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420 Mohammedan nations. Among these peoples the married women are, or have been, much more subjected to their husbands than they are among many, if not most, of the uncivilized races. The great religions of the world have had a tendency to treat women as inferior beings. They attach much importance to ceremonial cleanliness; nothing unclean must approach the deity. And women are regarded as unclean.

It is pleasant to note that, even where the position of the female sex from a legal, religious, and social point is disgracefully low, the women, in spite of their physical weakness, are not quite unable to influence the men, and even to make their husbands tremble. They have in their hands a weapon, which is invisible to the superficial observer, but which is powerful enough to give them a secret authority which may be very considerable. They have their curses, and they have their profound knowledge of magic. Being commonly invested with a certain mystery, they are supposed to have the command of mysterious, magic powers. It is said in the Laws of Manu, the mythical legislator of the Hindus, that a man ought to be kind to the women of his house, because otherwise they may burn the whole house with their fury, that is, with their curses. And during my stay among the country people of Morocco, Arabs and Berbers alike, I was often struck by the fear which the women inspired in the men. A woman is looked upon by them as quite a dangerous being. First, a man may be sure that, if he maltreats his wife, she will have the support of the other women of the village, whereas he himself will not be equally supported by the other men. But the chief danger is of a supernatural kind. For instance, the wife only needs to cut a little piece of donkey's ear and put in into the husband's food. What happens? By eating the little piece the husband will, in his relations to his wife, become just like a donkey; he will always listen to what she says, and the wife will become the ruler of the house. It is better, therefore, to treat her with kindness than to provoke her anger. In Mohammedan countries married women also derive much influence from the children's affection for their mother. We must not look upon the oriental woman only as a wife; we must also take into account her