The Gender Roles

The Abenaki and Chelan Tribes theories portray societies without the feminine gender presence, that is, they fail to demonstrate any existence of the feminine gender. According to the two theories, the role of women is minor if not inexistent. However, this may show that the feminine gender’s role was so minor that it was not reasonable or not worth to offer historical identification.

Regularly the Trickster stature depicts gender along with form variability, transforming gender functions and even time-to-time participating in similar-sex practices (Gwynne 2010, 54). These figures appear in the two Native American theories or mythologies, whereby the tricksters’ depictions are such that they possess a two-spirit character (Sonneborn 2001, 32). For instance, Loki, the Norse trickster, as well portrays gender variability, where in one case he became pregnant. He shares the capability to modify genders along with Odin, who was the chief Norse deity and who additionally possesses numerous features of the Trickster (Pritzker, and Pritzker 2000, 25). Observing the situation surrounding Loki’s pregnancy, whereby the Gods compelled him to prevent a giant from putting up a wall for them earlier than seven days period elapsing; he resolved the trouble by changing into a mare therefore pulling the giant’s supernatural horse from its efforts. He came back some time afterward with a kid he had delivered to—the horse Sleipnir that had eight legs, who acquired a placement as Odin’s steed. The Coyote who was a man appointed by God to maintain order among other animals and there is no mention of a woman in any of the activities of the Coyote (Calloway 2012, 15).

These facts prove the high male domination levels in those times, such that no matter what the contribution of women was it was not to be recognizable in any way in those early societies.

Bibliography

Calloway, Colin G. First Peoples: A Documentary Survey of American Indian History. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012.

Gwynne, S. C. Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History. New York: Scribner, 2010.

Pritzker, Barry, and Barry Pritzker. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Sonneborn, Liz. Chronology of American Indian History: The Trail of the Wind. New York: Facts on File, 2001.