My 2¢ on Wicca

The 'Supposed' Origins of Patriarchy

The Origins of Patriarchy

There seems to be a great confusion on the origins of patriarchy in Wiccan circles. This whole mess of historical inaccuracy stems from The Goddess Movement in the 1970's. However, based on current historical data and archaeology, the thesis of a large matriarchal society over-swept by an all-encompassing patriarchy--is debunked. So, if the Goddess Movement were wrong, then what really happened back then? The true scapegoat in all of this, is not a war-mongering society, but rather, the dawn of agriculture. The cause for the growth of our human population is also the shackles to women empowerment. Also, it is the cause of social hierarchies, poverty, and pandemic outbreaks of disease. Do not blame some fictional one-time event, but rather, agriculture itself for the large dulling headache of women oppression for the last thousands of years.

During the Paleolithic era, practically everyone was living a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, and the struggle to survive caused men and women to depend on each other equally-- with trends of egalitarianism. Okay, yes, there were some settlements such as of the Chinook people, Natufian people, or of Jomon. Still, those settlements were largely of gathering from the area, and having little to do with full-blown agriculture. Nevertheless, humans were only of a few million in the entire world. It was the men who hunted the large herd animals whilst the women cared for the children and gathered vegetation. The men hunted the larger game, because of their muscle masses--more efficiency in hunting. Also, the women were caring for the children, and it makes sense that they would not go hunting for big game, having the mother instinct. These gender roles were necessary for survival, but there was equal dependence of each other. This mutual struggle was causation for a egalitarian way of life. At the ending of the Paleolithic era, Women started to dig for heaps of dirt near the campsites. They realized that by bringing the seeds from gathering, and planting it into the soil, there would be a way of gathering food much more efficiently. This inventive laziness was the spark of the Agricultural Revolution. So, it had begun with these heaps of dirt-- the agricultural revolution started to implement itself throughout the world, because it was easier to plant and grow food than constantly move areas and find food. Merchants and Travelers were able to spread information about how to grow plants, and this massive spreading had eventually reached large areas, even with the independent sparks with the discovery of agriculture. Places like Çatal Hüyük and Jericho were the first centers of agricultural societies-- even before the Fertile Crescent. The main centers of civilization from the birth of agriculture came to be the Fertile Crescent, Meso-America, East China, the Indus Valley, and Egypt. All these centers of civilization were nearby water-sources--a need to have irrigation. From settling down, it was the start of the dreaded specialization of labor, such as the making of pottery, metallurgy, and textile production.

The splitting of duties helped cause population growth, but it hindered social and gender equity. Within the neolithic home, women were stuck with taking care of children and staying near the homestead. Men were off to herding animals, and outside the home, able to discuss with other men. Those who were crafting, clergy or of leadership did not need to do back-breaking labor, and were to philosophize and discuss issues or knowledge. If the women are at home taking care of the children, and men are out discussing by one and another, then you can already see where the gender roles could become even more extreme. The whole idealization of property of the land, and the need to pass down property onto the successor was the main reason why women were oppressed. Masses of land, titles, and fortune were things a father wants to pass unto his children. If the mother was unfaithful, the father cannot be sure his successor is his own child-- this was the main argument for oppression. Therefore, this hypocrisy was the start of women shackled to the degradation of their rights.

Even before Christianity, which was not the cause of patriarchy (!), many ancient polytheistic societies had women oppression already integrated with their way of life. For example, the hijab that women wear in the Middle East is not from Islamic origins. In fact, its roots stretch very deep, reaching to the days of old Sumer. The theory is that men with titles did not want their wives to be unfaithful and produce bastard children. These men did not want to give their properties and lands to a child who actually is the offspring of their neighbor. So, by wearing these veils, other men cannot be lusty and go after their wives. The assumption is that men cannot control their desires, or that women have to be hidden away  to prevent sex with someone else. Heading away from the waters of the Tigris, but rather for the Indus Valley, we stop to find the mysterious, yet peaceful Harappan society. Little is known about this society, because their written language has yet to be decoded. Many of the writings and evidence for this civilization is not necessarily stable-- fluctuating water tables mess with the findings and vestigial structures of this bronze age civilization. The end of this society through natural disasters and social collapse had led to having conquest as a given. An Indo-European tribe riding on war-chariots had passed through the Himalayas from the Pontic Steppe and Central Asia, taking over. This tribe was called the Aryans, and their main god was Indra-- his attributes were of war and conquest. The tribe brought with them some forms of women oppression and of course, aggression. After settling down, and taking over the lands of the Dravidians-- the native inhabitants of the Deccan Plateau and Indus Valley-- the caste system was created. Originally, those on the top of the caste system were the more pure Aryan, and the bottom, Upanishads, were more Dravidian. The intermixing of these two people eventually caused a modern religion to be born: Hinduism. Doctrine from the Vedic Age had degraded women further down, causing for India is slump down in women power. This ancient cultural influence is still influencing modern India today. Therefore, through internal societal corruption based on gender roles and through conquest, patriarchy made a mark on the world. Agriculture is the cause for the settling down of these societies in order for women to be oppressed, and with the ability to feed everyone, new metallurgy and implementation for horses-- thanks to pastoralism from of settling down-- causes aggression and even faster spreading of the women-oppressing cultures.

 Of course, there were some societies in the world that were egalitarian-- even with centuries passing by. The Mongolian and Turkic, for example, are classic examples of egalitarian societies. These neighboring Altaic-speaking peoples lived and still reside in the Altai mountains of Central Asia. Women and Men both rode their horses through the steppes, however these herdsmen had no agriculture because of the destitute arid climate. Because the landscape is predominately made up of grasslands, having animals is a wiser course for survival in the long-run. In this society, both men and women could go fight in war, herd the animals, and have a say in politics. Genghis Khan, the half-Mongol and half-Turk warrior had expanded his army, and his empire had expanded to be become a short-lived, yet one of the largest in history. The Viking women were not as oppressed in comparison to their Byzantine and Holy Roman counterparts. In fact, they had some land ownership rights. They can hold their own property and pass it down to children if widowed. There was a women priest class called the Völva, and they were free to pass through territory with no fear of someone attacking them. It was a curse from the gods themselves to harm Völva. The Vikings were raiding other lands, because Scandinavia is a very hardy land that has short growing seasons and need for hardy plants to grow in for survival. Of course, the Iroquois culture in North America, which includes the modern day Tsalgi people, or Cherokee, was gender-friendly. The Iroquois had a egalitarian society, and could be argued to be matriarchal. Clans were based on the line of succession from the mother; not father, for example. These are a couple of examples where not all societies were patriarchal in the 'old days,' but the common thread is that these societies were not full-blown out agricultural. They all were with some sort of nomadic or gathering lifestyle. Whether through raids, like the Mongols and Vikings, or through habit, these examples did not follow the rest of the world's trends.

Agriculture is the main crux, not a fictional patriarchal tribe that flushed all matriarchal societies out. Even if that were the case, it could have not been widespread because of geological barriers. There was no silk road, and the Altai mountains are not easy for navigation. Is it even possible all these people know they all exist, or are willing to contact each other? Likely not. Also, pointing out non-christian societies as examples, we can be certain that any religion is not the fault of women oppression. Because of agriculture, specialization of labor occurs. And, then through this unequal distribution, some men want to control women more, so they get to make others do what they want. For example, the veils in the middle east to prevent property rights issues or through conquest of another collapsing nation. It all seems to be from politics and agriculture-- with eventual spread. However, we know that these cases of patriarchy were independent, because of the social conditions that made it easy to occur. The Goddess Movement in the 1970's unfortunately spread this false information about a matriarchal society, when in reality, during the paleolithic era, it was predominately egalitarian. If you want something to blame for women oppression, blame corruption, the invention of politics, specialization of labor, the idea of conquest, and most importantly, blame agriculture. It's all of Agriculture's fault.