Women of the forestUpplaga 2

"For the second edition of this widely read and now-classic ethnography, the authors have written a new chapter that describes their fieldwork during their year among Brazil's Mundurucú Indians, making the book more valuable than ever to students. Women of the Forest details an acute and intriguing battle of the sexes in which reality squarely contradicted ideology. The Mundurucú men sleep in a men's house, and the women and children live in the dwellings, sharing a warm collective existence. They perform their daily tasks in a convivial sisterhood and their authority over the practical matters of living equals that of the men. But the official, male-dominated ideology depicts the women as second-class citizens, subservient to men. The Murphys' full scale analysis considers the historical, ecological, and cultural setting in which the Mundurucú live, the mythology concerning women, the woman's work and household life, marriage and child rearing, and the impact of social change on the female role. The authors give particular attention to sexual antagonism and the means by which women compensate, in actual practice, for their low public position."-- Back cover.