⚡Eineygður ☯ Flakkari⚡ on Nostr: Btw, another thing to consider in this context is that egalitarianism doesn't ...
Btw, another thing to consider in this context is that egalitarianism doesn't necessarily mean the absence of defined gender roles. In every supposed patriarchal society (at least among pre-Christians) women had a great deal of power, particularly in the domain of the spiritual realm (eg. Entu, Sybil, Völva, Amengansie, etc), up to and including the ability to decide the fates of entire civilisations (eg. Enheduanna). Apart from the Haudenosaunee and plenty of other NA Indigenous groups, there's also Celtic and Germanic societies like Icelandic Commonwealth (formed from a diverse collection of Scandinavian and British immigrants, and if DNA evidence is to be believed, at least one Algonquin woman) which have ancient traditions of egalitarianism. How many Celtic Queens do we still talk about today (Medb, Boudica, Cartismandua)? Egypt (Nefertiti, Cleopatra)? Or scholars (my fave being Hypatia)? That's just low hanging fruit.
Although it was fairly rare, in Iceland for instance it wasn't unheard for women to hold the highest status in an otherwise stateless society such as Goða (lawyer/priestess). An example would be Þuríðr in Landnámabók (Hauksbók). Ultimately it wasn't this practice which lead to the downfall of the commonwealth but rather the Christianisation of the island followed by eventual purchase of legal/governing power (since public office could be bought and sold) among a couple elite families who ultimately sold out to Norway. If you've ever read the Illiad, considered a classic founding myth of Western civilisation, it's wall to wall with stories of people from different cultures mingling and fighting side by side, from Europe, Asia and Africa alike. To say nothing of the Gods. Every great civilisation that's ever existed, especially when poised at the crossroads of trade and travel, has had to contend with diversity, and ultimately accommodate representation by/for people of every ethnic background within their reach. Either that or become subject to the eventual violent revolt of those same minorities. In fact it's arguably refusing to accommodate them (provided they've met all the other necessary criteria for acceptance, and haven't proven themselves hostile) which is the greater threat to social cohesion. Again though, that doesn't mean being in denial of differences, nor lack of assigned roles for gender expression. Though in the case of some societies (Samoan Faʻafafine, Filipino asog/bayok Babaylan, etc) those roles can include the ability to officially adopt the opposite gender and be treated more or less as such, often with very high status (eg. Buhawi). It wasn't egalitarianism that proved to be the undoing of these peoples, but the technology, violence and capacity for deceit of their neighbours and foreign guests.
Although it was fairly rare, in Iceland for instance it wasn't unheard for women to hold the highest status in an otherwise stateless society such as Goða (lawyer/priestess). An example would be Þuríðr in Landnámabók (Hauksbók). Ultimately it wasn't this practice which lead to the downfall of the commonwealth but rather the Christianisation of the island followed by eventual purchase of legal/governing power (since public office could be bought and sold) among a couple elite families who ultimately sold out to Norway. If you've ever read the Illiad, considered a classic founding myth of Western civilisation, it's wall to wall with stories of people from different cultures mingling and fighting side by side, from Europe, Asia and Africa alike. To say nothing of the Gods. Every great civilisation that's ever existed, especially when poised at the crossroads of trade and travel, has had to contend with diversity, and ultimately accommodate representation by/for people of every ethnic background within their reach. Either that or become subject to the eventual violent revolt of those same minorities. In fact it's arguably refusing to accommodate them (provided they've met all the other necessary criteria for acceptance, and haven't proven themselves hostile) which is the greater threat to social cohesion. Again though, that doesn't mean being in denial of differences, nor lack of assigned roles for gender expression. Though in the case of some societies (Samoan Faʻafafine, Filipino asog/bayok Babaylan, etc) those roles can include the ability to officially adopt the opposite gender and be treated more or less as such, often with very high status (eg. Buhawi). It wasn't egalitarianism that proved to be the undoing of these peoples, but the technology, violence and capacity for deceit of their neighbours and foreign guests.