Gender Roles in the Aztec and African Empires

Emily White

Faculty Sponsor: Rayne Allinson

Department of Social Sciences, University of Michigan-Dearborn

The Aztec and African empires were both great polities of the medieval world, but they
existed at separate ends of the earth. The African kingdoms existed throughout the continent of
Africa near influential European and Muslim empires, while the Aztec empire was largely
isolated in what is now modern day central Mexico (Bentley & Ziegler, 2010, pp. 373-382,416-
418). In each society, each gender, male and female, had a role to play and a place in the social
hierarchy. Family also played a role in each society. The roles that gender and family played in
each society varied according to the social structure and culture of the society. Despite being
thousands of miles away from one another, the Aztecs and the Africans developed similar gender
and family roles, but differences did exist. The similarities and differences between the Aztec
and African gender and family roles can be explained by geography, economy, and proximity to
other empires.
In Africa, the roles of women varied from polity to polity, but African women typically
experienced more opportunities than women in other parts of the world (Bentley & Ziegler,
2010, p. 383). It was unusual but not impossible for women to hold power in Africa, and on a
few occasions, women held considerable power and even ruled. Queen Gudit of Ethiopia was a
skilled leader and military commander who led her soldiers to victory over the Christian
kingdom of Aksum (Queens, 2005). Other women, such as Empress Eleni, held power by
being prominent queen mothers, who served kings and their kingdoms as advisors, emissaries,
or politicians as well as regents; they also had the same rights and authority as the males of
the society (Queens, 2005). In the Akan and Ashanti cultures of West Africa, women related to
the king were often dubbed chiefs, thus obtaining power through relations (Queens, 2005).
Also in West Africa, the Mande and Yoruba peoples exhibited powerful female leadership, and
the Tuaregs of West Sahara did as well (Women in Medieval Africa, 2005). In addition to
ruling, African women also enjoyed high honor as the sources of life (Bentley & Ziegler, 2010,
p. 383). They could accumulate wealth through trade, unlike many of their counterparts in other
parts of the world (Beetz, 2008). This was accomplished through textile and mining operations as
well as the selling of pots, agricultural products, cooked items, cloth, beads, and crafts (Women
in medieval Africa, 2005).
Outside of power and ruling, most women in Africa were subject to a larger patriarchal
society. Historians agree that a few generalizations regarding the treatment of women in Africa
can be made. These generalizations being that women were subjects of discrimination by men,
and that the men generally dominated economic and social life (Beetz, 2008). In African
societies, women typically cooked and occasionally grew their own crops (Blackwell, 2008).
They quarried clay, made pottery, built houses, tended vegetable gardens, traded goods, and
cared for the children (Beetz, 2008). In pastoral societies, women usually were responsible for
milking the livestock (Blackwell, 2008). Although they could accumulate wealth, they were not
commonly active outside the home. Within the home, women commonly had to share their
husbands, because polygyny was fairly common in African societies as a males status was
enhanced by having multiple wives and children (Blackwell, 2008). The lesser wives, women
who entered into a preexisting marriage, had to defer to the senior or first wifes experience
(Lesser wives, 2005). Thus, there was a hierarchy even among the women of African society.
Men, in African society, were heads of their homes. They organized fields and decided
who worked in them. They hunted and held exclusive rights to important crafts such as
blacksmithing (Beetz, 2008). In addition to these responsibilities, they might also be in charge of
a crop and may also weave textiles, depending on the society (Blackwell, 2008). They ruled as
kings, tanned leather, worked metals, cleared land, and were more common than not the
possessors of special skills (Bentley & Ziegler, 2010, p. 383). Men experienced more privilege
and prestige than women in most African societies, because they were largely patriarchal. Even
in matrilineal societies, which were not very common, males held power (Blackwell, 2008).
Although this dichotomized view of gender roles existed, Africans had a very flexible definition
of gender. The sex or gender of the person performing the gender role could in a sense be
reversed, because in African societies, males could be declared females or vice-versa. Thus, a
man who was declared a woman could take care of the children, while his female husband could
hunt. Getting these declarations made often involved a ritual as well as challenges, because
controversy was common (Beetz, 2008). Nonetheless, they could be made, creating more
flexibility regarding gender roles in African society.
The family unit in medieval Africa also varied greatly from place to place, with the clan
being the largest unit. In Africa, a clan was a unit of many people related by blood and marriage,
and it was extremely important in many African societies because it often raised the children. In
the Bantu culture, children called all their father's brothers father, all their mother's sisters
mother, and all the children of those two relatives "sister" or brother (Blackwell, 2008).
Family life also demonstrated the dominance of males in African societies as fathers often
arranged marriages between their children. Additionally, grooms would pay a bride-price to
the brides family for her work as a domestic housekeeper and mother. Despite being considered
inferior, the bride was valued, both for her love and as the connection between descendants and
ancestors. Family in medieval Africa was central to all significant life events, and therefore
played an important role in this civilization (Blackwell, 2008).
In the Aztec Empire, there was a stricter dichotomy of gender roles and expectations, and
patriarchy was dominant. Men focused mainly on military and city business. Many of them were
trade workers, engaging in wood carving, stone working, mosaic making, feather robe and
headdress making, metal working, hide tanning, soil tilling, and sandal making. Others served as
bodyguards, priests, or apprentices. Young men were trained as warriors (Roberts, 1939, p. 3). In
general, men were expected to be good warriors, husbands, and fathers. Bad husbands were those
who mistreated, beat, or spoke poorly of their wives (Aguilar-Moreno 2006a). As fathers, Aztec
men were the source of their childrens lineage. They were expected to store wealth for their
families, regulate family life, distribute wealth with care, establish order in the home, and treat
all their wives equally, as polygyny was a dominant practice of the Aztec culture. In the Aztec
Empire, rulers were elected by the males of the previous rulers family, and property was
inherited by the eldest son. Although more domestic in nature, women were very important and
respected in Aztec civilization (Aguilar-Moreno, 2006a).
The women of the Aztec Empire were engaged in numerous household tasks, in
marketing, and in teaching the daughters of the family (Roberts, 1939, p. 3). They were
encouraged to serve God and their husbands and also to be chaste (Aguilar-Moreno, 2006a).
Their most important role was that of being a mother. They often married around the age of
fifteen, although sometimes they would marry as young as age ten or twelve. As a wife and
mother, women were expected to be clean, hardworking, talented at cooking, and good
housekeepers. Women would spend a portion of their days grounding maize for meals not only
for their own families, but for the communitys priests and warriors as well. After childbirth,
women were given a status comparable to that of a male warrior (Aguilar-Moreno, 2006a). If a
woman died during childbirth, she was given the same honor and status as a warrior who died in
battle, and she was distinguished by the special term cihuateteo (Cihuateteo,1996). Aztec
wives and mothers were not simply domestic servants. They often owned their own land, and
they were vital to their familys economic state, because they would weave textiles for the
purposes of trading or selling (Aguilar-Moreno, 2006a; Decker, 2008). Additionally, they were
trained in using herbs for healing and medicine (Decker, 2008). Although subjected to a
patriarchal society, Aztec women did enjoy a few rights. For example, widows were allowed and
encouraged to remarry if they so desired, and elderly women enjoyed a retirement. The Aztec
culture held the tradition that when a woman turned fifty years old, her domestic duties would
end, and she would be respected for her wisdom and advice (Aguilar-Moreno, 2006a).
Other roles performed by women include midwife, courtesan, sacrificial maiden,
matchmaker, and priestess. In Aztec society, the midwife supervised and assisted with pregnant
women and their deliveries. They performed rituals related to childbirth and managed the
household while the wife was pregnant. Courtesans, although frowned upon by the larger Aztec
society, did exist and satisfied a need for the warrior class. The sacrificial maiden was a
companion to men close to their sacrificial death. She would pleasure the men and keep them
company until they died. The matchmaker was a crucial person in Aztec society, because she
was responsible for uniting compatible brides and grooms. She was responsible important steps
and events throughout the entire road to marriage. Priestesses dedicated themselves to the service
of the tribal temple, and would occasionally attend school for such a position (Aguilar-Moreno,
2006a). It was extremely rare for women in Aztec society to hold power, however, noblewomen
were occasionally chosen as lesser rules in city-states surrounding the capital (Zborover, 2010).
Family, like most domestic duties in Aztec civilization, was the responsibility of the
women. They were to bear children, especially boys who would grow up to become warriors.
Marriages occurred for the purposes of raising a family, although noblemen also usually married
for money and alliances (Aguilar-Moreno, 2006a). It is suggested by some historians that four to
seven people lived in the typical Aztec house. Regardless of the number of people living
together, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and neighbors would all help raise the
neighborhood children. Children were considered gifts from the gods, and were valued as such.
Even though children were viewed as gifts regardless of gender, there were different actions
taken and expectations depending on the sex of the baby. If the child was a boy, the midwife
would take the umbilical cord to a battle field in hopes that he would grow to become a great
warrior; whereas if the child was a girl, the midwife would place the umbilical cord on the hearth
in hopes that she would become a good mother and wife (Aguilar-Moreno, 2006a). Similarly, a
good son was expected to be obedient, humble, gracious, grateful, and reverent, while a good
daughter was expected to be obedient, honest, intelligent, discreet, of good memory, respectful,
prudent, modest, and chaste (Aguilar-Moreno, 2006b).
The similarities of gender and family roles in the African and Aztec Empires can be
traced to their economical similarities as well as their proximity to other empires. Both
civilizations were dependent on hunting, agriculture, and trade. Anthropological as well as
sociological studies have found that as economies become more industrialized and stray away
from the hunter-gatherer type society, equality lessens and a dichotomy begins to form
(Lancaster, 1979, p. 539; Ballantine, 2011). This tendency occurs, because the work that women
perform of raising children and keeping house in more industrialized societies is not viewed as
equal to the mens protective and food-providing duties. In hunter-gatherer societies, women
typically gather while the men hunt. Since each gender is equally providing nourishment for the
tribe, they are treated equally. Since both the Aztecs and Africans were more industrialized and
centralized than the egalitarian hunter-gatherer societies, it can be expected that they did not
exhibit equal treatment of genders, because the men and women are not performing equivalent
roles (Ballantine, 2011). Additionally, patriarchy resulted from the lack of mobility on the part of
females. Often, women were tied to the home, because they were the source of nourishment for
their infants. With their relatively greater mobility than females, males could deal with larger
political units with greater ease. This shift was not in conflict with any other male roles, whereas
for females such a shift was in conflict with their generative function (Lancaster, 1979, p.539).
This resulted in the dominance of men in both civilizations. Another similarity between the two
societies is that women enjoyed respect and honor as the sources of life (Bentley & Ziegler,
2010, pp.383, 419). This can be reasoned from a survival standpoint, because without
reproduction the civilization would eventually die off. It can also be reasoned from a practical
standpoint in that children provide a source of new workers, warriors, and rulers to replace the
old when they die. Proximity to other empires and peoples also played a role in the gender and
family roles demonstrated in the Aztec and African Empires.
The development of a patriarchal system in the African political units may partially stem
from their proximity to the European and Islamic empires as well. In particular, their proximity
to the Islamic Empires may have influenced their development of more patriarchal societies,
because Islam practices patriarchy (Bentley & Ziegler, 2010, pp. 376-378). Islam spread to
Africa via trade routes and Muslim traders, and many Africans converted to Islam, although it
was usually an Africanized Islam (Bentley & Ziegler, 2010, pp. 376-378). This connection to the
Islamic empires influenced the African empires, and therefore influenced the way women were
treated in those empires. The Aztec, although they did not have any close imperial neighbors,
could have been influenced by the existing peoples as they absorbed the religious beliefs
common to Mesoamerica or later by the Spaniards who came to conquer them (Bentley &
Ziegler, 2010, pp. 421, 527-528). Many of the similarities between the Aztecs and the Africans
stem from their similar economic systems, their desires for survival, and their proximities to
other peoples.
The differences between the Aztecs and Africans, however, stem from geography. The
treatment of women in Africa was more varied and provided for more opportunities for women
than in the Aztec Empire. This is because the African Empires and other polities covered a wider
variety of land, and therefore required a wider variety of societal types than the Aztec Empire,
which was concentrated in central modern day Mexico. Africa contains deserts, tropical
rainforests, and many other environmental types. Not all of them lent themselves well to an
agricultural society, thus many peoples, including those of the Sahara Desert, were nomadic
hunter-gatherers (Bentley & Ziegler, 2010, p. 374). In other parts of Africa, trade-based and
agricultural-based societies developed such as the Kingdom of Kongo (Bentley & Ziegler, 2010,
p. 374). The wide variety of economies in Africa stems from the varied environment of the
continent. This in turn leads to a varied treatment of women depending on the type of society
they live in. The Aztecs were concentrated in a smaller, more uniform geographical region and
based their economy more on trade and tribute than the Africans, so there was not as much
variance in the treatment of women (Bentley & Ziegler, 2010, pp. 417-418). This is the only
major difference between women in these two civilizations, and it can easily be explained by
geography.
The medieval Aztec and African civilizations exhibited very similar gender and family
roles, despite being on opposite sides of the globe. Both were dominantly patriarchal, commonly
practiced polygyny, had dichotomized gender roles, and valued family as a source of new life.
These similarities stem from their similar economic situations as well as their proximity to other
peoples, such as the Islamic and European Empires as well as native populations. Their
differences can be explained with simple geography and sociology. A wider variance in
environment on the continent of Africa led to more diverse societies, which in turn led to a
greater variance in the role of women and men. The Aztec Empire was concentrated in one area,
so a stricter dichotomy formed. Nonetheless, these two distinct and separate societies formed
comparable ways of dividing labor amongst the men and women, and they also followed similar
values of family. These two civilizations illustrate that people can be quite similar in certain
aspects regardless of the distance between them.
 References
Aguilar-Moreno, M. (2006 a). Daily life, Aztec. In Handbook to life in the Aztec world. New
York: Facts On File, Inc.
Aguilar-Moreno, M. (2006 b). Society and government, Aztec. In Handbook to life in the Aztec
world. New York: Facts On File, Inc.
Ballantine, J. H., & Roberts, K. A. (2011). Our social world: introduction to sociology. (3rd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
Beetz. K. H. (2008). Gender structures and roles in medieval Africa. In P. Crabtree
(Ed.), Encyclopedia of society and culture in the medieval world. New York: Facts On
File, Inc.
Bentley, J. H., & Ziegler, H. F. (2010). Traditions & encounters: A global perspective on the
past: From 1000 to 1800 (Fifth ed., Vol. B). New York: McGraw-Hill
Blackwell, A. H. (2008). Family in medieval Africa. In P. Crabtree (Ed.), Encyclopedia of
society and culture in the medieval world. New York: Facts On File, Inc.
Bunson, M. R., & Bunson, S. M. (1996). Marriage, Aztec. In Encyclopedia of ancient
Mesoamerica. New York: Facts On File, Inc.
Bunson, M. R., & Bunson, S. M. (1996). Cihuateteo. In Encyclopedia of ancient
Mesoamerica. New York: Facts On File, Inc.
Decker, A. (2008). Gender structures and roles in the medieval Americas. In P. Crabtree
(Ed.), Encyclopedia of society and culture in the medieval world. New York: Facts On
File, Inc.
Lancaster, C. S. (1976). Women, horticulture, and society in sub-Saharan Africa. American
Anthropologist, 78(3), 539-564.
Lesser wives. (2005). W. Page & R. Davis (Eds.), Encyclopedia of African History and Culture:
Ancient Africa (Prehistory to 500 CE) (Vol. 1). New York: Facts On File, Inc.
Queens and queen mothers in Africa. (2005). W. Page & R. Davis (Eds.), Encyclopedia of
African history and culture: African kingdoms (500 to 1500) (Rev. ed.) (Vol.2). New
York: Facts On File, Inc.
Roberts, Jr., F. H. H. (1939). The Aztecs. Southwestern Lore, 5(1), 1-6.
Women in medieval Africa. (2005). W. Page & R. Davis (Eds.), Encyclopedia of African history
and culture: African kingdoms (500 to 1500) (Rev. ed.) (Vol.2). New York: Facts On
File, Inc.
Zborover, D. (2010). Aztec. In T. Leonard (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Latin America: Amerindians
through foreign globalization. New York: Facts On File, Inc.