Gender and

1
Gender and Earthly Names Among the Rural Nahua
at contact

• Names provide a compendium of the history of a
  civilization--Tibon.
• Why are the names of ordinary Nahuas excluded
  from history?
• What do gender differences in names suggest about
  relations between the sexes?

2
Ordinary womenwe dont even know their
names.The Nahua Naming Ceremony
3
Naming Ceremony (Florentine Codex)
4
The Midwife Bathes the Newborn Babe
And all during the time that she bathed the
baby, a pine torch stood burning. It was not
extinguished.
And then they there gave him a name, they there
gave him his earthly name.
5
Earthly Names Ceremony differs for boys and girls
Boys waitingto snatch the umbilical cord and eat
it.
6
And as she washed it all over, its hands, its
feet, she gave a talk to all...
Its hands, it was said, she cleaned of thievery.
Everywhere on its body, its groin, it was said,
she cleaned it of vice.
7
The naming ceremony began at sunrise and
concluded with a banquet
Then she raised it as an offering in the four
directions then she lifted it up, she raised it
as an offering to the heavens.
8
Debate Condition of Nahua Women

• Leon-Portilla prominent and of great social
  recognition
• Rodriguez-Shadow devalued and dominated
• Kellogg gender parallelism complementary and
  symmetrical

9
From Classic Texts Few Female Names

• Sahaguns General History, Persons and Deities
  436 Names, 47 occur in Clines Libro de Tributos,
  but only 2 female names.
• Garibays Llave del Nahuatl 12 pages of names
  but all male.
• Schroeders genealogies for Chalco 2 dozen
  female names--3 ordinary ones.

10
Source The Book of Tributes by S.L. Cline
(INAH, v. 549)

• Authentic Nahuatl texts written by native
  scribes, on fig-bark paper, according to
  prehispanic conventions (transcribed and
  translated by S.L. Cline).

11
Museo de Antropología, Mexico City Here is the
home of one...namedCuilol.
and translated
Transcribed by Cline
12
A census recorded in glyphs(Santa Maria
Asuncion, Harvey)
13
Cline on Libros and Names

• Although the writings themselves are in
  alphabetic form, the Nahuatl texts indicate very
  little impact from the Spanish world
• Nahua names a linguistic thicket

14
4 most common names for each sex. What are the
differences?

• Females
• Teyacapan 315 (First one)
• Tlaco 182(Middle one)
• Teicuh 182(Second one)
• Necahual 151(Quiet one)

• Males
• Yaotl 74(Rival/Enemy)
• Matlalihuitl 63(Rich Feather)
• Nochhuetl 52(Ideal Bean)
• Coatl 48(Serpent)

1201 females 87 unique names
1303 males 574 unique names
15
Common names 6th-10th most frequent by sex

• Females
• Xoco 53 (The Last one)
• Centehua 42(Ones Woman)
• Xocoyotl 38(Youngest one)
• Tlacoehua 22(Second daughter)
• Cihuaton 15(Littlest female)
• Tepin 15(Elder Sister)

• Males
• Tototl 19(Bird)
• Quauhtli 18(Eagle)
• Tochtli 17(Rabbit)
• Zolin 16(Quail)
• Matlal 12(Indigo Plant)
• Xochitl 12(Flower)

16
Frequency of Common Female Names
17

Common Male NamesNote low frequency of most
names
18
Names in a Tlatoani Family

• Don Tomas illegiblezatzin.
• Females dona Maria TonallaxochiatlAna Tlaco,
  Maria Xocoyotl, Magdalena Tlaco, Cocoyotl, Maria
  Tlaco, Marta Xoco, Teicuh (2), Necahual,
  Magdalena Teyacapan.
• Males Pedro Tecuetlaca?, Pedro Omacatl,
  Cocoliloc

19
Female names by marital status
20
Male names by marital condition
21
Conclusions Earthly Names of Ordinary People

• Rural focus important
• Male names individualized, symbolic, diverse
• Female names categorical, birth order, boring
• Gender relations asymmetrical and trapezoidal

22
Nahua Gender Relations assymetry, hierarchy,
oppression

• Division of Labor
• Division of Names
• Average age at marriage girls 12.7
  yearsboys 19.4 years
• Widowhood a female affair
• Household only male heads

23
End
24

• Demography, percents and averages
• 4. Ever-married females, aged 10-14
  50 married or widowed 15-19 95
  id. 20-24 98 id. 25 100
  id.
• 5. Average marriage age (SMAM) 12.7 years
  for females (/-1 year) 19.4 years for males
  (/-1 year)

25
(No Transcript)
26
Just a Little Old Man
27
Just a Little Old Woman