In patriarchal societies women are set up to have less power and control of their lives compared to men. This often leaves women powerless in various ways, particularly when it comes to making individual decisions for themselves and their children. This is problematic if and when women have no recourse in regaining control, no matter how small that control is. Today’s blog post will explore these situations among the Wanano/Kotira of the Northwestern Amazon and how women have been able to regain some power.
The Wanano/Kotira of the Northwestern Amazon are made up of 15,000 individuals who speak languages within the Tukanoan language family. These groups are linguistically exogamous, which means men and women marry spouses who do not speak their same language. They are also patrilocal, meaning women leave their natal (birth) home/village and move into their husband’s home/village. This produces a situation wherein men are interrelated and know each other, whereas women do not know others and are considered outsiders.
Among the Wanano/Kotira groups men maintain political and creative power and control, but women have reproductive and food production power and control. Women are valued by the number of children they birth and raise, and their value also comes in the form of the manioc they produce. Women grow, harvest, and handle the manioc, which is important because mishandling manioc can lead to poisoning others (due to poor handling). These defining masculine and feminine roles can be viewed either as complimentary or competitively. In either case there is stress felt by both men and women as they maintain their specific family and community roles.
Adding to the tension is the fact that while women are responsible for raising their children the children are expected to learn and speak their father’s language, not their mother’s. Ultimately, children will often learn both their father’s and mother’s languages, but the children must speak their father’s language in public. It is forbidden to speak their mother’s language. This fosters isolation among women, who are outsiders and often cannot and do not speak their husband’s language (even if they do know it).
To deal with these tensions men and women participate in po’oa rituals, which are drinking parties and exchange rituals. Men and women come together to share beer as well as food (game, fish, and manioc). During the po’oa ritual women will sing “sad songs” known as kaya basa. It is during these performances that women are able to reclaim some control and power. Singing in their native language these women will lament their loneliness, describing how it feels to be an outsider in the village. The women will often describe themselves in demeaning ways by stating they are ugly, small, or similar to insects. All of these evoke images and feelings concerning their isolation and outsider status. Women who speak the same language will be drawn to each other and connect on these shared emotional states.
These events are not just about expressing sadness, however. They also enable the women to vent their frustrations about political matters that they observe and have strong opinions about. The men cannot acknowledge they understand the women’s words (assuming they learned the language the women are speaking), but they can hear them. As men are not allowed to voice their concerns about political matters they can use the women’s words to understand the complexities of the issues from different perspectives. They can then choose to act based on those concerns or not.
On the outside it appears that these women have no power, and ultimately while they have no political power they can yield what they do have to express their feelings and frustrations. The po’oa ceremonies allow the women to vent their frustrations, and if the men are understanding and listening to their words then some changes may be made, providing them some subversive control in an otherwise powerless situation.
Works Cited
Chernela, Janet M. "Language ideology and women's speech: Talking community in the Northwest Amazon." American Anthropologist 105.4 (2003): 794-806.
Hosemann, Aimee J. "Women’s song exchanges in the Northwest Amazon: Contacts between groups, languages, and individuals." Upper Rio Negro: Cultural and Linguistic Interaction in Northwestern Amazonia (2013): 245-270.
Hosemann, Aimee J. "Wanano/Kotiria women’s kaya basa ‘sad songs’ as borders between sexes and discourse genres." Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Symposium about Language and Society-Austin. 2015.
8 comments:
I found this post really interesting because it shows how Wanano/Kotiria women use kaya basa, or “sad songs,” to reclaim some power in a society where men hold most political authority. I think it’s powerful that women sing in their own language during po’oa rituals, expressing feelings of isolation and frustration while also commenting on political issues. Even if men do not openly acknowledge understanding, they can still hear the concerns, which gives women subtle influence in their communities. This shows how language, culture, and gender roles shape power dynamics, and how people can creatively use tradition to make their voices heard even when formal authority is limited.
- Danessa
I found this post very educational, especially considering womans history month. I love how the women would gather and sings songs together in a language they can really only understand. Not only singing, but also venting about political situations. Women hold a lot of power, but there still is not equality like there should be to this day. It was kind of sad reading about the Wanano/Kotria Women of the Amazon because of the little power they hold and how they are seen as outsiders. Overall, it was a very interesting feed and I got a lot of information out of this topic.
I really enjoyed this post! You gave me a clear perspective on how gender roles operate within the Wanano and Kotira society. You specifically outlined how woman face inequalities in patriarchal system. The way things are set up for woman definitely makes it harder. Once they are married they are required to move away from their maiden families and move with husbands that speak a completely different language. Imagine not really knowing anyone and possibly not understanding what people are saying around you. This makes it hard for women to be apart of important conversations and decisions because they do not understand what is going on.
On another note women still amaze me because they will find a way to express themselves. They created safe spaces such as singing song and certain rituals so they are able to express themselves. They called them the po’oa rituals and kaya basa songs. By doing this they are able to express themselves to everyone. Men, children and the village. It’s almost like they are re belling and provoking the system without fully being in the conversation!
I feel like this post really lets people see the true struggle and strengths of women, but most importantly how they persevere no matter what. Women can have little to no power and still find a way to get their points across!
- Kori Bullard
I think this shows that even when women don't have much power, they still find ways to be heard. The Wanano/Kotiria women feel isolated because they leave their homes and can't fully use their own language.
In your response, you illustrate that power has many different forms, even though some are more subtle than others, within male-dominated structures. The po’oa ceremonies demonstrate that using language and emotional experiences allows for both creating sites of influence and developing solidarity. Also interestingly, women rely on their cultural heritage to not only help them deal with issues; they also utilize their cultural heritage to influence people's perspectives and possibly influence their choices.
The reason why I found this article interesting is the way it describes how women manage to use different ways to make their voice heard and to make an impact on situations despite lacking actual political power. Kaya basa songs were particularly interesting for me not only because they are used to express grief, but also because they serve as a way of communication.
Allen Fortenberry
I found this artical interesting mainly because of the details on how the system of the Wanano/Kotira tribes work. The practice of exclusively taking a wife from a group that you officially cannot speak the language of seems like a very harsh way to maintain control. I do wonder how the marriages are arranged considering men do not seem to be able to publicly speak a language other than their own village's. There must be some way to communicate between different villages to facilitate things like marriage but perhaps the women aren't allowed to learn it.
I think it’s really interesting how Wanano/Kotira women use kaya basa songs to express their struggles and indirectly influence their society. It shows that even in patriarchal systems, people can find subtle ways to reclaim some power.
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