In response to Unleesh's post re: pastoralism and
patriarchy-
I'm busy these days, and don't have time to give
your post the reflection it really deserves, but here
is one loose idea, gained from being a keeper of
animals of various sorts myself.
For anyone who keeps livestock, it is always the
FEMALES that are valuable; because they produce milk,
eggs, and more livestock. Males are comparatively
worthless, useful only for breeding purposes, labor,
and the products of the animal's body itself. Males
are quite commonly sold or butchered only leaving
enough to suffice for breeding. This would seem to
lead directly to a veneration of the female as the
source of life and matriarchy, rather than patriarchy.
I have read that in Tibet, people call their yaks
their mothers, since they provide so many of the
peoples' needs. And in Southeast Asia there's a
proverb- a mother talking to her child: "If I die,
you'd find a way to get by, but if the water-buffalo
dies, you'll starve for sure!"
For what it's worth..
-Bob in the woods-
-
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