Comparing Women In Silverblatt's Moon, Sun, And The Witches

In Pre-Colombian society, men and women had different roles; but their roles were of equal importance. Throughout Silverblatt’s Moon, Sun, and the Witches we are able to examine how men and women used their roles to complement one another. In order to see the relationship between men and women, we look to how men and women were represented. The Sun was seen as the “father” of all mankind and the Moon was seen as the “mother” of all womankind (Silverblatt 45). The Pre-Columbian Inca society made it clear that there were two separate and distinct individual spheres, one sphere for each gender. By having two distinct spheres of gender the Incas believed that there were sexual domains and sacred beings for each sphere. These two distinct spheres allow each gender to focus on specific roles and ultimately complement each other for the good of society creating a strong kinship (a goal of this society). Throughout the Pre-Columbian society, we will see the strong differences between male and female roles due to the clear sphere separation created by the Incas. …show more content…
Since women worshiped Pachamama, men worshipped Pachamama’s counterpart, IIapa. IIapa was worshipped by men because he was the god of thunder and lightning, and ultimately the heavens (Silverblatt 22). By having IIapa use his power of rain and Pachamama use her power of Earth forces, the two could create Earth fertility (Silverblatt 22). The unification of the gods showed the Incan people that men and women roles are also complimentary like IIapa and Pachamama’s relationship as well as the Sun and the Moon’s relationship. Having women and men worship different gods created more separation and distinction between the two