THEMES AND THEORIES or DECODING THE NISA RENDERING
The role of the woman in !Kung society and some Feminist considerations. !Kung culture is matrilineal and matriarchal as it is believed by the people that the women possess powers and abilities that men cannot emulate or compare to. They are builders of a !Kung nation, and the role of the father is not regarded as necessarily biological, but social. There is the issue of the fascination in the breasts as they are seen as the lifesource for infants. How is it that blood can turn into milk?
Shostak was correct in some instances in her postulate that the !Kung may be praised for their exemplary practice of gender equality which to some extent rivals that of the western world. The !Kung does recognize the significance and value of socialization to children beginning with orienting them to roles through various toys (ex. Toy bows and arrows for the boys) [Ch.03]. However, this is not necessarily to limit some male activities to males only. There have been stories of female !Kung who do not depend on their men to hunt. But the notion of a female hunting still manages to raise a few brows given that she is married. Men on the other hand, although they have the primary duty of hunting, have the liberty to gather especially during times when the hunt is unsuccessful. In terms of intelligence and ability, men are not threatened nor will they necessarily challenge the skill of the women. There are men of the !Kung population who would not mind marrying a woman whose intellectual capacity exceeds their own, as they believe that they may learn from their wives. It is an amiable admission. Further, personal talents and attributes are expressed during the point of the woman’s maturity. If she is strong, intelligent, and inclined to leadership, she is also likely to exert a substantial influence on group life. Strong women in the village serve as role models.
But as to defining the !Kung concept of true successful womanhood, there is nothing compelling: To sit in front of your hut, pound mongongo nuts, cook meat in your fire, feed your older children and nurse your youngest, talk and laugh with visiting relatives, play music and participate in a trance dance, sit alone with your husband after everyone has left, after your children are comfortably asleep – that is the way a woman’s life should be [Ch. 05 p. 159].
This is one illustration of the political economic predicament that women face all over the globe --- there will never be the wide-spread consciousness that will separate women from domestic labor. She will always be bound or identified with it [Ch. 08].
A successful childbirth is what makes a !Kung woman complete, accomplishing full womanhood. Under a functionalist lens, producing offspring is a means of assurance in the continued reception of loving attention and a strategy in the stabilization of marriage. Unlike in the western world which views the process as an emergency situation where life has to be delivered without the compromise of the other life, the !Kung look at childbirth as a ritual, and considering the absence of hospitals and the conventions of science, there is the turn to hamanism in the (artificial) belief that circumstances can be controlled. What is of particular interest in the meld of the magic with the religious aspects is the definition and explanation of what would constitute an uncomplicated delivery compared to a difficult delivery. The characteristics of the former are a combination of ritualistic properties and a childbearing philosophy which is based on religion. The latter has much more to identify with the cognitive than the symbolic. To speak of the ritual, the tying of medical string around the mother’s chest so as to assist for a speedy delivery or in other cases the trance dance in the event of complications are classifiable as Geertzian examples of symbolic anthropology. As for the philosophy, pregnant women are instructed to control their coping reactions to the pain. They are informed that crying and screaming is an illustration of unpreparedness, and that their deity will take the child. For a classic functionalist analysis, perhaps the reason behind this instruction has to do with the training of the woman to develop a stronger pain threshold considering its equation with maturity. A !Kung woman must learn to be patient and know how to endure pain as it is a duty to successfully produce offspring.
What is quite curious is how Nisa contemplated on the option of going to the white people and have the mouth of the stomach opened [ch.08, p. 173] so as to avoid the pains of childbirth. It has been stated in the account scribed by Shostak that the !kung have no hospitals or know-how of the procedures available in scientific-minded countries. Given this case, how would have Nisa known about the Caesarian Section?
A strong pillar of (full) !Kung womanhood is the duty and obligation in the willful participation in sexual congress. Sexual knowledge is a legacy !Kung women have from their sex play during childhood [ch.06]. Of fascination is how the idea of virginity is not present in !kung culture. This could be the explanation behind why the females experience trauma during the first attempt at intercourse. With the men being unfamiliar with the physiological details of virginity they would tend to rush and hurt their partners.
What is of interest to note is how they do not have the concept of marital rape in their !kung counterpart. Nisa had been warned before by Tashay that if she refuses to give herself to him the succeeding night, he would have to take her by force [Ch. 06].
Relevance of the mother-daughter relationship [Ch.01, Ch.08]. Western convention says that the promise and the bond between a mother and her daughter is always written in blood. There is the tendency to think that Nisa may have purposively left out some details in telling the story about how Chuko was willing to kill Nisa’s younger brother so Nisa may continue to nurse. The rationale behind this action was not explained, leaving the fragment confusing for some readers.
Child rearing techniques [Ch.02]. It has been interpreted that in attempts of reducing if not ridding completely sibling rivalry, the previous child is given a duty to care for his or her younger sibling. The importance of the strategic positioning of the child at the mother’s waist is also observed, the purpose being that the child may be accessible to other children in the family.
On the political economy of marriage [ch. 05-06]. Marriage for the !Kung society functioned more as a limb of political economic comforts than for the idea of companionship. The husband becomes a provider for both his family and his wife’s family, there is the expansion of the parents social world, and ensures each family access to the resources and village life of he others in times of scarcity.
Co-subscriptions to religion, magic/metaphysics, and shamanism [ch. 03, 08, 09, 13, 14]. In place of a scientific approach to healing is magic, rituals and shamanism via the Trance Dance. The descriptions provided in Nisa’s account fit Shirokogoroff’s formal definition of the shaman as the master of spirits and the interaction with them, in the making of contact and the breaking of contact. These characters believe they play a role, they are recognized and integral in their culture for the community. In this description, the shaman’s body is seen as a symbol. Shamans in Nisa’s history are responsible for negotiation with spirits in the healing of the sick. It is believed that failed negotiations result in the death of the patient.
To put a scientific explanation on the mystique, scholars may insist that claimed visions may be due to drug use, an effect of hallucinogens. Another possible reason is the cultivation of the imaginative faculties. A more clinical answer would be that the person who claims to ‘hear’ or interact with spirits may be suffering from schizophrenia.
Religion co-exists with magic in !Kung culture. There is the recognition of two main Gods --- the greater which is the creator, and the lesser who is identified as the destroyer.
The !Kung as a generally non competitive society [ch. 03, 04]. During the process that a child is raised with !kung consciousness, they are being taught not to compete beginning with the playing of games which does not establish winners or losers. !Kung adults also actively avoid competition and the ranking of individuals into hierarchies. There is the cultural constraint on the drawing of sharp differences among people --- there could be the awareness of talent
exercised by a person, but it would be considered bad manners to recognize or call these into attention [ch. 04].
exercised by a person, but it would be considered bad manners to recognize or call these into attention [ch. 04].
What is similar to this are the rules regarding expected modesty of all
successful hunters: The problem for the truly accomplished hunter, gatherer, (or anyone who is gifted) is to perform as well as possible without provoking envy or anger in others. This strain ay be decreased by the custom of sharing arrows which helps to diffuse responsibility for the kill. In addition, a less successful hunter may feel imbued with power when using a more successful hunter’s arrows, and this may give him the confidence to succeed… the alternation of hunting with long periods of inactivity so others have the opportunity to be praised is encouraged [ch. 03, p. 77]. The encouragement on the part of this culture to maintain the status quo is illustrative of structural-functionalist habits.
successful hunters: The problem for the truly accomplished hunter, gatherer, (or anyone who is gifted) is to perform as well as possible without provoking envy or anger in others. This strain ay be decreased by the custom of sharing arrows which helps to diffuse responsibility for the kill. In addition, a less successful hunter may feel imbued with power when using a more successful hunter’s arrows, and this may give him the confidence to succeed… the alternation of hunting with long periods of inactivity so others have the opportunity to be praised is encouraged [ch. 03, p. 77]. The encouragement on the part of this culture to maintain the status quo is illustrative of structural-functionalist habits.
On the issue of change [ch. 10]. Shostak discussed that the Tswana and Herero were foreign agricultural peoples, and their settlements were probably tolerated as it was easier to accommodate than to fight. From a Geoanthropological perspective, in terms of cultural influence, they provided a comparison to the permanent versus the nomadic bush life. But their settlement posed geopolitical threats to the !Kung people. They were strategically positioned nearest to the key water resources, which were later contaminated by the watering cattle and goats. The concentration of animals and their droppings, and gourds of fresh and cultured milk had brought swarms of flies ushering in venereal disease and other human diseases. The cattle also denuded the region of grass, roots, berries and other wild plants. The only, but not necessarily reliable option was to render services to the Tswana and Herero for milk or other goodies.
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