Peruvian Andean Women
Introduction
This research will focus on the Andean woman of Peru in the sixteen century. First, I will explore the role that the woman played in the Inca society. Secondly, I will reflect on the impact the Spanish invasion had on the role woman played in her kinship, in the household, in religion and in relation with productive activities and politics. Later on, I will discuss the contradictory perceptions of the Andean woman as a victim and as a skilful negotiator. Furthermore, I will focus on change and continuation of the roles that women played in society. The impact of the changes in the demography of Andean communities and all over the Inca empire, the labour division and degradation of the status that women played in society in contrast with the relationship between Spanish men and Indigenous women and its repercussions in the society.
Peruvian Andean Woman
Before the arrival of Spaniards onto Peruvian soil, Andean woman enjoyed a respected position in the Inca society and was an active collaborator and participant of the political, religious and economic life of the Inca Empire. Silverblatt (1978); presents different elements to show the parallel role of woman and man in Inca societies, like the structure of kinships, she noticed that women were entitled to inherit lands following her maternal line and men through their paternal line. She also observes that the authority in the kinship was not related to gender but to birth order. She continues focusing on the active role of women in the economy and their labor roles; specializing as weavers, brewers, traders and agronomists. A reference to a plead to Carlos V of Spain, requesting protection for indigenous women from Spaniard’s abuses, stresses the importance of women’s work as essential to household labor and complementary to men’s. Karen Viera Powers (2000) noticed the clash between Spanish and native understanding of gender relations, gender roles and sexuality. She puts special emphasis in
This research will focus on the Andean woman of Peru in the sixteen century. First, I will explore the role that the woman played in the Inca society. Secondly, I will reflect on the impact the Spanish invasion had on the role woman played in her kinship, in the household, in religion and in relation with productive activities and politics. Later on, I will discuss the contradictory perceptions of the Andean woman as a victim and as a skilful negotiator. Furthermore, I will focus on change and continuation of the roles that women played in society. The impact of the changes in the demography of Andean communities and all over the Inca empire, the labour division and degradation of the status that women played in society in contrast with the relationship between Spanish men and Indigenous women and its repercussions in the society.
Peruvian Andean Woman
Before the arrival of Spaniards onto Peruvian soil, Andean woman enjoyed a respected position in the Inca society and was an active collaborator and participant of the political, religious and economic life of the Inca Empire. Silverblatt (1978); presents different elements to show the parallel role of woman and man in Inca societies, like the structure of kinships, she noticed that women were entitled to inherit lands following her maternal line and men through their paternal line. She also observes that the authority in the kinship was not related to gender but to birth order. She continues focusing on the active role of women in the economy and their labor roles; specializing as weavers, brewers, traders and agronomists. A reference to a plead to Carlos V of Spain, requesting protection for indigenous women from Spaniard’s abuses, stresses the importance of women’s work as essential to household labor and complementary to men’s. Karen Viera Powers (2000) noticed the clash between Spanish and native understanding of gender relations, gender roles and sexuality. She puts special emphasis in
Bibliography: Burkett, E. C., 1978, ‘Indian woman and white society: the case of sixteenth-century Peru’ in Latin American Woman: Historical Perspectives, ed. A. Lavrin, Greenwood Press, London. Graubart, K. B., 2000, ‘Weaving and Construction of a Gender Division of Labor in Early Colonial Peru’ in American Indian Quarterly, vol. 24, No. 3, Summer, pp. 537-561. Premo, B., 2000, ‘From the Pockets of Women: The Gendering of the Mita, Migration and Tribute in Colonial Chicuito’ in The Americas, vol. 57, No. 1, Summer, pp. 63-93. Silverblatt, I., 1978, ‘Andean women in the Inca Empire’ in Feminist Studies, vol. 4, No. 3, October, pp. 36-61. Powers, K., 2000, ‘Andean and Spaniards in the Contact Zone: A Gendered Collision’ in American Indian Quarterly, vol. 24, No. 3, Summer, pp. 511-536.