First published in 1939 by Routledge, this classic ethnography portrays the aboriginal woman as she really is - a complex social personality with her own prerogatives, duties, problems, beliefs, rituals and point of view. This groundbreaking and enduring study was researched in North-West Australia between 1935 and 1936 and was written by a woman who truly pioneered the study of gender in anthropology

This classic ethnography portrays the aboriginal woman as she really is--a complex social personality with her own prerogatives, duties, problems, beliefs, rituals, and point of view.

Gives two opposing views on the sacred or profane position of women in religion (Warner & Kaberry); general survey of ethnographic data; womens participation in and knowledge of sacred rites, ceremonies & beliefs of the men; womens own sacred rites & position of women in mythology; major areas involved - Arnhem Land, North Australia, Kimberleys, and districts covered by Aranda & Euahlayi tribes.

This book is an interdisciplinary and multicultural study of ancient and contemporary texts that encode women's spirituality. The contributors, using modern critical methods such as feminist theory, poststructuralism, and the new historicisms, examine how the ideas in these texts are being reworked in different religious traditions. The volume encompasses both contemporary and historical contexts, tracing the roles, actions, writings, and beliefs of women in pre-Christian, Christian, Islamic, indigenous, and neo-pagan contexts. The book builds on three decades of feminist research into such areas as goddess worship, indigenous spiritualities, eco-feminism, biblical hermeneutics, Christian and Islamic mysticism, subversive poetics, and mythological systems inside and outside the mainstream.