noted as well that in some ancient cultures, homosexuality
was more widely accepted than it is in modern life.
AFRICA
BY MICHAEL J. O’NEAL
Th e chief diffi culty historians have with reconstructing gen-
der roles in ancient Africa is the absence of written records.
Gender is not an object, something with a tangible existence;
gender is a social construct, meaning that gender roles are
established by the assumptions people make about the rela-
tionship between men and women in society. Some written re-
cords touching on African gender relationships survive from
the ancient Roman writers, but they tend to be unreliable, for
they embody the cultural assumptions of the Romans, which
may not correspond to those of the Africans they observed.
Some information has been transmitted orally through the
centuries, but it is diffi cult to determine the extent to which
that information remains accurate 2,000 or more years later.
Finally, a certain amount of information can be gleaned from
the archaeological record. For example, tombs and artwork,
and even such objects as tools and seeds, can provide insight
into the relative status of men and women, but this record is
spotty, so historians have to try to fi ll in the details.
During prehistoric times, when the primary social activ-
ity of bands of hunter-gatherers was the acquisition of food,
labor was divided along gender lines. Men tended to be the
hunters, particularly when they were aft er big game; women’s
hunting activities tended to be restricted to small game and
birds. Otherwise, women were the primary gatherers, fi nd-
ing and storing nuts, grains, tubers, leafy vegetables, fruits,
berries, and eggs, though men learned to gather as well when
they were children at their mother’s sides. In coastal regions
men were the primary fi shermen, but both men and women
took part in the search for shallow-water seafood. Women
likely chose as mates men who were adept at acquiring and
sharing food.
Women were in general the primary caregivers for chil-
dren and nursed them during infancy, though men, too,
played an important role, particularly as children grew older.
Women could not become bound to several children, for their
role in gathering food was essential. Th us, women tended to
space their children, typically four or fi ve years apart, so that
they could devote their attention to one at a time. Ancient
African women developed slings they could use to strap in-
fants to themselves, leaving their hands free for gathering and
preparing food.
It might be assumed that ancient African women were
less valued than men, especially given that most African so-
cieties were patriarchal, meaning that men were dominant,
and patrilineal, meaning that descent was traced through the
father’s rather than the mother’s bloodlines. Th is assumption,
however, is not entirely true, for in many ancient African so-
cieties women were highly honored and, in fact, wielded a
considerable amount of power. In doing so, they gained sup-
port from a worldview that placed a great deal of emphasis
on collective obligations and responsibilities. Important val-
ues included group solidarity and harmony, with the group
in turn integrated with nature, ancestors, and the gods. To
maintain this harmony and to ensure the continued existence
of the group, the interests of everyone had to be respected.
Th us, women, far from being excluded, played a vital role in
the aff airs of many African tribes. Further, traditional gender
roles did not always correspond with biological sex.
For example, kinship was important in African tribal
society. Kinship networks, rather than a central government,
provided a link between a person and the larger community,
and kinfolk were responsible for socializing children into
the community’s values and folkways. But even though most
African societies were patrilineal, the mother’s kin were
important in the lives of children. Th us, among the Sotho-
Venda of South Africa, the brother of a child’s mother was
called the “male mother” and enjoyed a close relationship
with his nephews and nieces. Similarly, the father’s sister
was the focus of great respect and referred to as the “female
father.” In family councils the father’s sister was given the
status of priestess and was an important link between the
family and its ancestors. Ruling over the household of the
tribal chief was his sister, who had great infl uence in tribal
matters; the chief always deferred to her judgment in rul-
ing on the tribe’s aff airs. In some ancient African societies,
when it was necessary to name a new chief, the deceased
chief ’s brother and sister jointly determined who the suc-
cessor would be.
Among the Swazi tribe in southeastern Africa, the Queen
Mother, or the chief ’s mother, similarly played a major role in
the aff airs of the community. She was referred to as the She-
Elephant, and she was a joint ruler with her son. Her views
were given equal weight with those of her son in such mat-
ters as legal disputes, land allocation, and community ritual.
Confl ict between the chief and his mother was a matter of
great concern to the people because it threatened the stability
of the community.
Th e Lovedu tribe of the Limpopo Province of South Af-
rica provides a unique example of gender roles and relations.
Th e Lovedu were a patrilineal society that determined de-
scent through the male line; however, at the same time it was
a matriarchal society in which women wielded the power. Th e
governmental and religious head of the society was the Rain
Queen. Among the Lovedu—and other ancient African cul-
tures—marriages between women were common. A woman
who took a wife paid to her family a bride-price to acquire her,
just as men did, and then she had a male relative impregnate
her. Th e children called the woman whose relative conceived
them “father.” Moreover, a daughter of every local chieft ain
married the queen, creating a system in which the society was
integrated by the bride-price the queen paid to the chieft ains.
Within each district was a “mother,” who could be either fe-
male or male and who served as a representative and interme-
diary between the chiefs and the queen.494 gender structures and roles: Africa