Women in Maya society

=Earliest Representation of Women in Mesoamerica=

Ceramic figurines have been found throughout Mesoamerica. Some of the earliest representations of women were figurines found at the sites of San Lorenzo and Paso de la Amada. Other sites include Tres Zapatoes, where the figurines were found in mounds and burials, and Chiapa de Corzo, at which figurines were discovered in residential areas and plazas. Both sites date from the mid to late Formative Period.

San Lorenzo is located in the southeast area of Veracruz, Mexico. The figurines discovered here were found in a midden pile during excavations of the site. They date to the early formative period, around 1900BC to 1300BC.

Paso de la Amada is in the Soconusco region of Chiapas, Mexico. The figurines here were discovered in household trash deposits and date to the Ocos, from 1400BC to 1250BC. The figurines found here are mainly of young women and old men. The female Paso de la Amada figurines have larger hips and breasts than the female figurines at other sites. This has led to some speculation that they may have been associated with fertility.

Earliest Maya Depiction of Women

The earliest known Maya stone carving of a woman was found at a site in northern Guatemala called Naachtun. The stela is about six feet high and three feet wide, with many inscriptions, some of which have been too damaged to read. The damage was most likely caused in an attack on the city. The stela dates to 300-400AD, which is significant because it shows women held positions of power early in Maya society, either as queens or deities. The stela shows the head of a woman wearing an elaborate headdress with her hands on each side holding the glyphs for “7 Black K’an,” and “9 Ajaw.” A heiroglyph above her head reads her name, Ix Tzutz Nik. This name is found on many other artifacts as well. Archaeologists do not know whether the woman is a queen of Tikal or a mythological figure, or both. The Maya later buried the monument during the 6th or 7th century near Naachtun’s temples in a ceremony meant to honor the woman whose image is shown. The burials of monuments were usually reserved for important founders or rulers.

Mythological Women & Goddesses

One Maya goddess was Ix’Chel, the goddess of the moon, of medicine, and of rainbows. Ix’Chel is also the mother of the four Bacabs, guardians of the cardinal directions. She is often represented by a woman holding a rabbit, sitting on a crescent moon.

Female Rulers

Although the Maya preferred that rulership pass to sons and not daughters, the eighth ruler of Palenque was a woman. Her name was Yohl Ik’nal, and she ruled for twenty years. She was most likely the sister or daughter of the previous ruler, Kan B’ahlam I.

El Peru (Waka’)

El Peru is a site in northwestern Guatemala, previously called Waka’. It was inhabited sometime around 500 B.C. Archaeologists believe that at its peak between A.D. 400 and A.D. 800 Waka’ was home to approximately 10,000 people. At this site, archaeologists have discovered the almost untouched burial tomb of a Maya queen which dates to approximately 800AD. The queen’s skull and leg bone are missing, and were possibly removed to be used as relics. Though her name, lineage, and cause of death are not known, it is believed that the queen was between 30 and 45 at her death. Inside the tomb archaeologists found more than 1,600 artifacts, including a plated helmet with jade plaques, and a small jade carving of a deity in profile, which were worn by Maya royalty. Stingray spines, which were commonly used for bloodletting, were also found in the tomb, placed upon the queen’s pelvis. According to David Friedel of Southern Methodist University, the placement of the spines may served to represent the queen as both male and female.

Common Women

Maya women were important for many reasons. They were not seen as passive subordinates; instead they had important roles to play in society. Some of the most basic roles played by women were those of weaver and harvester.

Maya women were important because they could create new life by giving birth. Some scholars have suggested that by piercing their genitals during ritual self sacrifice, men were actually recreating the process of menstruation in women.

While women were not warriors themselves, their husbands success in battle could be affected by the women’s actions at home. Before Maya men went into battle, their wives would often let blood to ensure his success. While her husband was at war, it was essential that a Maya woman perform certain tasks, including sweeping the house in a particular manner, in order to please the gods enough to grant him success. Women were also held to strict standards in regards to sexuality Boys and girls were separated, with females staying with their mothers and males living in the men’s house, where prostitutes were often present. Girls were raised to be chaste and were severely punished by their mothers for lapses.

Marriage was viewed not as a love match, but as a potential social or political alliance. Marriages were arranged by families, and were particularly taboo if between two people with the same patrilineal name.

Maya standards of beauty included filing their front teeth with elaborate patterns, being scarred and/or tattooed form the waist up after marriage, and crossed eyes, which parents caused by hanging beads in front of their babies noses.

Maya Women Today

Though there have been politically and religiously notable women, it is safe to say that the larger role of women in Maya society has been that of helper, child bearer, mother, and wife. Maya women were of great importance in Maya society, but for the most part, they were not seen in the same light as men. Upon colonization, the Spanish caused a shift in the role of women. As many men were killed or forced to work far away, Maya women had to take on greater roles, including those of single mothers, primary breadwinner, and often they would work outside their homes. About a century after the conquest, even noble women were forced to work, since by then they had lost most of their possessions and status.

Today, most Maya women continue to be dependent mainly on their husband to support the family. Family sizes have begun to shift as some women are choosing to have fewer children than the women before them. As their society modernizes and Maya women take increasingly complex social and economic roles, it is no longer as beneficial to them as it once was to have many children.

However, in areas with the highest indigenous Maya populations, women still dress in the traditional Maya garb as they have for centuries. Weaving is still an integral part of their culture, and something that almost all young women are taught to do. Traditional Maya religion is still practiced alongside Catholicism in most of the Maya areas.

References

Carmack, Gasco, & Gossen, (2007). The Legacy of Mesoamerica, History and Culture of a Natinve American Civilization, 2nd edition, Pearson Education, Inc.

Coe, Michael, (2005). The Maya, 7th edition, Thames & Hudson, Inc.

http://www.authenticmaya.com/maya_religion.htm

http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Post/106590

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/12/1208_051208_maya_woman.html

http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2004/maya/womenatcourt.htm

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4916517/

http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-07182004-012228/unrestricted/07_mbt_chap6.pdf

http://www.mesoweb.com/palenque/resources/rulers/essay/rulers_00001.html

http://www.macduffeverton.com/Modern%20Maya/Mayawoman.html