Women in the Hierarchy of Eskimo Society

Women occupy a low status in the hierarchy of Eskimo society, and this can be seen in a variety of different Eskimo tribes. There are a number of reasons why this situation has developed, and the social and economic life of the community has dictated the place of women to a great extent, as have the realities of Eskimo life and the nature of the family group. In some ways, though, the low status of women is more a western perception than an Eskimo one, and the record indicates some exaggeration of certain situations by western observers. The Aleuts and the Polar Inuits can serve as examples to show the position of women in each social group and the reasons for this.

Many characteristics are shared among most of the Eskimo groups. Eskimos live in small, isolated villages, usually in groups of only 10 to 50 people, though the exception could be as large a group as 800. Most villages would have perhaps six dwellings. The Eskimo world is small and self-contained not only in terms of the size of the village and the size of the home but also in terms of the circle familiar to a single Eskimo. Relatives constitute the primary world of the Eskimo. The Eskimo family consists of the conjugal unit, a husband, wife, and their children. At the time of first European contact, most women had only two or three children, though Eskimo couples wanted to have as many children as possible. There were two reasons for this fact: 1) there was a high rate of infant mortality; and 2) ther

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age of 14, and until that time she had no responsibilities except to care for a smaller child. From adolescence on, though, she acquired adult skills: When she married, she not only cared for her children but butchered the animals killed by her husband, processed skins and sewed them into garments, and cooked all the food. Women likewise built and repaired the houses. Only after her sons married and brought their wives into the house were a woman's domestic chores lightened; she then fully controlled the activities of her daughters-in-law (Oswalt, 1979, 99). In the earliest study of the Polar Inuits, Crantz described the practice of "bride capture," though there is some question as to how much of his account was a description of what was observed and how much was his imagination. Marital arrangements were made by the parents. Old women sent by the grooms parents would go to the girl's parents and extend the formal request, and the prospective bride would then become agitated: She tore her hair and might faint or try to run away, but in the end she was dragged to the groom's home, where she sat looking disheveled and not eating for days. Although modesty partially explained her behavior, she probably feared that she would

Category: Psychology - W