•Now here is a brief article dealing specifically with Inca gender roles. Read the article carefully.
Incan Gender Roles:
Marriage and family were central to the Inca culture, and the Incas required everyone to marry. Although Inca noblemen were allowed to practice polygamy (the men could have more than one wife), monogamy (marriage to one partner only) was the rule among the common people of the empire. When young couples decided to marry, they often entered into a trial marriage, to see if it would work. If it failed, both partners could go on to enter a new marriage without shame. Unlike the Christian Europeans of that time, the Andean peoples in the Inca empire placed no extra value on the virginity of a bride. However, Inca law stated that once a couple was formally married, they had to remain together for life. Even if divorces had been allowed, it would have been almost impossible to support oneself outside of marriage, because the Inca government distributed land only to married couples.
Before the Incas came to power, the division of labor between husbands and wives in Andean regions was more or less equal. In Daily Life in the Inca Empire (1996) Michael A. Malpass notes that the mit'a system of labor changed this. When men were called away to become warriors and to do the work of the empire, they gained status and became figures of authority; in comparison, the work that women did around the house and in the fields seemed ordinary and tedious. However, since everyone worked most of the time, the division of labor was fairly balanced. Both husband and wife worked the fields. Though men provided the mit'a service, women were responsible for a large amount of weaving for the empire. Women generally prepared food and kept the home clean. Men made sandals and helped with the weaving.
The birth of a child was a very welcome event in the Inca empire. There were rituals for both parents to perform to ensure the safe delivery of an infant. But pregnant mothers were expected to keep working right up to the day they gave birth, and they often gave birth without help. After giving birth, the mother either carried the baby around with her while she worked, tied in a pack across her chest, or she placed the baby in a cradle. The parents did not immediately name the baby; the naming occurred later, during a ceremony called rutichikoy,which accompanied the baby's weaning from breast-feeding. At the rutichikoy ceremony, the child received a haircut, a fingernail trim, and a name. A ceremony called huarachicoy marked a boy's puberty and passage into adulthood. In this ceremony the boy received a loincloth woven by his mother. For girls, small, family ceremonies called quichicoy marked the beginning of menstruation. At these puberty ceremonies, the boys and girls received new, adult names.
The children of nobles and curacas went to schools, but the children of common people received no formal education. Instead they watched their parents to learn theirtrade. The children of workers were expected to begin working at a very early age. From age five to nine, boys and girls were expected to help watch younger siblings (brothers and sisters). They were also supposed to scare birds and other animals away from the crops, collect firewood, spin threads from wool, gather wild plants, and help out with cooking and cleaning. From age nine to twelve, they took on additional responsibilities: Boys herded animals and hunted birds; girls collected materials for dyeing cloth.
•Once you feel comfortable with that
information, write a brief description of
gender roles in Inca society. Be
thoughtful and use your own words. The
idea here is to use the information from
the above section to present a concise and accurate
portrayl of Inca gender roles. This section of your
encyclopedia entry should be 2 or 3 sentences.*
* Remember you can always write more if you want, that’s just a recommended minimum.
An Incan Princess
