Mother Is Gold, Father Is Glass

Download or read book Mother Is Gold, Father Is Glass written by Lorelle D. Semley and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2010-11-29 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lorelle D. Semley explores the historical and political meanings of motherhood in West Africa and beyond, showing that the roles of women were far more complicated than previously thought. While in Kétu, Bénin, Semley discovered that women were treasurers, advisors, ritual specialists, and colonial agents in addition to their more familiar roles as queens, wives, and sisters. These women with special influence made it difficult for the French and others to enforce an ideal of subordinate women. As she traces how women gained prominence, Semley makes clear why powerful mother figures still exist in the symbols and rituals of everyday practices.