h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: A Woman's Place in Iroquois Culture - A599592
Author: Ralph, the Janitor - Keeper of Magic Tricks that don't work (and some that do!) - U180346

I have been encouraged to submit this for peer review, so here it is

This is fascinating stuff, Ralph!

Makes me want to know more.

I agree, great stuff,

Dare i say it doesn't seem quite 'finished' somehow... perhaps something more in terms of conclusion...

I'll try to have another read through soon and be more specific, but Don't Panic, this is already good enough, imo, for editing, just a question of 'polish'.

good content, nice style,
cya
spiff

To really put much more information into it, you would have to delve into other aspects of Iroquois culture to explain the whys. Could turn into a university project, & I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet.
Thanks for the good words, tho'
RtJ

Yes, looking at it again, it does stand well as a complete entry and your conclusion is good. A little guide-ml (pretty headers, basically) will give it a more EG feel.

one tiny suggestion, on a style point:

Your title immediately reminds me of the famous 'macho' mantra 'A woman's place is in the home'.

Would you consider a title more like 'The role of women in Iroquois culture'... ?

just a thought
spiff

Are there any good links you could include in this, Ralph?

Very good article Ralph. Factual and informative. Just shows we have a lot to learn from the so called uncivilised cultures. Makes sense really, both sides have to agree before any serious course of action can be undertaken. Pretty much like the two tier system of most democracies but without excluding one group through an accident of birth.

Reminds me of a story I once read where it said this is the way it was in nearly all ancient cultures with females taking the leading role, especially in the priesthood. Until the men usurped their position with Judo-Christian religions, but continued to wear dress more familiar on a female in order to give them some credibility.

Stuart

Women 'owning' the land is an interesting concept. I had understood from the speech that Chief Seattle gave that First Nations did not claim to own the land at all. he is quoted as saying 'We belong to the earth, the earth does not belong to us'. Not shared amongt all the First Nations, then?

*agrees with Stuart about many older cultures being matriarchal in the first instance*

Maybe 'had the rights to' would be a better expression than owned.
Even though, at one time, the Iroquois controlled nearly all the area from Mass. to the Mississippi, and from Canada to somewhere in Tenn. they never claimed to 'own' it. The key word is 'controlled'. The same went for the farming plots of land. The women didn't 'own' them but the rights to farm certain plots went to certain clans. Each clan divided their plots up among it's women. Maybe I need to make that clearer in the piece?

Yes, Ralph, I think that would be useful, together with the other information which you have included in this posting. I had wondered earlier what the range of the Iroquois was, so it would be good to include this too. Somewhere, there is a map of what tribes/nations occupied what territory.

The Iroquois never 'occupied' that much territory, they 'controlled' it. Often by diplomacy in place of warfare. The area of occupation of Iroquoian speaking peoples was even larger than this. It was another Iroquoian speaking people, the Hurons, that were the Iroquois League's biggest enemies! The Hurons numbered many more than the Iroquois, but the Iroquois conquered them anyway, mainly because the Iroquois had better political unity.

Told you it would involve many other aspects of Iroquois culture!

RtJ

BTW Spiff, the similarity you mentioned was one reason I chose that title. I suspected it would bring that analogy to mind, then it could be shown to be WRONG in this case.
RtJ

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've therefore moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

Congratulations Ralph

This will make an excellatn edition to the EG

Stuart

Excellent. I'm well pleased.

Yep, this was definitely a good'un!

Many thanks to everyone for all your encouragement!