Compared to the world of skinny fashion models and media ruling the way women should look, act and feel, the Isthmus Zapotec culture of southern Mexico is a land of free thinking entrepreneurial warrior women.
Tehuanas, as they have become known, ru...
Some of the women selling at Mercado Central come from the staunchly independent satellite town of San Blas. Since its separation from Tehuantepec in 1868, the people have distanced themselves from outsiders; because of this I feel the community may give us an insight into the true nature of the Isthmus women, without the celebrity status of the Tehuana getting in the way.
Like most villages on the Isthmus, San Blas was an agricultural community, which practised the local method of nocturnal farming. When early ethnographers arrived they were drawn to this alternative farming activity, with some even naming the culture a matriarchy because of it. To give you an idea of what they must have witnessed, here is the typical day-in-a-life of a farming couple from back then:
Due to the immense heat of the day, the husband starts work in the fields at a sleepy 3am and finishes when the sun is up and hot at 10am. He hands over the produce to his wife, and then collapses into a hammock for a well-earned siesta.
The wife goes to sell the fruit and veg at the local market for the highest price she can, and returns home just as her husband is waking up again. She gives him a small allowance and keeps the rest of the money for managing the house.
Come the evening, the husband usually swaggers down to the local cantina (bar) to catch up with friends, and sink a few beers or shots of mescal (a smoky spirit made from the maguey agave, often with a worm added!). He invariably spends all of his pocket money, and on some occasions has to be physically carried home and put to bed by his wife, so he is ready to get up early the next day again.
Oops! Această imagine nu respectă Ghidul de Conținut. Pentru a continua publicarea, te rugăm să înlături imaginea sau să încarci o altă imagine.
Thanks to this nocturnal and inebriated lifestyle of the men, it allowed the women to become highly skilled at dealing with matters of the real world. Hence the idea of matriarchy was formed!
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Thanks for reading ... Next week I'll be encountering the real matriarchs of Mercado Cuarenta - the Wild West markets of San Blas, and learning why the men still eat turtle eggs !!!
