Professional Documents
Culture Documents
8
Exploring Further
9
Power and Satisfaction in Lesbian Relationships
Cohabiting Couples
Who Cohabits and Why?
Does Living Together Affect Later Marriage?
Ending the Commitment: Separation and Divorce
What Are the Causes and Consequences of Divorce?
Remarriage
Making a Difference
Marriage Equality for Lesbian and Gay Couples
True Partnership: Equality in Heterosexual Marriage
Exploring Further
Chapter 9 Mothering
Images of Mothers and Motherhood
The Decision to Have a Child
Why Do Women Choose to Have Children?
Childless by Choice or Circumstance?
Restricting Women’s Choices
Technology and Choice
The Transition to Motherhood
How Does Motherhood Change Work and Marital Roles?
Psychological Effects of Bodily Changes during Pregnancy
How Do Others React to Pregnant Women?
Motherhood and Women’s Identity
The Event of Childbirth
Is Childbirth a Medical Crisis?
Family-Centered Childbirth
Depression Following Childbirth: Why?
xii
Experiences of Mothering
Teen Mothers
Single Mothers
Black Mothers and the Matriarchal Myth
LGBT Mothers
Making a Difference
Transforming Social Policy: Redefining Family Values
Transforming Social Meanings: Redefining Parenthood
Exploring Further
10
Doing Gender in the Workplace
Evaluating Women’s Performance
Discrimination in Hiring and Promotion
Social Reactions to Token Women
The Importance of Mentoring
Leadership: Do Women Do It Differently?
Sexual Harassment from Nine to Five
Defining Sexual Harassment
The Prevalence of Harassment
What Are the Causes of Harassment?
The Consequences of Harassment
Women’s Career Development
Expectancies, Values, and Career Paths
High-Achieving Women
Putting It All Together: Work and Family
What Are the Costs of the Balancing Act?
What Are the Benefits of the Balancing Act?
xiii
11
Exploring Further
xiv
12
Conducting Feminist Therapy
Intersectionality and Feminist Therapy
Evaluating Feminist Therapy
Making a Difference
Transforming Ourselves: Finding (or Becoming) a Feminist Therapist
Transforming Social Relations: Challenging the “Crazy Woman” Stereotype
Transforming Society: Promoting Women’s Psychological Well-Being
Exploring Further
References
Name Index
Subject Index
xvi
13
Preface
As I wrote this edition of Transformations during the latter half of 2016 and the first half of 2017, the
larger social and political context was very much on my mind. While I summarized the latest research on
such topics as women’s leadership, backlash against competent women, sexual harassment, transgender
identity, reproductive justice, and feminist activism, a presidential election campaign was being held. For
the first time in American history, it pitted a male and a female candidate from the two major political
parties against each other, and it was remarkably bitter and divisive.
During this time period, sexual assault and harassment were constantly in the news: Donald Trump
was caught on tape bragging about grabbing women by the genitals, and retaliated with accusations
about former president Bill Clinton; Fox News head Roger Ailes was forced to resign after a longtime
culture of harassment at the network was revealed; and a pending sexual assault lawsuit against Bill
Cosby repeatedly made headlines. A “bathroom bill” discriminating against trans people was on, off, and
on again. State legislatures and the Trump administration moved to restrict women’s reproductive rights
in the U.S. and around the world. And this was just the United States. Globally, girls and women were
being kidnapped and held as sex slaves by terrorist groups. Nearly two out of five female murder victims
were killed by partners or former partners. Two-thirds of the world’s illiterate people were female; and
sex trafficking continued unabated.
As I joined the millions of people who marched in global protest on January 21, 2017, I thought:
Whatever one’s stance on political or social issues, gender is still a very important category. Gender
matters—to each of us as an individual, as social beings, and as citizens.
Writing this book during a period of national ferment about gender issues was a powerful experience
in the importance of feminist theory, research, scholarship, and activism for the 21st century. It is more
important than ever to bring accurate information to students and to help them learn how to think
critically and compassionately about women’s lives. Empirical social science, interpretive analysis
grounded in the lived experience of women, and critical thinking skills are tools for fighting sexism and
misinformation. The research presented in this third edition of Transformations reflects my sincere effort
to offer you the best of feminist psychological scholarship for your classroom.
xvii
I wrote this book originally to share my excitement about the psychology of women and gender. I
chose Transformations for the title because this book explores many kinds of transformations. As I
complete the third edition, the concept of transformation remains central to my thinking about this
branch of psychology.
First, this book reflects the developmental transformations of a woman’s life. Each person who is
labeled female at birth progresses in turn from gender-innocent infant to gender-socialized child; from
girl to woman; and from young woman to old woman. The process of developing a gender identity and a
sexual identity are transformative. Think too of the transformation from sexual inexperience to sexual
maturity and agency, and the shift in identity that happens as a young person goes from being a student
to a working adult or an older person retires from paid work. Motherhood is another profound
transformation of self, roles, and behavior. And, too often, girls and women victimized by gender-based
violence are forced to transform themselves from victim to survivor. Being a woman is not a static
condition, but rather a dynamic, ever-shifting social construction.
A second meaning of my title reflects the transformation within psychology that made this book, and
others like it, possible. In the past, women were routinely omitted from psychology textbooks, research
on women was scarce or negatively biased, and women themselves encountered resistance to becoming
psychologists and engaging in research and practice. Today, the psychology of women and gender is a
flourishing part of psychology. The perspectives of feminist psychology have changed research, practice,
14
and theory in every area of psychology. Women now earn the majority of professional degrees in
psychology, and most psychology departments offer courses in women and gender. These changes,
which came about through feminist activism and struggle, have been astonishingly successful.
I’ve been teaching the psychology of women and gender since 1975 and writing about it for students
since 1992. I’m gratified that the first two editions of Transformations were adopted by many instructors
and became student favorites. After describing the book’s distinguishing features and conceptual
framework, I’ll focus on what’s new in this edition.
15
The gender system is analyzed throughout the book at three levels: sociocultural, interpersonal, and
individual. Because conceptualizing gender as a social
xix
system is important from the start, the second chapter of the book is devoted to gender, status, and
power. This chapter explains the gender system and how it works at each of the three levels and
demonstrates how they are linked.
As Chapter 2 explains, at the sociocultural level men have more institutional and public power, and
therefore political, religious, and normative power is concentrated largely in the hands of men. Of
course, all men are not equally privileged, nor are all women equally disadvantaged. The gender system
interacts with systems based on race/ethnicity, social class, heterosexuality, and other dimensions of
difference. An understanding of the gender system at this level provides a context for the other levels
and reduces the tendency to think of gender as mere sex differences.
At the second level of the gender system, gender is created, performed, and perpetuated in social
interaction—what social constructionists call doing gender. I explore this topic not just as the social display
of differences, but also as the social enactment of status and power. Gender-linked behaviors such as
interrupting and smiling, for example, reflect and perpetuate women’s subordinate status.
The gender system operates at the individual level as women internalize their subordinate social
status. Well-documented psychological phenomena such as denial of personal discrimination, lack of
entitlement, and gendered psychological disorders such as depression can be related to internalized
subordination. By conceptualizing gender as a social system operating at three levels, my goal is to
provide students with an analytical tool for understanding how gender affects all our lives in both public
and private domains.
16
on social change. In keeping with the organizing theoretical framework of the book, social changes at the
societal/cultural, interpersonal, and individual levels are presented and evaluated. Transforming
psychology, and transforming the world, toward being more woman-friendly and gender-equal is an
ongoing process. A central message of this book, and one that closes each chapter, is that every student
can be a part of this transformation.
17
New psychiatric classification, terminology and research on intersex, transgender, fluid,
genderqueer, agender, and nonbinary identities
DSM category of gender dysphoria: definition; diagnosis in children, adolescents and adults;
critique
New evidence for genetic links in transgender reported and evaluated
Psychological outcomes of gender affirmation (formerly termed sex change) surgery
Psychological adjustment in transgender individuals
Genetic influences on sexual orientation
Prenatal hormone exposure (CAH) and women’s sexual orientation
Transphobia, genderism, hate crimes against trans people
Updated information on third-sex categories in other cultures
NEW BOXES:
Genderqueer pronouns: A New User’s Guide
Research Focus: Life Experiences of Intersex People
Caster Semenya, Dutee Chand, and Gender Verification of Female Athletes
xxii
18
Changing patterns of heterosexual marriage
The trend toward serial cohabitation and long-term singlehood among women
Lesbian couples and lesbian marriages
The psychological and economic consequences of divorce
NEW BOXES:
Timeline/History of Marriage Equality for Gay/Lesbian Couples
Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon: A Marriage to Remember
xxiii
Chapter 9: Mothering
An inclusive, intersectional perspective that includes teen mothers, single mothers, LBTQ, African-
American mothers, and the place of fathers in childbirth and parenting
Persistence of pronatalism and the motherhood mystique
Child free by choice
Infertility
Updated information on abortion and attempts to restrict access
Ethical issues in surrogate parenthood
Attitudes toward pregnant women
Risk factors for postpartum depression
Family-friendly social policy and workplaces
NEW BOX:
MomsRising.org: Grassroots Advocacy for Women, Mothers, and Families
19
New section, Stalking, includes cyberstalking
xxiv
Updated research on rape, sexual assault, and prevention programs aimed at men
NEW BOX: It’s On Us: Intervening to reduce sexual assault on campuses
The third edition of Transformations: Women, Gender & Psychology, is now available online with Connect,
McGraw-Hill Education’s integrated assignment and assessment platform. Connect also offers
SmartBook for the new edition, which is the first adaptive reading experience proven to improve grades
and help students study more effectively. All of the title’s website and ancillary content is also available
through Connect, including:
A full Test Bank of multiple choice questions that test students on central concepts and ideas in
each chapter.
An Instructor’s Manual for each chapter with full chapter outlines, sample test questions, and
discussion topics.
Lecture Slides for instructor use in class and downloadable RAP forms.
xxv
20
xxvi
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xxvii
22
Acknowledgments
Writing a textbook is a daunting task. I could not have done it without the support of family, friends,
and colleagues.
Annie B. Fox, PhD, wrote chapter 12, on gender-based violence, and updated Chapter 13,
Psychological Disorders, Therapy, and Women’s Well-Being. Annie also conceived and wrote most of the
lively text boxes that appear throughout the book. Thank you, Annie, for taking an increasing role in
Transformations 3e, applying your classroom experience and psychological expertise to make it better
than ever.
Chapter 13 was previously contributed by Britain Scott, who could not participate in this edition due
to other commitments. Britain’s expertise remains visible in the innovative social constructionist
approach, historical sweep, and approachable style of Chapter 13. I thank Britain again for her many
contributions to the first two editions.
Christy Starr, graduate student at University of California Santa Cruz, was a capable and
hardworking research assistant for this edition and also contributed the section on sexualization of girls
in Chapter 6. Thank you, Christy, for your dedication to the project, feminist ideals, and strong work
ethic. Thanks to Dawn M. Brown, graduate student at University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, who
offered guidance on gender identity terminology and pronoun use. Working with these strong and
capable younger women gives me renewed hope that the feminist transformation of society will
continue.
Thanks to Julia and David Apgar, Ben Chaffin, and Annie Duong for providing the photos of their
dressed-up kids in Chapter 6, and to Alex Olson, a student at Normandale Community College in
Minnesota, who helped me select the many new photographs that illustrate this edition.
I am grateful to the publishing pros at McGraw-Hill: Product Developer Francesca King, Portfolio
Manager Jamie Laferrera, Content Licencing Specialist Melisa Seegmiller, and at ansrsource,
Developmental Editor Anne Sheroff, and Photo Researcher Jennifer Blankenship.
I would also like to thank the pre-publication reviewers for this edition who generously provided me
with feedback: John M. Adams, University of Alabama; Grace Deason, University of Wisconsin—La
Crosse; Alishia Huntoon, Oregon Institute of Technology; Jamie Franco-Zamudio, Spring Hill College;
Jennifer Katz, SUNY Geneseo; Shannon Quintana, Miami Dade College; Christine Smith, University of
Wisconsin-Green Bay; Megan L. Strain, University of Nebraska at Kearney; and Katherine Urquhart,
University of Central Florida.
I thank, too, the friends and family who put up with the absent-mindedness and crankiness of a
writer in the throes of a big project, especially my partner Roger Chaffin. Because Roger is an
accomplished cognitive psychologist, our dialogues about my work are helpful and constructive. He is
there with day-to-day encouragement and tech support. Most important, because he is committed to an
egalitarian relationship, I enjoy a balanced life of work and family, full of love, laughter, music, and
adventure. Thank you, Roger.
Mary Crawford
xxviii
23
Part 1
24
PART 1
25
Introduction
26
Chapter 1
27
CHAPTER 1
• Beginnings
How Did the Psychology of Women Get Started?
Psychology and the Women’s Movement
Voices from the Margins: A History
• What Is Feminism?
Feminism Has Many Meanings
Is There a Simple Definition?
• Methods and Values in Psychological Research
Psychology’s Methods
Toward Gender-Fair Research
Feminist Values in Research
• Intersectionality
• About This Book
• A Personal Reflection
• Exploring Further
This book is called Transformations. I hope you find this title intriguing. I chose it because we are living
in an era when opportunities for girls and women have changed dramatically, and psychology has played
a part in those changes. Still, gender equality is a transformation that is not yet complete. Consider the
current situation:
Only 19 percent of the U.S. Congress and 12 percent of state governors are women.
In the United States, women earn about 78 cents for every dollar earned by men. Worldwide, the
difference is even greater—women earn only about 52 percent of what men earn.
The United Nations estimates that 115 million women are missing from the global population—dead
because, as females, they were unwanted.
Women have been heads of state in 70 countries around the world, yet in others they lack basic
human rights such as going to school.
Although some things have changed for the better, a worldwide wage gap, under-representation of
women in positions of status and power, and significant problems of violence against girls and women
persist. Gender, sexuality, and power are at the core of social controversies around the world.
Beginnings
We are living in an era in which nothing about women, sexuality, and gender seems certain. Entering
this arena of change, psychology has developed research and theory about women and gender. This
branch of psychology is usually called feminist psychology, the psychology of women, or the psychology
of gender (Russo & Dumont, 1997). Those who use the term feminist psychology tend to emphasize
theoretical connections to women’s studies and social activism. Those who use psychology of women
tend to focus on women’s lives and experiences as the topics of study. Those who use psychology of
28
gender tend to focus on the social and biological processes that create differences between women and
men. This book includes all these perspectives and uses all three terms. There is a lot to learn about this
exciting field.
The psychology of women and gender is rich in theoretical perspectives and research evidence.
29
The psychology of women and gender is rich in theoretical perspectives and research evidence.
Virtually every area of psychology has been affected by its theories and research (Marecek et al., 2002).
This book is an invitation to explore the knowledge and participate in the ongoing debates of feminist
psychology.
30
antiestablishment punk movement. Riot grrrl bands and zines of the 1990s often proclaimed the joys of
women’s sexuality, self-reliance, and empowerment. One example of third wave feminist activism is the
SlutWalk movement, which originated in Canada in 2011 after a Toronto police officer advised women
to “avoid dressing like sluts” in order not to be raped. SlutWalks have since taken place in many cities
around the world, a strategy to show that the victims of sexual assault are not to blame, while reclaiming
a word that has been used to shame women.
Third-wave groups emphasize social activism—women working collectively for social justice—just as
their second-wave counterparts did before them. Though the issues and the voices have changed, third-
wave feminism is clearly connected to its foremothers’ visions (Baumgardner & Richards, 2000, 2005).
31
The efforts of women and minorities remained voices from the margins until relatively recently (see
Box 1.1). The existence of AWP, Division 35, women’s studies programs, and dozens of feminist journals
guarantee that research on the psychology of women and gender will not fade away again as it did in the
1920s. Because the psychology of women developed in a social context of feminism, it is important to
look closely at the relationship between the two.
7
For most of the APA’s 124-year history, women rarely served as president of the organization. Prior to 1970, only two women had
been elected APA president. However, since the rise of the feminist movement beginning in the 1970’s, the number of women
elected president of APA has continued to grow. In fact, since 2010, the members of APA have elected five female presidents.
Susan H. McDonald, a distinguished professor and director of the Institute for the Family in the Department of Psychiatry at the
University of Rochester, served as President of APA for 2016–2017.
Source: http://www.apa.org/about/governance/president/past-presidents.aspx
Contributed by Annie B. Fox
What Is Feminism?
The writer Rebecca West noted in 1913: “I myself have never been able to find out precisely what
feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate
me from a doormat” (quoted in Kramarae & Treichler, 1985, p. 160). Nearly 100 years later, third wave
feminists Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards (2000, p. 17) wrote, “For our generation, feminism is
like fluoride. We scarcely notice that we have it—it’s simply in the water.” Along the way, there have
been a lot of misconceptions. Exactly what is feminism and what does it mean to call oneself a feminist?
8
32
1998). As feminism expands worldwide, there is a new emphasis on global feminism as well. Let’s look
briefly at each perspective.
Liberal feminism is familiar to most people because it relies on deeply held American beliefs about
equality—an orientation that connects it to political liberalism. From this perspective, a feminist is a
person who believes that women are entitled to full legal and social equality with men and who favors
changes in laws, customs, and values to achieve the goal of equality. The liberal feminist perspective has
fostered research on such topics as how people react to others when they violate gender norms (Chapter
2), how children are socialized to accept gender roles (Chapters 4 and 6), and sex discrimination in
employment (Chapter 10). It emphasizes the similarities between males and females, maintaining that
given equal environments and opportunities, males and females will behave similarly.
Radical feminism emphasizes male control and domination of women throughout history. This
perspective views the control of women by men as the first and most fundamental form of oppression:
women as a group are oppressed by men as a group. According to radical feminists, oppression on the
basis of being a woman is one thing all women have in common. Radical feminist theory has fostered
much research on violence against women (see Chapter 12). Some radical feminists have endorsed
separatism, the idea that women can escape patriarchy only by creating their own woman-only
communities. For example, the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, an annual event for 40 years, was
grounded in the radical tradition. Only women could attend, and many came year after year, treasuring
this safe and empowering women’s space (Browne, 2011). The festival ended in 2015, partly over dissent
about whether transgender women should be included (Ring, 2015).
Woman-of-color feminism, or womanism, began with criticism of the White women’s movement for
excluding women of color; the word womanism was coined by African American writer Alice Walker.
This type of feminism focuses on issues of importance to minority communities: poverty, racism, jobs,
health care, and access to education. In general, womanists do not see men of color as their oppressors
but as brothers who suffer the effects of racism just as women of color do; therefore, womanism is
particularly inclusive of men and rejects the notion of separatism. People who adopt this feminist
perspective emphasize the effects of racial stereotyping (Chapter 3) and prejudice (Chapters 2 and 10).
They also point out the strengths and positive values of minority communities, such as the
multigenerational support and closeness of African American families (Chapter 9).
Cultural feminism emphasizes differences between women and men. This perspective stresses that
qualities characteristic of women have been devalued and should be honored and respected in society. It
views some gender differences in
9
values and social behaviors as either an essential part of womanhood or so deeply socialized that they
are virtually universal and unlikely to change—for example, the tendency for women to be more
nurturing and caring than men. Cultural feminism has been useful in understanding the importance of
unpaid work contributed by women, such as caring for the young, the ill, and the elderly (Chapters
9–11).
Feminism is a worldwide social movement. Global feminism focuses on how prejudice and
discrimination against women are related across cultures, and how they are connected to neocolonialism
and global capitalism. Issues of special concern to global feminists include sweatshop labor, unequal
access to health care and education, sex trafficking, and violence against girls and women in developing
countries (Chapter 12). An important part of global feminism is the recognition that Western feminists
do not have all the answers for women from other cultures. For example, in some societies women are
strongly pressured to undergo genital cutting (Chapter 7) or required to veil their faces and bodies in
public. Though Western women may criticize these practices, it is important to remember that Western
society also restricts women’s bodily freedom and integrity through practices like sexual harassment in
public places and pressure to seek the perfect body through dieting and cosmetic surgery (Chapters 2, 3,
and 11). All around the world, women bear a disproportionate burden of the inequalities caused by
colonialism, global capitalism, and economic exploitation. Understanding gender oppression in
conjunction with these other kinds of power imbalances is the work of transnational feminism, and it
requires structural analysis as well as individual-level analysis (Else-Quest & Grabe, 2012; Grabe & Else-
Quest, 2012).
The diversity of frameworks and values in feminist thought may seem confusing, but it is also healthy
and productive. Different feminist perspectives can be used to develop and compare diverse viewpoints
on women’s experiences. This book draws on a variety of feminist perspectives, using each as a lens to
33
help clarify particular topics, and sometimes comparing several feminist perspectives on an issue.
However, within psychology, liberal feminism and cultural feminism have generated more debate and
research than any other views. Therefore, Chapter 4 is devoted to contrasting liberal and cultural
feminist perspectives on the question, “Just how different are women and men?”
34
Psychologists use a variety of research methods to answer their questions. The diversity of methods
allows psychologists to tailor a method that is right for the question they seek to answer.
Most psychologists use quantitative methods: those that involve measuring behavior, averaging it
over a group of people, and comparing groups with statistical
11
tests. Ideally, quantitative methods allow for the use of random samples, so that the results can be
generalized, or applied to more people than just the few who were studied.
Some quantitative methods, such as surveys, are largely descriptive: they report the beliefs, attitudes,
or opinions of groups of people. A good example is the public opinion poll, where attitudes toward gay
marriage or affirmative action are assessed. In the interests of efficiency, all participants are asked the
same questions. Therefore, it is extremely important that the survey is designed to ask the right
questions, and to provide meaningful answer options.
Correlational studies can determine whether two or more variables are related to each other, but
they cannot determine whether that relationship is causal. For example, correlational research has
demonstrated that, as more American women began to work outside the home over the past 40 years,
the divorce rate rose. But it cannot answer the question of why women’s work and the divorce rate rose
together. Is it because working women are not good wives? Or because women who can support
themselves are less likely to stay in bad marriages? Or perhaps it’s because there has been a widespread
shift away from traditional attitudes during the last 40 years, so that both divorce and women’s working
are more socially acceptable? Other kinds of research are needed to answer questions of causality on this
topic—research that I’ll describe in Chapters 8 and 10.
If a researcher is interested in change over time within the same individuals, she might use a
longitudinal design, measuring variables at two or more points in time. An example would be to ask
couples about their marital satisfaction both before and after the birth of their first child. Statistical
techniques allow the researcher to see which variables at Time 1 predict behavior at Time 2. Another
approach is to do archival research, where the researcher looks for relationships among variables in a
preexisting set of data such as national test scores.
Many psychologists rely on experiments, in which one or more variables are systematically
manipulated to determine whether there is a causal relationship among them. Experiments are often
considered the gold standard of methods, because finding out whether a change in Variable A causes a
change in Variable B is important to scientific understanding and theory building. Moreover, most
experiments are done under carefully controlled laboratory conditions, which increases psychologists’
confidence that they are measuring variables accurately.
Other psychological research methods are qualitative: they explore a topic in an open-ended way,
without trying to systematically count or manipulate behaviors. Interviews (usually individual) and focus
groups (usually groups of 3–12) are the qualitative methods most often used in psychology and women’s
studies (O’ Shaughnessy & Krogman, 2012). Often, researchers summarize qualitative data by grouping
participants’ comments by theme; they may also quote the participants directly. Sometimes, participants’
talk is analyzed using one of a variety of approaches grouped under the term discourse analysis. Other
examples of qualitative research are the case study (an in-depth study of a single individual) and the
ethnography, in which the researcher works within a community and tries to learn its customs and
beliefs. Qualitative methods provide an intimate look at participants’ thoughts and feelings. However,
because they generally use small, nonrandom samples and non-numerical measures, qualitative studies
are not easily generalized to larger populations.
12
I’ve used most of these quantitative and qualitative methods myself, as I’ve studied women and
gender over the course of my career. What I’ve learned by doing research is that each method has its
strengths and weaknesses. As I describe research (my own and others’) for you throughout this book, I
will tell you what method was used, and I will remind you from time to time that the results of scientific
research are always limited and subject to interpretation.
Scientific research is often represented to students as a purely objective process in which a neutral,
disinterested scientist investigates and reveals the secrets of nature. However, psychology has sometimes
been anything but neutral in explaining the behavior of women. Feminist psychologists have identified
specific methodological flaws in traditional research on women.
35
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
DANCE ON STILTS AT THE GIRLS’ UNYAGO, NIUCHI
I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time
back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have
no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human
occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very
slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not
yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid
timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed
forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled
his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process
may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main
road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe—
not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few
steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been
cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more,
between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last
pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a
melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them—
cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also
piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and
son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too
busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites
so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles
of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken
the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their
smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if
they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes,
perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.
This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the
virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already
cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble
of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the
secondary bush.
After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the
hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the
country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact,
receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in
the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains,
where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its
abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have
the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working
for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were
accustomed to rule.
But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no
harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has
been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in
time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe
and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and
lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and
desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by
man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and
even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth
is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible,
impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black
occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and
come back to his starting point.
The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.
According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing
else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been
settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great
stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the
south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence
their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the
Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast,
to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied
African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of
population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth
could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on
the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however,
correct.
The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us
of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the
thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau,
instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks
and springs of the low country.
“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern
side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was
nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never
washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.
He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree
growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the
bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and
was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the
Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a still-
born child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the
valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which
was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of
Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In
course of time, the couple had many more children, and called
themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the
Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their
forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to
bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who
was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also
warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams,
for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to
have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest watering-
place; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”
The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is
somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I
extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by
Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my
results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?
Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the
supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other
people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself
by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short,
woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is
likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is
nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from
various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood,
ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and
representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia,
Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well
done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the
keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and
meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably)
would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the
scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures
were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial
deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded
by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely
be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that
they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably
unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.
The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the
Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru
valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the
travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their
descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with
its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible
at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent
to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie
within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly
the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a
point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive
Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.
Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they
had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health
conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the
African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled
by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil
spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to
assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish
districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.
This knowledge is crystallized in the
ancestral warning against settling in the
valleys and near the great waters, the
dwelling-places of disease and death. At the
same time, for security against the hostile
Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted
that every settlement must be not less than a
certain distance from the southern edge of the
plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the
present day. It is not such a bad one, and
certainly they are both safer and more
comfortable than the Makua, the recent
intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF
good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR
plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of
country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings
anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain,
especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a
Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the
most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly
spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with
the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.
The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during
the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings
or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a
veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts
only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists
merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone
have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening
the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but
ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood
or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in
two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If
the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s
upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely
against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle
of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece
horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.
It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few
inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course
cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the
owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding
out how the back door is fastened.