An attempt has also been made to draw parallels between these two civilizations. It comes out clearly that though women occupied different stratums in these two civilizations they were able to assert their authority and place in the society at least economically. However, they were alienated from mainstream leadership positions and only ascended by accident as the case is in Egypt. However, they played limited leadership roles as can be seen in Aztecs market places.
Lastly, it comes out clearly that these two civilizations some up the treatment and roles of women in antiquity. This is because they cover both extremes. In Egypt, women were respected, and indeed protected by the law. In Aztec, they were looked down upon, and counted as property and even given out as sacrifices
Introduction
For a very long time, even in the early centuries, the position of women in most societies has been second to that of men. In most communities, a patriarchal relationship of authority that was strictly observed served to compromise the position of the woman in the community. Even today, this is true for most indigenous communities, which has perhaps failed to master the courage to embrace gender equity. Or should we say they have failed to break out of their comforts zones, characterized by male dominance. The tribal clan structure of most communities also played a role in not only complicating but pushing the womans role to the periphery of societal issues. Although in the early ages there were some communities whereby women came out strongly in leadership and position of authority, and were more visible, such were an exception. The common denominator is the fact that the womans role and position in the society since the early ages has restricted the development and meaningful societal participation of the women.
From todays standpoint of the womans place, it is in order to try and look at how women were regarded, and indeed treated in the early civilizations.According to Wilfong (1997), in some early historical civilizations women were not viewed as being very important to society. In those civilizations the men controlled the women at all times and the women would often have very little or no freedom to even go out of the house unaccompanied or have a say in their society(Robbins, 1993).Most early civilizations such as Greece which were patriarchal followed this course. On the other hand, other civilizations such as Egypt were very open and granted their women more freedoms.
Egyptian Women
Early ages in Egypt have been broken down into the Old, Middle and New World to depict the trend in civilization.Occupations
Unlike other civilizations such as Greece, women were allowed to go out in public. This appears to be the notion we get even among the Aztec society. In the public, some women would trade freely. But, Wilfong (1997) observes that Egyptian women mostly worked in the fields at home and in the workshops owned by the family. Though they had this immense freedom, compared to other civilizations, their occupations were limited. Most women simply stayed at home and took care of the house and the family. A few of the women in high status would be leaders. Others however would simply be housekeepers, servants, field hands, and skilled workers in workshops.
Gender Equity
According to Wilfong (1997) legal distinctions in Egypt were apparently based much more upon differences in the social classes, rather than differences in gender. Accordingly, rights and privileges were not uniform from one class to another, but within the given classes, it seems that equal economic and legal rights were, for the most part, accorded to both men and women (Robbins, 1993). Infact, Wilfong (1997) points out that the Egyptian womans rights extended to all the legally defined areas of society. Hence women could manage and dispose of private property such as land, portable goods, servants, slaves, livestock as well as financial instruments like endowments and annuities(Robbins,1993).It is therefore significant that a woman could do a wide range of things without the need of a male representative. In Aztec, this could not have happened given that some institutions like Snake Woman were entirely composed of men.
According to Capel and Glenn (2002) women were regarded within in the Ancient Egyptian society for their roles as child bearer and keeper of the household. Indeed fertility was highly regarded and an infertile woman could be divorced summarily. This is similar to how women were regarded in Aztec culture. Though there was relatively some semblance of gender balance, when it came to administrative roles, women appear to take a back seat, perhaps because the succession rule gave more prominence to the males. Consequently, observes that very few women achieved status and power through these elite roles and only six women are documented to have achieved the position of pharaoh.
Music
Music permeated all aspects of Ancient Egyptians lives. It featured prominently as an aspect of mourning in funerary scenes, used for entertainment in the home and the fields. In all these settings, women were the main participants.
According to Capel and Glenn (2002) it is within the tradition of music, both sacred and secular, that women of Ancient Egypt were accorded titles of status that remained unparalleled for their gender elsewhere in the public sphere. Music primarily functioned within the religious sphere in Ancient Egypt even secular music often had its roots in the religious tradition of the society.
Orchestras composed entirely of women and bands of female musicians that were attached to elite estates and the palace of Akhenaton were featured prominently on monuments throughout Tell el Amarna (Robbins, 1993). The status of women as musicians was accorded more and more prestige as the eras of Ancient Egyptian civilization progressed. According to Wilfong (1997) one of the most widespread roles for female musicians was that of chantress.This role kind of tended to link their musical activities to the religious temples service where some served as priestesses.
Religious Practices
In the Old and Middle Kingdoms Robbins (1993) observes that many elite women bore the title priestess in the temple of Hathor or Neith. There were also a few women who were wab priestesses, but no woman held higher rank than that. There were a few male priests in these temples also. The roles played by these priests and priestesses are not clear, but Robbins (1993) observes that by the New Kingdom the title Priestess had disappeared completely. On the other hand Wilfong (1997) points that a woman bearing the title of shemayet in the New Kingdom was a musician with the duties of singing hymns and playing sistrum in the temple of a particular god or goddess.
Womens Property Rights
According to Capel and Glenn (2002)) there were several ways in which an Egyptian woman could acquire possessions and real property. Most frequently, she received it as gifts or as an inheritance from her parents or husband. Again, an Egyptian woman could acquire property by purchasing it out of proceeds from her or borrowed assets.
Under Egyptian property law, a woman had claim to one-third of all the community property in her marriage (Capel and Glenn, 2002).This was normally the property which accrued to her husband and her only after they were married. When a woman brought her own private property like dowry to a marriage, this remained hers, despite the fact that the husband gained free use if such property. What come out clearly is that in both the Aztec and Early Egypt, women could inherit property.
Marriage
There was no age limit as to when people could be married, but generally a girl did not get married until she had begun to menstruate at about the age of 14. Unlike in the Aztec traditions where marriage required an elaborate banqueting, in Egypt no religious or legal ceremony was performed (Robbins, 1993). There were no special bridal clothes, no exchange of rings, no change of names to indicate marriage, and no word meaning wedding.
Surprisingly, even after a wife was married, she kept her independence, and still controlled her own assets. Even though the husband controlled any joint property obtained during the marriage it was acknowledged that a share of this belonged to the wife and when the marriage ended, she could collect he share. Divorce was a private matter, and for the most part, the government did not interfere. According to Wilfong (1997) almost any excuse could be used to end a marriage, and an alliance could be terminated at will. Examining the Aztec culture, marriage could only end in the event that the husband mistreated his wife. In such a case, the wifes relatives collected her from her patriarchal home.
AZTEC WOMAN
Gender Balance
The Aztec society was a patriarchy, a male dominated society, ruled by kings and noble loads. As a result, women in this society were considered subordinate of men, possibly even property. As a result, women had little chance to take part in government and religious activities.Consequent to this, all government and religious functions were closed off to women. Hassig (1992) observes that one of the most important religious offices, the Snake Woman, was always filled by men. Women contribution in such gatherings was thus not valued.
Aztec womans life was decided the very moment she was borne, and was not expected to either challenge or compete with the men.Hassig (1992),succinctly captures this when he says that the moment a female child was borne, the midwife said to a female baby, You must live in the house like the heart in the body You must not leave the house...You must be like the ashes and the hearth. Hence the girl child was promised the house and family very early in life. In fact, according to (Hassig, 1992) women were most especially required to behave with chastity and high moral standards. This remotely points to the fact that women, in this society were mostly regarded as people whose main function was child bearing and above all, to be seen and not heard.
Spirituality
According to Olgun (2002), girls could become priestesses if their mother desired. In such a case the mother of the infant, twenty to forty day old baby to the temple to establish an agreement with the priest (Hassig, 1992). At the temple, the girl then learned writing and interpretation of the calendar, pictographs, and prophecy. Besides, the girls learnt to write poetry and the art of oratory.
A priestess performed many roles in the community. In some celebrations, the priestess were the principle deity in the religious celebrations (Hassig ,1992) .For example, during the fourteenth month women took their children to the temple, where the old priestesses would take the children in their arms and dance with them .Other duties included sweeping the holy places and lighting the fires in the temple. These priestesses, though vowed to the church, this was not forever, and they could leave to go and get married. At times, even those who grew at home could dedicate some of their time to the temple, in the hope that the gods will bless them with a happy marriage.
Education
Hassig (1992) observes that at the age of fifteen, girls entered the public school system. This system was different from other systems of the time in that all children, male or female, attended school. This shows some level of equality of genders. This equality could also be seen when later women could help men with various roles, especially as regards trade. In Europe only the upper class was able to attend school (Hassig, 1992).There the young girls learned to make feathered cloaks and to weave. They also learnt the history and rites of being a woman. When the girl was of the marriageable age, they young girls left school, to go and start their own families.
Daily Life
In daily life, there was a clear division of roles between men and women. While men worked in the fields and fought in wars or took the job of his father and became tradesmen, women stayed at home and put their efforts into domestic duties like childbearing, weaving, and cooking. Women were educated for these activities from young ages. However, it is important to point out that women roles were not restricted to the house. They also played a role in the workforce. They worked as merchants, traders, scribes, courtesans, healers and midwifes.
Taxes
All women were required to pay tribute in the form of cloth and woven goods to the imperial Aztec state. With time, the Aztec state increased the demands of female tribute, which caused women on both the local and national level to pay more taxes through the production of woven goods. This called for them to put in more time and resources for fear of the consequences of failure. In some instances, men could also help with the weaving.
Economy
Apart from domestic roles, women in the Aztec empire could be merchants, and trades people in the marketplace. Olgun (2002), observed that Aztec women participated in long distance trade. Such women were referred as pochtea and they could acquire wealth, riches, and learn foreign languages and cultures. They could sell what they made in the marketplace and gain some wealth for their families, besides making a name for themselves. Some of the things they dealt in included raw and prepared food, cloth, and other items in the market. According to , Olgun (2002), women in the Aztec society even held places as official arbiters to resolve disputes that arose in the marketplace.
Women in Aztec enjoyed some form of autonomy from their male counterparts .Most conspicuously to this autonomy is the fact that both men and women were entitled to own and inherited property as well as enjoy social status based on kinship and lineages (Hassig ,1992). Consequently, women could also acquire wealth through various social and economic activities .However, Hassig (1992) observes that this was based on their genetic affiliations to culturally important ancestors.
Social Status
According to Hassig (1992) women also worked as prostitutes and courtesans, but they do not seem to have been social outcasts as a result. The Aztec courtesans served young noble warriors and danced with them at ritual celebrations.This suggest that they had an elevated status in their own society. According to Hassig (1992) the Aztec culture did not place the same value on individuals as our modern culture, and in many cases women (wives and daughters) were offered to visiting guests for sexual pleasure(Olgun ,2002).Besides, Olgun (2002), points out that women were also offered for sacrifice. The worst of the voluntary offerings of women for sacrifice was the ritual of Xipe Totec - where a young girl or woman would be offered by her family to the Aztec priests - raped by the Aztec priests, then skinned alive - after which the priest would wear the womans skin in a ritual of transformation (Olgun, 2002).
Medicine
Aztec women also served as healers or midwives. During the colonial period, Spanish tried to quell this practice, believing it to be a distraction from the one true Christian God. Hassig (1992) observes that documents from the Spanish accounts indicate that the women healers were more highly skilled than European doctors. However, such accounts lacked the depth and appear to gloss over what these women were doing. Consequently, a good deal of the cultural knowledge of these women was lost, given also that that the Spanish began to repress the religion of the Aztecs and prosecute and persecute women healers as witches(Olgun ,2002).Aztec women may have pioneered in prenatal care, as records indicate they began ministering to pregnant women in their seventh month(Olgun ,2002).
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