marriage had been forced upon her she could instead take up the lesser of two solitudes by entering a nunnery. a life in the service of God, even if it was not the individuals first choice, would be far better than the prison of a forced marriage. the case of breaking a marriage went both ways however the laws did not work only for unhappy women but their were laws which protected women from adulterous and conniving men who would try to leave them after having had their way with the woman. a man who would attempt to cheat marriage by seducing the woman with promises of marriage to get her into bed and then leave would more than likely find themselves before a judge much like a man who fathered a child in today's culture would if he tried to ditch the child and mother. unlike todays culture however instead of paying continual child support payments the man would pay a single settlement for his misdeed of either betraying his spouse or drastically changing a woman's life after having seduced her. the Spain of the 15th and 17th Centuries differed from other countries in that it did provide laws for divorce, a way out if the couple was not happy.

Slavery

The look into slave culture in Africa was incredibly interesting. living in America my view of slavery has generally been Caucasians oppressively and generally violently lording over Africans and African-Americans. the look at how in Africa slaves were the way to prosperity rather than land really busts the view of the vile Europeans and Americans raping of Africa. Africans practiced slavery as a means to progress forward economically. They actively participated in the slave trade and their own inner slave trade. the difference between the African slave trade and the triangle trade was treatment and means. the Triangle Trade allowed Europeans to further their goals on the land they controlled whereas with the African Trade the slaves were the commodity. Europeans treated the slaves like cargo, packed into tight cramped spaces with little food where many died. Africans treated their slaves with care because if one died they would lose wealth and standing, whereas Europeans would just buy a new slave to take the place of the lost labor. the Lane article was interesting in that it discussed how roles of slaves were gendered to man's work and woman's such as field work or as a blacksmith's apprentice and house work or selling wares in the market. the naming 'ceremony' was quite interesting where it de-africanized the slaves and attempted to strip them of their past by giving them new names that were vastly foreign to them and forced them into christian context.

Week 3

I found parts of this weeks readings to be somewhat dull. the speeches seemed very formalized and rigid. It sounded scripted if not coming from brainwashed robots. the enormous amount of pomp and fluff involved seems to a modern listener quite overdone. As of yet i see no reason to have to go on and on about how we are unworthy and may God have blessed your unworthy soul with a temporary health and oh yeah hello. Many who believe in Christ and God understand they are not worthy of his grace and that this life is fleeting, therefore health not a constant. the need to express this in greeting seems not only annoying but depressing also. Yes thanks for reminding me i am a sinner and that i am worthless, seems counterproductive really. The numerous addresses at a wedding also seem ridiculous. Granted at weddings the best friend and the elder say a few words to the bride and groom but the words chosen for the text, as said at each wedding, was overdone, and highly depressing for such a happy occasion. the elder greeting the groom/parents stating that this is good and may your son not shame you or bring ill on the family by his evil ways. seems like the speeches that were given could really kill the festive mood. the introduction of the Christian God into the Amerindian culture really formalizes the most simple of meetings: running into your mother/mother-in-law on the way to the market. all the extra words are unnecessary. maybe with more time to look at the formalized speech patterns the reason for this phenomena will become clearer but at the moment im still missing it

Coercion of Incan Women

The case of the Incan women in Spanish South America has an interesting duality in the place which they held in society after the conquest. On the one hand they had mobility as far as being able to gather together as well as work for and marry Spaniards. On the other hand the women were at times not permitted to marry by their employers and a part of the service they were involved in during the employment of Spaniards was sexual service. The inclusion of sexual service in the duties of the Incan women the Spaniards employed and the occasions where they were not permitted to marry because of the labor loss it would cause is clearly coercion on the part of the Spaniards but at the same time Incan women did often marry, with-in and with-out, the Spanish community, they worked the court systems to their advantage including, in some cases, going as far as getting permission to move to Spain via their mestizo children. The cases in which the women were subordinated and forced into near slavery by the Spaniards were individual unscrupulous individuals abusing their position. As discussed by Elinor C. Burkett only one fifth of the women married Spaniards, whereas most chose to either remain single, possibly due to the lack of Incan males, or marry male Incans. Though it was possible for these women to marry Spaniards some did not in the case of the Inca's daughter whom refused marriage to a Spaniard based on his being a lesser individual because he was a mere tailor and not of noble blood like she. As we discussed in class men in groups were viewed as dangerous where as women were domestic workers often seen in groups. Though some women may have been forced to commit sexual acts with their Spanish employers and kept from marrying the overall picture seems to be different. Women were able to work the courts and even move abroad; they could work together and marry if they chose to. Women were esteemed also in the Pre-conquest Incan society. Garcilaso de la Vega goes into great detail as to the honor it was for a woman to be chosen to go into the house of virgins and the extensive punishment involved should someone enter the house let alone violate the sanctity of these women. Death awaited anyone who entered the house and death to a man and his entire village awaited anyone who violated these women's virginity. These women were upheld as holy. The Incans were a parallel society with a Inca and a Coya. A society with more Equality than can be found in most places today.

Gender

This week's discussion was very instructive. I had never thought of gender and sex as different nor had i ever really thought about the ideas of more than two genders. After discussing the ideas with a few of my classmates however I began to understand that there are numerous aspects to look at: What genitalia does one posses, does one fancy their own gender or the opposite, does one have body hair or breasts. In today's culture, especially American culture, sexuality is a highly politically charged and controversial subject. Ask a conservative what sexes there are and they will most likely state that there is male and female. If you were to ask many liberals they will probably say there is male, female, transgendered, and hermaphrodites. Debate rages as to whether it is appropriate for same sex marriages. Sex and gender differ in that gender is what is expected of a certain sex. For example: Men participate in sports, have relationships with women, provide for the family, and protect the family; whereas women have children, take care of the children and cook dinner and take care of the household. Outdated as these statements are, they provide a very clear idea as to what was once viewed as proper gendered behavior. So what is gender? Gender is the prescribed role a culture gives to a certain sex, learned from family, friends, institutions such as school, the church, or the boy/girl scouts. In America many see it as unseemly and shameful for a boy to 'come out of the closet'. it is regarded as a shame for the family for a son to desire a boy, however in certain tribal cultures it was a rite of passage for a boy to become a man by 'receiving' sperm from an older male. Whereas this practice has many falacies both moral and scientific the point is that it is a different point of view than our own. while this may not be the best analogy to demonstrate openness to new ideas it does demonstrate that other ideas do exist in this world. I am looking forward to this semester and continuing to look at new ideas and perspectives.