A Cross-Cultural Study of Menstruation, Menstrual Taboos, and Related Social Variables

Author(s): Rita E. Montgomery

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Ethos, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Summer, 1974), pp. 137-170
Published by: Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Anthropological Association
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 A Cross-Cultural
Study of
Menstrual
Menstruation,
Taboos, and Related
Social Variables
RITA E. MONTGOMERY

INTRODUCTION
With the resurgence of the women's movement has come new in-
terest in the cross-cultural roles of women. Efforts have been made,
despite a lack of ethnographic data, to explore more closely the
world of women and the interaction of women and men. Menstru-
ation has been one of the topics examined, especially the nature of
popular attitudes toward it and the meaning of menstrual taboos.
These taboos are transcultural in nature, represented along a con-
tinuum that ranges widely from mild uneasiness and distrust of
menstrual fluid and menstruating women, to elaborate complexes
of restrictions, and ultimately to complete seclusion during the
RITA E. MONTGOMERY is an instructor in anthropology in the Department of
Anthropology and Sociology at Meramec Community College, St. Louis,
Missouri.
I want to thank Robert F. Murphy and Alexander Alland, Jr. for their help-
ful comments on earlier versions of this paper. The research was done as part
of my M.A. project at Columbia University.
138 * ETHOS

menstrual period. The restrictions are not universal, however; some

societies have been reported to be completely casual about menstru-
ation and impose no taboos.
Attempts to explain the origin of the taboos, or to connect the
severity or laxity of the taboos with other features of society, have
varying orientations. Some are concerned exclusively with the bio-
logical, and examine the potentially deleterious effects of menstrual
fluid as precipitatorsof taboos. Some focus on the collective psychol-
ogy of a people, formed by childhood experiences, as the main de-
terminant of the taboos. Others search for some common feature of
social structure that is shared by societies with few taboos, or con-
versely, by those with many taboos. Studies conducted by theorists
with all of the above orientations are discussed in this paper. None
seems wholly satisfactory; probably no one approach nor explor-
ation of a single variable can explain the vast variations in attitudes
and customs regarding menstruation.
This study represents another attempt to discover a relationship
between the elaboration of menstrual taboos and a variable with
which this elaboration can be correlated. Bruno Bettelheim's con-
cept of "vaginaenvy," the envy felt by men with regard to the sexual
organs and functions of women, is taken as a starting point. Men,
realizing the important link between menstruation and childbirth,
and feeling excluded from this realm, may react toward these
processes with jealousy, resentfulness, or ambivalence. Menstrual
taboos, which stigmatize menstruation and menstruating women,
are seen as manifestations of jealousy resulting from exclusion. In
this study, the relationship between the degree to which men are
seen to be involved in the process of procreation and the degree to
which menstrual taboos are elaborated is explored.
To weigh these two sets of variables against each other, forty-four
societies are ranked according to the number of menstrual taboos
they observe, and also according to the number of ways in which
their men participate in the creation of new life. A cumulative scale
of menstrual taboos is borrowed from the work of William Stephens
(1962); the societies are examined and grouped accordingly. Vari-
ables with which to measure male participation are devised. They
deal with beliefs and roles of men with regard to conception, the
physical development of the fetus, prepartum taboos, the child-
birth situation, postpartum taboos, female puberty rites or the phys-
ical attainment of puberty by females, and myths of origin and
 CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF MENSTRUATION 3 139

cosmological beliefs. (These latter variables are not considered to

be cumulative.)
As with other investigations of menstruation and menstrual
taboos, there is no claim that the relationship explored here is the
vital, sustaining one. A constellation of factors, biological, psycho-
logical, and social, may be in operation to increase or to mitigate
the taboos. The approach used here is new in that it is synthetic.
Both structural features and a complex of emotions and attitudes
enter into the analysis; consideration of the latter factors is not ex-
cluded as contaminatory to an assessment of the former. Rather,
they are regarded as mutually influential.
The first part of the study concerns general reactions to the phe-
nomenon of menstruation and a discussion of its physiological and
psychological ramifications. Following are a presentation of various
concepts about menstruation held by primitive peoples and a treat-
ment of contemporary theories of the origin and elaboration of
menstrual taboos. The approach used in this study is next ex-
plained, and the concept of vagina envy and basis for assuming its
existence are discussed. The sample is then presented on tables
measuring menstrual taboos and participation categories. Subse-
quent tables illustrate the relationship between the number of men-
strual taboos observed and the presence or absence of each of the
participation variables. An explanation of the criteria for the scor-
ing of the participation categories is given. The conclusion sums
up the directions the discussion has taken and the various conclu-
sions that may be drawn from the study.

POPULAR BELIEFS ABOUT MENSTRUATION

The physiology of menstruation was late to be understood. The
ovum was discovered in 1827 (Fluhmann 1956:9). Further study
was then stimulated, but it was not until 1863 that menstruation
was definitely linked with the ovary and its products (ibid. 11). This
relatively recent evidence, though it removed much of the mystery
from the menstrual cycle, did little to alter popular attitudes toward
the phenomenon. In nineteenth-century France, Ashley Montagu
(1952:212) reports, menstruating women were barred from wine-
making, mushroom-picking, silkworm-tending, and sugar-refining,
to safeguard the products of these industries from ruin. An article
in an 1878 issue of the British Medical Journal declared that hams
spoiled because menstruating women had cured them (Pasnau 1967:
140 * ETHOS

725). And in 1891 a British doctor, William Goodell, wrote that he

had to crusade actively against the tradition that women must not
be operated upon during their periods (Hays 1964:42).
It is not surprising, then, to learn of the wide occurrence of men-
strual taboos among primitive peoples. Restrictions on, and avoid-
ance of, the menstruating woman vary greatly in intensity cross-
culturally, ranging from informal regulations regarding personal
hygiene or proscriptions on sexual intercourse to the establishment
of special menstrual huts, where a woman lives in complete seclu-
sion from society until menstruation has subsided. There may be
taboos on cooking for others, or touching others' dishes, clothing, or
personal articles. At times the woman is considered so powerful a
pollutant that she is not allowed to touch her own body, but is pro-
vided with a special scratching stick. She is considered dangerous to
the life of animals and crops, and may be barred from working in,
entering, or even looking at fields or stockyards.
Many of the restrictions serve to insulate the male world of hunt-
ing and warfare from the menstruating woman. She may be for-
bidden to touch or look at weapons, boats, or game animals. And in
the multiplicity of taboos imposed on certain foods and beverages,
the products of the hunt are often denied her in order to safeguard
man's health and to ensure future returns. A woman during men-
struation may be barred from attendance or participation in re-
ligious ceremonies, especially if the holy symbols or the places of
worship are in the care of men.
All these restrictions appear to be based upon the fear of women
during catamenia, the fear of coming into contact with damaging
fluids, touches, or gazes. In some cultures, such as the Kaulong and
Sengseng of New Guinea (Goodale and Chowning 1971) or the
Northern Tungus of Siberia (Shirokogorov 1966), women are be-
lieved to be perennially threatening polluters of men. Menstru-
ation, since it is regarded as a tangible manifestation of inherent
noxiousness, may result in more severe enforcement or increased
numbers of restrictions on women. Among the Nama Hottentot,
for example, the sexes habitually eat in separate groups. Schapera
(1930:239) reports that this custom arises from "the fear that one of
the women might be menstruating, and would thus contaminate
any men associating with her or coming nearby."
What role the women played in the formulation of the menstrual
taboos is not known. There is little ethnographic reporting on wo-
 CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF MENSTRUATION * 141

men's attitudes about themselves and their supposedly dangerous

secretions. The fact that the taboos are followed (at least, without
overt and recorded resistance) would indicate that the women have
some feelings of shame. It is probably impossible to determine
which sex initially came to regard menstruation as a fearsome thing,
for "If an event appears uncanny to one part of the population, soon
the other part begins to wonder about it, even if it was at first taken
for granted. Eventually it may cease to matter who was first to react
with awe" (Bettelheim 1954:245). Whether the shameful feelings of
women originated with them, or were internalized in response to
men's attitudes, their, is not known. What is possible to speculate on
is the likelihood that the physical condition and behavior of women
during menstruation may very well have compounded negative
sanctions or feelings about them at that time. The intensity of the
physical changes taking place in a woman's body during the usual
28-day cycle is just now being explored. These changes can provoke
decided alterations in both the physical and emotional states of
women. A short discussion of the results of studies in the physiology
and psychology of menstruation follows.

PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF MENSTRUATION

The effects of menstruation are not confined to the localized area
of bleeding. Profound changes are exerted on the general systemsof
most women as they pass through the premenstrual, menstrual, and
intermenstrual periods which form the cycle. A study conducted by
Rudolf Moos and his colleagues at the Stanford University Depart-
ment of Psychiatry (1969) revealed generalized symptoms of men-
strual discomfort to be prevalent, even in groups of "normal" (i.e.,
psychologically stable) young women. That these symptoms are not
confined to Western women alone is indicated by the number of
societies using charms and medicines to prevent or ameliorate men-
strual discomforts, reported by Ford in his Comparative Study of
Human Reproduction (1964:11).
In addition, women appear to be more vulnerable to disease dur-
ing certain phases of the menstrual cycle. They are most susceptible,
for example, to viral infections at premenstruum and to bacterial
infections during menstruation (Dalton 1964:85). During menstru-
ation, "every organ of the body may be disturbed and every existing
pathological or abnormal condition exacerbated" (Montagu 1940:
214). Dr. Isidor Silbermann (1950:258) investigated this aggravat-
142 * ETHOS

ing effect of menstruation. Epilepsy, it was found, often starts at

menarche for women, and in some cases seizures return only at the
monthly bleeding. Some cases of migraine show a similar pattern.
Silbermann recounts many organic diseases that worsen during
menstruation, such as multiple sclerosis, myasthenia, Grave's dis-
ease, angiovascular disorders, and rashes, urticaria, and eczemas.

EFFECTSOF MENSTRUATION
PSYCHOLOGICAL
That women may suffer from menstruation, and in ways not
directly connected to the abdominal region and the flow of blood,
makes the process more suspect in the popular mind. In addition to
the many physical responses to menstruation, there are also varied
emotional reactions preceding or accompanying the flow. The term
"premenstrual tension" was introduced by R. T. Frank in 1931 to
designate cyclic irritability, anxiety, and depression undergone by
many women at this time. (Erratic mood and behavior extend for
some women through the catamenia, however.) This syndrome of
the cycle has been called "the most common endocrine disorder"
(Dalton 1964:39). And indeed, endocrine glands play the chief role
in the menstrual cycle.
Hormones, of course, exert powerful influence over emotional
outlook. Therese Benedek and Boris Rubenstein (1942:79) declare
estrogen production to be concomitant with an "active, object-
directed" trend; progesterone, with a "passive-receptiveand reten-
tive" one. With the sharpdecline in progesteroneand estrogen prior
to menstruation, the two tendencies fuse. It is this fusion of two
antithetical moods which may create severe emotional tension. The
erratic moods and emotional status of women over the course of
their cycles can thus be seen as results of the waves of hormonal
shifts taking place, and confusion and attempted defense against
ensuing and abrupt changes in emotional orientation.
Tangible behavioral results of internal tension have been gath-
ered by Katharina Dalton and reported in her book The Premen-
strual Syndrome (1964). Menstruation was found to be connected
to women's accidents involving hospitalization, admissions of wo-
men to a mental hospital, and the number of attempted suicides in
that hospital. These correlations were hypothesized to result from
the general tenseness and feelings of desperation and inability to
cope which characterize menstrual periods for many.
Not all women, Dalton stresses,are afflicted by the premenstrual
 CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF MENSTRUATION * 143

syndrome; much depends on the history of the individual. If a small

but continually present number of women, however, reacted in
such ways to menstruation, these reactions, combined with the vis-
ible physical changes elicited at that time, might have been sufficient
to reinforce connections between menstruating women and danger
or pollution.

PRIMITIVE PEOPLE'S CONCEPTS OF MENSTRUATION

The menstrual process in itself, regardless of its ramifications,
must be strange indeed when the physiological bases are unknown.
It appears to be a bleeding recurring every twenty-eight days, in the
absence of any visible wound or apparent injury to explain it. It
occurs exclusively in females, disappearing during pregnancy, and
terminating during middle age. Various theories are presented by
primitive peoples to explain the cause of menstruation. A common
theme is the moon as precipitator of the flow, for lunar cyclical
phases have a recognized parallel in the menstrual cycle.
Little evidence of the association of menstruation with an in-
flicted wound was discovered among the forty-four societies ex-
amined for this study. The only such connections were reported by
Grigson (1949:263) for the Maria Gond of India, who believe that
the vagina once contained teeth, and that when these teeth were
removed, the wound never healed completely; and by Geza Roheim
(1933:234) for the Arunta of Australia, who attribute the flow to
demons who scratch the walls of vaginas with their fingernails and
make them bleed.
The majority of-societies do make the connection between men-
struation and childbearing, even if the physiological specifics are
unknown. Menstruation is regarded as a signal of readiness for
childbearing by many peoples, who hold initiation ceremonies at
that time. Its cessation is generally recognized, along with the swell-
ing of breasts, nausea, and fatigue, as a symptom of pregnancy. And
a frequent theory about the fetus is that it is formed, and grows
out of, the combination of menstrual blood and semen.
The menstrual fluids are thus seen as intimately connected with
the creation of life. This property, combined with the mysterious
origin or the attribution of a supernatural origin, would very likely
produce awe. Supplementing Freud's statement (1918:222) that
"the primitive cannot help connecting the mysterious phenomenon
of the monthly flow of blood with sadistic ideas," the data here
144 " ETHOS

would indicate associations with ideas of creation and renewal, as

well as harm and destruction. These positive associations do not
supersede the negative and potentially harmful properties of men-
struation, however. Its ill effects have been discussed earlier, and
the ambiguous status of the blood and the woman herself will be
treated shortly. The more central question here is why menstru-
ation, which seen in the favorable perspective of its relation to crea-
tion and power over life could have elevated and enhanced the status
of women, became instead an impediment and a stigma.

THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF MENSTRUAL TABOOS: BIOLOGICAL

The properties of the menstrual blood itself, Ashley Montagu
(1940) hypothesizes, may have been influential in the reinforce-
ment, or perhaps the creation, of the taboos. Montagu discusses the
discovery of its noxious effects by Bela Schick in 1920. Dr. Schick
noted that freshly-cut flowers handled in his office by a female lab-
oratory assistant wilted much faster during the days of her period
than on other days. Experiments with the discharge itself from a
number of women yielded similar results. Schick then postulated
the excretion of a menstrual toxin or "menotoxin" during menstru-
ation. In addition, he found that systemic blood and axillary sweat
during menstruation were more toxic to fresh flowers, and retarded
the growth of yeast.
The phytotoxic index of menstrual blood sera is reported to be
"51%, an index which for toxicity is so far as it is at present known,
exceeded only by the blood sera of the grave diseases such as perni-
cious anemia, leprosy, and trachoma (44, 47, 48% here)" (Montagu
1940:216). Clellan S. Ford elaborates on the concrete dangers men-
strual fluid poses to those coming into contact with it. The fluid
contains bacteria, which may render it infectious to an open wound.
Ford cites indications from ethnographic literature that some so-
cieties are aware of this possibility and take precautions against in-
fection. Also, some peoples believe that a variety of diseases can be
transmitted through intercourse with a menstruating woman. This
very well may occur, although probably only for urogenital ill-
nesses. Urethritis, the inflammation of a portion of the urinary tract,
could result occasionally from intercourse with a menstruant (Ford
1964:13). Likewise, gonorrhea may be a consequence (Van de Velde
1926:272). Verrier Elwin relates this to the taboo on sex during
menstruation observed by the Baiga and the Gond, among whom
 CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF MENSTRUATION " 145

gonorrhea is "endemic," suggesting that the taboo "may be based

not on superstition, but on accurate observation of results" (Elwin
1939:212).
All of these medical considerations, however, have not received
widespread, conscious recognition by primitive societies (Ford
1964:13). More information is needed on what would now appear
to be unusual cases of endemic disease, like the gonorrhea of the
Baiga and Gond. The infectious properties of menstrual blood and
the potentially deleterious consequences of intercourse during men-
struation do not seem to be bases broad enough for the establish-
ment of a whole complex of behavioral regulations at that time,
though they may very well establish or reinforce the taboo on sex or
general discomfort about menstrual fluids.
Shirley Lindenbaum (1972) presents the idea of female pollution
as a "cultural whip" in societies where available land and resources
would become endangered by further population increase. This
fear of contamination through contact with women, she writes,
functions as an ideological form of birth control. As examples of
cultures in which this type of population curb operates she cites the
Enga, Kaulong, and Sengseng of New Guinea. In all three, sexual
intercourse is believed to drain and weaken a man; premaritally,
sex is avoided strictly, and sex is indulged in only with the greatest
moderation after marriage. The Kaulong and Sengseng ideals of
female pollution are perhaps the most pervasive of any. Countless
rules govern the behavior of women, both menstruating and non-
menstruating. Significantly, in these societies marriage is delayed by
the men for years, often until middle age, and avoided altogether if
possible. The custom of strangling widows soon after their hus-
bands' deaths would certainly eliminate the possibility of further
reproduction. These latter practices could undeniably serve as con-
ception controls. It would be more difficult to draw conclusions
about societies for which menstrual regulations were the only be-
havioral indications of beliefs about female pollution, however, for
here the notion of cause-and-effectbecomes extremely complicated.
For example, prohibitions on sexual intercourse during the men-
strual period may very well increase sexual desire. Sexual relations
may then become frequent during the midphase of the menstrual
cycle in which ovulation occurs. In addition, many primitive so-
cieties propound their own theories about the time of fertile periods
in women. The Araucanians, Gusii, and Tarahumara state the
146 * ETHOS

period most favorable to conception to be during menstruation.

The Maria Gond, Marquesas, Lepcha, Masai, Pukapukans, and
Baiga believe that the days just after menstruation are the most
fertile. The Tallensi, in contrast, declare the first days after men-
struation to be a "safe" time in which sexual intercourse will not
lead to pregnancy; among the Marquesas, the days midway between
the periods are so considered.
Attributing the origin or function of menstrual taboos to the
need for birth control would thus be too simplistic an explanation,
for many beliefs dealing with fertility and conception seem to work
independently of, or in conflict with, the taboos on sex during men-
struation. Menstrual taboos alone, without any of the additional
practices resulting from the Kaulong and Sengseng ideas about
female pollution, probably would have no significant effect on the
population trends of a people. In this case, however, more informa-
tion with which to test the two variables would be needed.

THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF MENSTRUALTABOOS: PSYCHOLOGICAL

William Stephens also centers his theory of the origin of men-
strual taboos around the menstrual flow. He feels that the mere
sight of a woman bleeding from the genital region is strong enough
to motivate the imposition of menstrual taboos, because it awakens
latent castration anxiety in men. His hypothesis is, therefore, that
"the extensiveness of menstrual taboos observed in a primitive so-
ciety is determined (to a significant extent) by the average intensity
of castration anxiety felt by men in that society" (Stephens 1961:
391). This anxiety is impossible to measure directly, of course, so its
"antecedents" are explored. The antecedents are aspects of the
child-rearing process which might create an Oedipal situation be-
tween mother and child, arousing the child sexually but denying
him gratification through threat of punishment, and instilling anx-
iety in the child over his sexuality. These antecedents include such
measures as length of postpartum sex taboos, severity of punishment
for masturbation, pressure for obedience, whether or not the father
is the main disciplinarian, and the importance of physical punish-
ment as a disciplinary technique.
Stephens correlated each of his measures against extensiveness of
menstrual taboos in more than seventy societies. Each of the ten
indicators, except one, went in the predicted direction, although
some of the relationships were not large. Then all the measures were
 CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF MENSTRUATION * 147

fused into a "composite predictor" of the general expected intensity

of castration anxiety, which was also tested against the taboos. This,
too, yielded positive results.
Awakened castration anxiety, or an attenuated anxiety regarding
genital injury, may very well be one of the major male reactions to
a menstruous female. It may repel him and make him wish to avoid
contact with her. Stephens declares his explanation of the menstrual
taboos to be a partial one. His main concern is proving the universal
existence of the Oedipus complex. The study of menstrual taboos
he conducted becomes a vehicle with which to explore another area.

THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF MENSTRUAL TABOOS: SOCIOLOGICAL

Stephens also tested for structural features in societies which
would tend to depress the extent of menstrual taboos observed by
making them inconvenient to the smooth, day-to-dayfunctioning of
those societies. He thought that perhaps the more important and
necessarywomen's work, the fewer would be the taboos. There was,
however, a zero correlation between the two.
Two other variables were thought to be possible ceilings on the
elaboration of menstrual taboos: monogamous marriage, and nuc-
lear households. The monthly withdrawal of the women from these
units, he suggested, may create too much inconvenience and disrup-
tion of household routine. Therefore, taboos would be less restric-
tive in societies characterized by monogamy and nuclear house-
holds. Stephens found a "moderate positive correlation" between
extensiveness of menstrual taboos and percentage of polygyny
(1962:122).
A third possible correlation, with the status of women, is not rep-
resented by any cross-culturalindex at present. Stephens used rules
of descent and residence as his guidelines in working with this vari-
able, thinking that women's prestige would be higher in societies
with matrilineal descent and/or matrilocal residence; lower, in
patrilineal and/or patrilocal societies. Stephens concluded that
rules of descent and residence, as indirect measures of women's
status and privilege, do not significantly influence the extent of
menstrual taboos.
Frank Young and Albert Bacdayan (1965) have also attempted to
account for cultural variations in menstrual customs. They disap-
prove of Stephens's approach, categorizing it and other psychologic-
ally based investigations as "psychogenic."These explanations, they
148 * ETHOS

write, "credit psychological variables with independent causal ef-

ficacy"(1965:233). Young and Bacdayan,seeing menstrual taboos as
forms of institutionalized discrimination against females imposed
by males, approach the problem "sociogenically" (1965:230). They
postulate the existence of a strong relationship between male solid-
arity within a society and the elaboration of menstrual taboos.
These investigators, attempting to explain the structural features
of the menstrual taboos with other structural features, shun psycho-
logical, individualistic orientations. They consider male solidarity
to be one developmental aspect of general social "rigidity," that is,
the lack of intercommunication between groups within a society.
The division here is along sex lines, rather than those of race, caste,
or other category. Two of the ways, for example, in which the
groups are divided are the imposition of menstrual taboos of re-
striction and seclusion, and the beliefs that rationalize this segmen-
tation.
Indexes of social rigidity along male/female lines used by Young
and Bacdayan are measures of male solidarity, such as the domina-
tion of men in social affairs; sacred foci, such as shrines or totemic
emblems to which only men have access; groups exclusive to men,
such as age-grades,secret societies, or men's houses; and the threat
of punishment for the transgression of male-imposed norms.
Male solidarity is stated to be the cause of the separation of the
sexes, and yet this division could have been supported originally
only by such ritualized or institutionalized separation. And from
general social rigidity spring elaborate mechanisms of social con-
trol, when a control of some type must have been originally neces-
sary to allow the creation and perpetuation of the compartmental-
ization of which Young and Bacdayanwrite. It seems as though only
one side of a complicated feedback process between male solidarity
and male/female relations, and between social rigidity and the seg-
regation and stratification of a society, has been considered. Young
and Bacdayan themselves declare their interpretation to be tauto-
logical (1965:237). Yet, they consider it superior to such ambitious
hypotheses as that of castration anxiety, which attempts to expand
its scope beyond that of structural analysis and includes speculations
on feelings and meanings ascribed to the structural features of so-
ciety. It is interesting to note, however, that the role of attitudes and
emotions as determinants of behavior creeps into their argument;
in contrasting their position with that of Stephens, they say that
 CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF MENSTRUATION ? 149

theirs "assertsthat menstrual taboos are simply an aspect of general

structural rigidity and that the latter variable subsumes all the at-
titudes and internalized tendencies associated with rigidity" (1965:
233). Evidences of the psychological are thus not absent from their
approach; rather than dealing directly with emotional factors,
Young and Bacdayan subsume them under a broad "sociogenic"
construct and rely on readers' connotations of "rigid" to give their
hypothesis more breadth.

THE ORIENTATION OF THIS STUDY

The approach used in this examination of menstrual taboos is
related more closely to the psychogenic than to the sociogenic for-
mat. The hypothesis to be tested here is that the degree to which a
man is regarded and regards himself to be integral to the processes
of procreation and to the sexual functions of women will modify
the ambivalence and jealousy he feels toward those functions. There
thus should be an inverse relation between the amount of partici-
pation by males in creation, both in behavior and in ideology, and
the number of taboos surrounding menstruating women, for the
taboos are seen here as behavioral indexes of negative attitudes
toward menstruation as symbolic of women's role in childbirth.
Interaction is thus claimed among two sets of structural variables,
taboos placed upon women during menstruation and the ways in
which men participate in procreation. In addition, the
complex of
attitudes and feelings held by men with regard to female sexual
processes is believed to influence the structural features, but not to
determine them. The concept of "vagina envy" was used
only as a
starting point; there is no attempt to ascertain theoretical levels of
envy in order to predict numbers of taboos.

BETTELHEIMAND VAGINAENVY; MALE/FEMALESTATUS

A basic premise of this approach is that the male sex feels
envy
with regard to the sexual organs and functions of the female sex.
Hypothesized by psychologist Bruno Bettelheim, who labeled it
"vagina envy," this concept parallels Freud's concept of penis envy
in women. Bettelheim elaborated on the definition of
vagina envy
to include envy and fascination with female breastsand
lactation, as
well as the basic envy of pregnancy and
childbearing. In Symbolic
Wounds (1954), he declares certain male initiation rites to be re-
flective of the desires of men to menstruate and to give birth.
150 * ETHOS

Another way in which vagina envy is expressed is in the degrada-

tion of female functions. Restrictive, demeaning taboos are placed
upon menstruating women to counteract the elevating properties of
menstruation and childbearing. Ashley Montagu writes, "If one
happens to be lacking in certain capacities with which the opposite
sex is naturally endowed, and those capacities happen to be highly,
if unacknowledgedly, valued, then one can compensate for one's
own deficiency by devaluating the capacities of others. By turning
capacities into handicaps, not only can one make their possessors
feel inferior, but anyone lacking such capacities can then feel su-
perior for very lack of them" (1952:18). It is doubtful that the trans-
formation came about as a result of conspiring on as conscious a
level as Montagu would imply, but connotations of menstruation
could have been either positive or negative. That menstruation be-
came defined as a handicap for women cannot be denied. And
whether or not his speculations on the function of certain male
puberty rites are valid, Bettelheim's underlying themes of the pre-
occupation of people with fertility and the unresolved duality of
the sexes are pertinent to this discussion.
The bases for men's envy of women's procreative role are difficult,
if not impossible, to document empirically. From a biological per-
spective, the male's jealousy of the female may arise partially from
the ambiguity of his own sexual development. Puberty for a woman
is dramatic or unmistakable; her readiness to fulfill a role in child-
bearing is indicated by the onset of menstruation. Female initiation
rites are usually conducted in response to this biological signal,
while men depend on social convention to determine the time of
their entry into manhood.
Psychoanalytic studies, androcentrically biased, have dealt little
with the concept of male envy. Some studies have been attempted,
however, the most notable being Edith Jacobson's "Development
of the Wish for a Child in Boys" (1950). Researchersare confronted
with an additional problem when trying to reveal the true feelings
of men in this regard. For, "It seems that in any society, the envy of
the dominant sex is the more easily observed. In societies where men
play the more important role, the envy of males and with it of the
penis is more readily admitted, more openly expressed and more
easily recognized; the consensus is that it is more desirable to be a
man. This drives underground men's envy of women since it is
 CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF MENSTRUATION * 151

contrary to professed mores and therefore looked upon as unnatural

and immoral" (Bettelheim 1954:57). And in primitive societies, of
course, even where women may play the predominant role in terms
of providing food resources, the men have the more prestigious so-
cial and political roles.
Frank Young writes that male envy of the procreative role of
women "is not the sort of thing that a native-or anybody else for
that matter-normally brings up in conversation" (Young 1965:4).
There is a paucity of ethnographic reporting on attitudes of both
men and women with regard to childbirth and the respective ad-
vantages and roles of males and females in life. Perhaps this is be-
cause no one has been seeking them out, or because many of these
feelings are unconscious. The dual character of the menstruating
woman as both sacred and unclean has been presented, which would
seem to serve as indirect evidence of this envy. A few direct refer-
ences can be found, however, which would reinforce this. For ex-
ample, Spiro found that among the Ifaluk "As between boys and
girls, the latter are preferable. At first my informants said that there
was no preference, but then qualified this statement by saying that
'boy more down,' expressing relative value in spatial terms . . .
They all agreed that 'boy more down' because girls can have babies
... but the boys cannot, and this was the decisive factor. When dis-
cussing the relative status of men and women the same response was
given by still other informants. Women are more important than
men because they can bear children" (Spiro 1949:83).
In addition, Young characterizes (1965:20) the predominant
mood toward menstruating initiates, not as revulsion, or even awe,
but rather as admiration. Geza Roheim reports that among the
Arunta of central Australia the word "inimba" (vaginal
discharge)
is used also to connote "women," and "the men remark with a de-
cided feeling of envy and admiration that the women have
'plenty
inimba' " (Roheim 1945:175).

MENSTRUAL TABOOS
In this study forty-four societies were examined with
regard to
the number and kinds of menstrual taboos which they observe. In-
formation for thirty-three of them was obtained from the Human
Relations Area Files. Listings under category 841, "Menstruation,"
were studied. Various ethnographies were used to obtain informa-
152 * ETHOS

tion for the remaining eleven societies (Sirono, Kwoma, Cheyenne,

Navaho, southern Paiute, Ainu, Gusii, Dahomey, Lakhers, north-
ern Tungus, and Baiga) not available in local files.
The menstrual taboos were placed in groups modeled after those
used by Young and Bacdayan in their study, and the groups, like
theirs, were considered to be cumulative and were arranged se-
quentially. The various groups of taboos are as follows:

1. Generalized belief that menstrual fluid is unpleasant, contaminating,

or dangerous.
2. Menstruants may not have sexual intercourse.
3. Personal restrictions are imposed upon the menstruants, such as food
taboos, restriction of movement, talking, etc.
4. Restrictions are imposed upon contact made by menstruants with
men's things, i.e., personal articles, weapons, implements used in
agriculture and fishing, craft tools, "men's crops," and religious em-
blems and shrines, where men are the guardians.
5. Menstruants may not cook for men.
6. Menstruants are confined to menstrual huts for the duration of their
periods.

A society was given a score of "present" for the observation of a

certain type of taboo only when there was some specific reference to
it in the ethnographic account. Likewise, a score of "absent" for a
certain category was recorded only when there was specific mention
of it as being absent; no taboo was assumed to be absent because it
was not discussed. A society's menstrual taboo score, and consequent
assignment to a certain group, is equal to the highest category num-
ber for which it can be rated "present." The scores for all of the
categories and the division of the sample into groups are shown in
table 1. The cumulative pattern indicated that when a certain cate-
gory number was rated present none of the lower categories was ever
rated absent, although there were instances of lack of information.'
These instances were marked as zeros on the chart and were ignored
in the final assignment of a category number to a society, and in the
later charts illustrating the relationships between number of men-

i. The only exception to this was the Ifaluk. The menstrual hut is used
among them, resulting in a present score for category six. An Ifaluk woman is
not allowed to cook for males other than her husband while menstruating, but
the fact that she may cook for him results in an absent score for category five.
The Ifaluk were considered to be an exceptional case and assigned to group 6,
nevertheless.
 CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF MENSTRUATION * 153

strual taboos and participation variable. For example, no specific

mention was found of the presence or absence of the sex taboo dur-
ing menstruation for the Maori (group 4). Since there was evidence
for the presence of general concern about menstrual fluid, personal
restrictions, and taboos on contact with men's things, however, the
neutral "0" rating for category two was ignored and the Maori were
given a score of 4 and placed in group 4. Likewise, if category one,
the generalized concern, also had been given the rating of "0" the
Maori would still have been assigned an overall rating of 4.
TABLE 1
MENSTRUALTABOO SCORES

2 08
0 C c
E 8 9

EC Xi j36 X C CE
=
?u mC CuC CX
^e ^*aa
1 1U
*U U, ? 86 S
E%bai ^l ^? s? s?

Group 1
Gusii
Tarahumara 0 - - - - _
Manus +00 - - - _ -

Araucanians

Group 2
Tallensi -- 0
Ainu 0 0
Trobriander 0 +/-
Pukapukans - +
Masai 0 +
Tanala 0 +
Alor 0 +
Lepcha + +
Lesu + +
Navaho + +
Siriono + +
Chiricahua + + - 0 0 0
Kwoma + + O 0 - 0
Azande + + O 0 0 0
Group 3
Jivaro 0 + - - -
Samoans + 0 +
Nuer 0 + + 0 0 0
Marquesas + + +
Murngin + + +
Tarasco + + +
Arunta + + + 0o O
154 ? ETHOS

TABLE 1 (continued)
MENSTRUAL
TABOOSCORES

-0 S 0 V
> .

o 1' ,3 u =_ a
Sq:
So2
? m?3 x e v? S8 S8o So
Group 4
Maori + 0 + + -
N. Tungus + + + + -
Thonga + + + + -
Aymara + + + + 0 -
Lakher + + + + 0 0

Group 5
Wogeo + + + 0 + 0
Baiga + + + 0 +
Ganda 0 0 + + +
N. Hottentot + + + + +
Nyakyusa + + + + +
Ojibwa + + + + +

Group 6
Dahomey 0 0 0 0 + +
Ifaluk + + + 0 - +
Papago + 0 + + + +
Tiv + + 0 + + +
Cheyenne + + + + + +
Maria Gond + + + + + +
S. Paiute + + + + + +
Ashanti + + + + + +
KEY
+ present
- absent
0 no information

PARTICIPATION VARIABLES
Next, the societies were examined to determine the amount of
participation of their male members in procreation. The Human
Relations Area Files materials were again used, with the following
categories serving as guidelines for research:
842 Conception
843 Pregnancy
844 Childbirth
881 Puberty
 CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF MENSTRUATION I
155

761 Life and death

772 Cosmology
773 Mythology

Variables thought to be indicative of the extent of men's roles in

reproduction were devised:
1. Male participationconsideredintegral to conception.
2. Active male participationbelieved necessaryfor the physical devel-
opment of the fetus.
3. Men as well as women observeprepartumtaboos to ensurea success-
ful deliveryand a healthy child.
4. Men are in attendanceat birth, or else they are performinga special
function elsewherethought to ease the birth.
5. Men bury the placenta,"rest,"or observepostpartumtaboos.
6. Men play a role in the physical or ritual attainmentof puberty by
females.
7. There exists cosmologicalor mythicalreferenceto the importanceof
men in creationand procreation.

In assessing these variables also, ratings of present were given

only when there was specific mention of involvement; ratings of
absent, only when there was report of absence. The results of the
application of these variables to the forty-four societies are given in
table 2. The societies have been arranged for convenience in the
groups reflecting the extensiveness of menstrual taboos for each
determined earlier. Again ratings of "0" were given when no in-
formation could be found for a certain variable. Ratings of "X"
were applied when customs (such as puberty rites for females or
the observance of pre- or postpartum taboos) were nonexistent. A
"+(D)" report for a society with regard to the childbirth means that
the husband was usually not in attendance at the birth, but would
be called in to help if the birth became difficult. In the puberty
column, a "+(R)" rating indicates males participate in puberty
rituals for females; a "+(P)" rating indicates belief that male in-
tervention is necessary to physical development and attainment of
puberty by females. A "+" indicates involvement on both levels.
A "C" rating with regard to cosmology and mythology means that
the indigenous beliefs were contaminated by Christian influence
and therefore unreliable as measures.
A gradual trend can be seen, in accord with the general hypoth-
156 * ETHOS

esis from frequent participation (i.e., many "+" scores) by the men
in the lower menstrual taboo groups, to less participation in so-
cieties in which menstrual taboos are more numerous, to the very
least participation in those societies which have the most extensive
menstrual taboos.

TABLE 2
PARTICIPATIONSCORES

0
0
0~~~~~
*
0~~~~~~~~~~~~

0 0 4~~~~~~~.
C

Group i
Gusii + 0 X +(D) X + C
Tarahumara + 0 0 + + X +
Manus + 0 + +(D) + + (P) 0
Araucanians + + + + X +

Group 2
Trallensi + + + 0 + X 0
Ainu + - 0 + + X C
Trobrianders +1- + 0 + 0 x -

Pukapukans + 0 + + + + +
Masai + 0 + + 0 - 0
Tanala + 0 + - 0 X +
Alor + 0 + + 0 X 0
Lepcha + + + + + + (P) 0
Lesu + 0 + - 0 + (R) 0
Navaho + 0 + + 0 +(R) +
Siriono + + + + + X +
Chiricahua + + + + (D) 0 + (R) 0
Kwoma + 0 0 - + + (P) 0
Azande + + + + 0 + (P) +

Group 3
Jivaro + + + + + +
Samoa + 0 - + 0 + +
Nuer + 0 + 0 0 X C
Marquesas + - + + + - +
Murngin + 0 0 0 0 + (P) +
Tarasco + 0 + + + x C
Arunta + - + +(D) 0 + +

Group 4
Maori + 0 + + - 0 +
N. Tungus + + + 0 0
Thonga + + - C
Aymara + 0 - - X C
Lakher 0 0 + + 0 X C
 CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF MENSTRUATION 157
1

TABLE 2 (continued)
PARTICIPATIONSCORES

o 0So UO

*.o
0
0 . ~E0 "

Ns P P j3

0 o o 0

*, g i
U

Group 5
Wogeo + 0 + + + - 0
Baiga + 0 - + 0 X +
Ganda + - - - - C
N. Hottentot + - - - + - C
Nyakyusa + 0 + - - + C
Ojibwa + +/- - - 0 - +

Group 6
Dahomey + 0 - + + -
Ifaluk + - + - - +
Papago 0 0 + - - - C
Tiv 0 0 - - X 0
+ - - - - +
Cheyenne
Maria Gond + 0 - - + X
S. Paiute 0 0 X + + - +
Ashanti + 0 - - - 0
KEY
+ present +(D) husband helps at difficult birth
- absent + (P) males believed necessary for physical
0 no information development of females
X custom nonexistent +(R) males participate in female puberty
C Christian influence rituals

The statistical significance of the relationship between overall

menstrual taboo score and score for each participation variable
(with the exception of variable 1, the "conception" variable) was
obtained through applying the chi-square test (tables 3-8). Four-
fold tables and the results of the tests are presented below, along
with a discussion of the criteria used to determine the score for each
participation variable. "Low taboo score" indicates an overall score
of 1 to 3; "high taboo score," 4 to 6.
Variable 1. Male participation is considered integral to concep-
tion. All of the societies in this sample (with the exception of the
Trobrianders, for whom the reports are contradictory) score "pres-
ent" for this variable. All recognize sexual intercourse to be a pre-
requisite for conception and pregnancy, and the penis and semen
are understood to be important to reproduction. The most common
158 * ETHOS

theme regarding the physiology of conception is that the child re-

sults from the fusion of menstrual blood or vaginal secretions and
semen. These two substances, which may be believed to contain
"procreative essences" apart from themselves, are seen as working
complementarily. For example, the Lepcha believe that the child's
bone comes from the semen and his flesh from vaginal fluids (Morris
1938:239). The Pukapukans believe that the birth of a male indi-
cates the preponderance of semen over menstrual blood at the time
of conception; the birth of a female indicates that the blood was the
larger contributor to the formation of the fetus (Beaglehole and
Beaglehole 1938:264). The Tanala regard semen as a very rich form
of blood, which mingles with the blood of the mother at the first
menstrual period following copulation and coagulates it. The clot is
enlarged by the monthly flow of blood, and the fetus gradually takes
shape from it (Linton 1933:282). Among the Ashanti, every person
is believed to have received his spirit (ntoro, which is also used to
mean "semen") from his father and his blood, or physical form
(mogya) from his mother (Rattray 1923:36).
The Trobrianders' beliefs about conception have been reported
ambiguously. Malinowski declared that they were unaware of the
cause-and-effectrelationship between intercourse and conception,
and of the fertilizing role of semen (Malinowski 1929:192). Rather,
he wrote, spirits are believed to bring and implant children in wo-
men during the night. The men are involved, however; they open
the vagina through intercourse, to ease the implantation of the
child. Leo Austen reports that it is believed that until the menstrual
flow is checked a woman cannot conceive; and that the stoppage of
the monthly flow is achieved by the "hammering" of the penis
against the lower part of the uterus. This is believed to be accom-
plished after approximately two months of frequent sexual inter-
course (Austen 1934:103). Alex C. Rentoul (1931), however, refuted
the charge that the Trobrianders were ignorant of the connection
between intercourse and conception, citing as evidence their knowl-
edge and use of contraception and practice of selective animal
breeding, involving castration.
Variable2. Active male participation is believed necessaryfor the
consequent physical development of the fetus. This variable was
developed during the research, when it was discovered that among
some peoples the father must aid the development of the fetus after
 CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF MENSTRUATION * 159
TABLE 3
OF MEN IN THE DEVELOPEMENTOF THE FETUS
INVOLVEMENT
Present Absent
Low Taboo Score 8 3 11
High Taboo Score 3 5 8
11 8
2 = 1.2, p n.s.

the initial fusion of female and male fluids. Some believe the fetus
increases in size as the months pass by feeding on the menstrual
blood of the mother. Others, such as the Ashanti and Jivaro, believe
that the fetus gains strength and grows from repeated acts of inter-
course, and this sort of idea of additional help from the male results
in a score of present for this variable. If intercourse is continued
during pregnancy (and in the majority of cases in this sample it was
not), but there is no mention of it functioning to build up the fetus,
a score of present was not given. The Trobrianders, who received a
present rating, believe that only blood and water are in the uterus
until the third month. The father aids in fetal formation and growth
by the warmth of his body, which he presses against the mother
through the night. Men in some societies have dreams which tell
them which sex their child will be. Such revelations are not in-
cluded in the parameters of this variable, but behavior modifica-
tions thought to determine the sex of the child are included, such
as those of the Araucanians: if expectant fatherscut their fingernails
with a scissors,girls will be born; if with a knife, boys (Hilger 1957:
10-11).
TABLE 4
PARTICIPATIONOF MEN IN PREPARTUMTABOOS
Present Absent
Low Taboo Score 17 2 19
High Taboo Score 6 12 18
23 14
X2 = 12.3, p <.001

Variable 3. Men as well as women observe prepartum taboos to

ensure a successful delivery and a healthy child. The vast majority of
women in the study sample observe dietary and behavior precau-
tions during pregnancy. There are two underlying themes in the
societies rated present for this variable: that the father is as capable
of influencing the child in the womb as the mother, and that the
160 1 ETHOS

conduct of both parents while the baby is unborn can have far-
reaching consequences for the birth situation and/or the future
health of the child.
Dietary taboos are those most frequently mentioned in the ethno-
graphic literature. A score of present is received when both a preg-
nant woman and her husband refrain from eating certain foods for
the duration of the pregnancy. These prohibited foods are usually
thought to injure the child in some way, causing it to resemble the
foods or to assume the characterof the animal from which the meat
comes. Eating eggs, for example, may cause the infant to be bald;
malformed fruits will cause parallel malformation of the infant's
body. Some mothers eat the flesh of canine predators to produce
brave, fierce children; the flesh of lizards or other reptiles, in con-
trast, is tabooed to avoid offspring with reptilelike personalities or
appearance. So, societies specifying restrictions on certain fruits,
vegetables, meats, and seasonings for both mother and father during
pregnancy are rated present. Murngin men observe a number of
food taboos until their wives become pregnant; after that, the
taboos are lifted (Warner 1937:68). Caseslike this, however, are not
included in variable three; the time period emphasized is that of the
pregnancy itself, and such observations are too easily confused with
methods of inducing conception or combating sterility. Likewise,
attempts were made during research to distinguish food taboos ob-
served by all married men all of the time (such as the reluctance of
married Jivaro men to eat fused bananas, to avoid having twins
[Karsten 1935:222], or the taboo on eating fish with an excessive
number of bones, which is imposed upon Lesu men and women
during their entire reproductive periods [Powdermaker 1933:62]).
These latter, continuous taboos are not regarded as instances of
specific prepartum participation.
Taboos on behavior during the pregnancy appear to be attempts
to curtail parental access to things or situations that may prove
harmful to the child. Among the Tallensi, for example, it is be-
lieved that "Pregnancy, the creation of life, must not be brought
into contact with death. Hence he, the father of his wife's coming
child, must not take direct part in mortuary or funeral rites. If he
is one of the bereaved, the rites he is compelled to-undergo are mod-
ified so as to eliminate contact with the corpse or objects symboliz-
ing it" (Fortes 1949:163). Proscriptions on hunting and killing an-
imals or taking them out of traps are also included under variable
 CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF MENSTRUATION * 161

three. Usually a cluster of similar taboos was found in each society;

it would be questionable to give a society a positive score if only a
single taboo on a food item or a type of behavior were listed. Inci-
dences of morning sickness and querulousness or even of tension
and anxiety occurring in husbands during their wives' pregnancies
were not considered to have value as indexes of participation. Only
normative evidence was sought. Reports of increased attentiveness
of the husbands to their pregnant wives, or of the watchfulness by
the husbands so that the wives strictly kept their taboos, or of in-
creased work loads taken on by the husbands, were also considered
inadequate bases for a present rating. Taboos on sexual intercourse
during pregnancy are not regarded as forms of participation by
men. The majority of the societies in the sample forbid intercourse
during gestation, but few indicate whether this restriction applies
to men as well as women.
TABLE 5
PARTICIPATION OF MEN IN CHILDBIRTH

Present Absent
Low Taboo Score 19 3 22
High Taboo Score 7 12 19
26 15
2 = 10.8, p <.01

Variable 4. Men are in attendance at birth, or else they are per-

forming a special function elsewhere thought to ease the birth. The
results from this investigation bear out Clellan Ford's assertion that
men are usually excluded from the birth situation, although excep-
tions are made in the case of the husband. If admitted, however, he
performs a certain task. "In no society does he play the part of an
interested and nervous spectator"(Ford 1964:37). Societies in which
the husband is on the scene and aids in the birth are given a present
rating. He may attend his wife alone, but usually he is in the com-
pany of another female, or a medicine man or woman. Aid given
may be purely obstetrical, such as helping to hold the parturient
woman in position, massagingher belly and abdomen, or cutting the
navel cord and washing off the newborn infant. Or, the man may
engage in ritual thought to implement the birth, such as that re-
ported for the Maori. The Maori father is in attendance at the birth
to play a flute fashioned from the thighbone of one of his or his
wife's ancestors. The flute is regarded as a medium of communica-
tion between the living child and. its forebears now in the spirit
162 * ETHOS

world. These spirits are believed to help their descendents in times

of difficulty; the sound of the flute appeals to the spirits to come and
help the mother (Best 1924 [v2]:25). The Azande father also remains
in the birth hut, to protect his wife and to ward off any evil spirits
that may be near (Evans-Pritchard1937:410-411).
If the husband is not in attendance at the place of birth but is
performing some ritual thought to influence the situation, a rating
of present was also given. Trobriand males, for example, keep a
long watch over lying-in fires in the proximity of the birth locale;
they guard the house and all approaches to it, ready to ward off
malevolent supernatural forces (Malinowski 1929:229). Among the
Arunta, if the childbirth becomes long, the man takes off all adorn-
ments, empties his bag of personal articles on the ground, and walks
up and down past the place of birth, attempting to induce the un-
born child to follow him, "which it is said it rarely fails to do"
(Spencer and Gillen 1927:487). The Wogeo father regulates his be-
havior during labor, refraining from violent exercise and the use of
axes and knives. He constantly checks to see that all knots in the
house are untied, and that all boxes are open, to facilitate the birth
(Hogbin 1943:290).
Invdlvement with practical tasks, however, does not constitute
the type of participation needed for a present rating in this category.
These tasks might include contracting the services of a midwife or
medicine man, paying fees, keeping fires going, and helping cook a
meal for the birth attendants.
TABLE 6
PARTICIPATION OF MEN IN POSTPARTUM TABOOS

Present Absent
Low Taboo Score 11 0 11
High Taboo Score 6 10 16
17 10
X2 = 8.5, p <.01

Variable5. Men bury the placenta, "rest,"or observe postpartum

taboos. The placenta is usually considered to be a powerful object,
intimately tied up with the future well-being of the infant. Care is
taken to prevent it from being discovered by animals or malevolent
sorcerers.The father who helps with the childbirth is often the one
who bundles the cord and placenta together and buries them in a
secret place or hangs them on a high branch of a tree. The Pukapu-
kan husband, for example, messages the abdomen of his wife after
 CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF MENSTRUATION * 163

birth to press out the remainder of the blood, and takes her for a
short walk on the beach; he then buries the cord and afterbirth on a
part of the beach owned by his lineage, where it will be safe (Beagle-
hole and Beaglehole 1938:267-268). The Marquesan father buries
the afterbirth in a wet place, to keep it from drying up and thus
robbing the child of vitality (Linton 1939:162). He also has inter-
course with his wife immediately following her ritual bath; this is
believed to stop the flow of blood and to cause the womb to resume
its natural position and former condition (Handy 1923:73).
Many societies require postparturient women to stop their norm-
al activities and rest for a while. They may be in isolation during
this time. Among the Wogeo, Maria Gond, and Tarahumara, who
received a present rating for this category, the men are also forbid-
den to work for certain periods of time, usually a few days. Among
the Maria Gond the father is forbidden to cook, as well as to work,
until the infant's navel cord falls off (Elwin 1947:461).
Some examples of behavioral taboos observed by the father after
the birth of his child are found among the Kwoma. Believing the
infant to be especially susceptible to sorcery, the parents both stay
at home and receive no visitors. The father does not chew betel,
uses a scratching stick, and carefully holds his cigarettes between
tweezers while he smokes them (Whiting 1941:151). The Tarasco
man observes dietary taboos along with his wife and is careful to
kill no snakes (Beals 1946:168b).
Only one or two instances of anything approaching a couvade
were represented in the sample. The Jivaro father passes his time
under a mosquito net, chanting special incantations on behalf of
his newborn child, for one month. During this time he fasts, while
the mother observes certain dietary restrictions (Karsten 1935:227).
The Ainu man is involved in a ritual of resting and fasting which
begins during the birth and ends with a feast when the child is
thirteen days old (Batchelor 1901:234).
In the consideration of data for this category, as for all of the
others, the usual practices were the ones used as guidelines for
rating. Therefore, since Ganda fathers observe postpartum taboos
and give feasts only in the case of twins (Roscoe 1911:536), the Gan-
da did not receive a present rating here. The catering of men to
their wives during seclusion following birth, bringing them ap-
petizing foods or fetching fire logs, likewise did not qualify them
as participants.
164 * ETHOS
TABLE 7
INVOLVEMENT OF MEN IN THE ATTAINMENT OF FEMALE PUBERTY

Present Absent
Low Taboo Score 14 3 17
High Taboo Score I 11 12
15 14
x2 = 15.6, p <.001

Variable6. Men play a role in the physical or ritual attainment of

puberty by females. In many societies it is believed that affection or
desire for men, or sexual experience itself, creates the onset of
puberty in girls. Among the Manus the firstmenstruation is thought
to result from the breaking of the hymen through exercise and acci-
dent, and a woman does not menstruate again until she has inter-
course after marriage (Fortune 1935:82). The Lepcha believe that
menstruation, and also secondary sex characteristicssuch as the de-
velopment of the breasts and pubic hair and the deposition of fat
on certain areas of the body, are also the result of copulation (Gorer
1938:175). And a Murngin informant related, "A... man takes a
wife when she is very young, sometimes before her breasts have
come. He sleeps with her, loves her, and does everything but have
intercourse with her. This makes his girl want him and makes her
breasts come large and start sticking out. This is before her blood
comes. When blood first comes to a woman it is after she has copu-
lated with a man for the first time. That is what causes it" (Warner
1937:580). The Beagleholes report that among the Pukapukans, "if
a young girl commences to menstruate before her mother considers
that other signs of physical maturity warrant it, the mother is angry
with the girl because this indicates that she is already having a love
affair with some man or is, at least, already interested in the oppo-
site sex. Molingi (an informant) said, 'Girls who do not interest
themselves in men do not start to menstruate until later on when
they are older and ready to marry. Girls who menstruate too early
have an undue fondness for men'" (Beaglehole and Beaglehole
1938:279). Societies in which such types of influences are believed to
be exerted by men were given a present rating for this category.
Male involvement in the puberty rituals, which usually occurs at
the time of the first menstruation, is slightly more difficult to de-
termine. One clear-cut case is that of the Murngin, among whom a
ceremony is held at the first menstruation. If the young girl is mar-
ried, her husband helps her mother perform the ceremony, after
which he paints her with red ochre (Warner 1937:76). An example
 CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF MENSTRUATION W
165

of a traditional role for males in the ceremony is a practice of the

Gusii called "taking by stealth." At the time of the initiation cere-
mony, groups of adolescent boys sneak into the house where groups
of girls from the same community are sleeping and attempt to have
intercourse with them. "The girls are usually successful in rebuffing
them, but a few boys achieve a hurried and fearful act of coitus with
girls who pretend to be sleeping" (LeVine and LeVine 1963:60). A
group of men, including her brother, take an Arunta girl into the
bush after her first menstruation. There a medicine man performs
an operation upon her, incising her vagina to facilitate future child-
birth. He later has intercourse with her, and admonishes her to be
faithful to her husband (Roheim 1933:235). Grandiose, community-
wide celebrations of female puberty such as those celebrated by the
Navajo and the Chiricahua, in which males and females participate
in dancing, singing, and other celebrations or invocative acts, were
the basis for present ratings here. These types of ritual are in sharp
contrast to the all-female ceremony, or the isolation of the pubescent
girl along with a few other women for the performance of purifying
rituals and instruction in womanly behavior. Societies in which a
period of seclusion and contact only with other females was central
to female initiation rites were given an absent rating, even though
the father or the girl may announce publicly the onset of the menses
or give gifts or feast.

TABLE 8
MYTHICAL REFERENCE TO IMPORTANCE OF MEN IN CREATION

Present Absent
Low Taboo Score 12 1 13
High Taboo Score 6 2 8
18 3
X2 = .24, p n.s.

Variable 7. There exists cosmological or mythical reference to the

importance of men in creation. As previously mentioned, evidence
of Christian influence was found among many of the societies. Spe-
cific information about the number of Christian converts in a so-
ciety was, of course, usually enough to disqualify it from consider-
ation. Oblique references to the status of Christianity with regard
to the indigenous religions were also taken into account; these in-
cluded allusions to missions, quotations from priests or missionaries,
or conceptions of a fall from an Eden-like garden or god as an old
white man with a full beard. If, however, the ethnographers ad-
166 * ETHOS

mitted to Christian influence but were also able to present co-

existing native beliefs and teachings, these supposedly original con-
cepts were examined and rated. The only society included in the
sample for which this situation occurred was that of the Tarahu-
mara. Although Christianized, the dualities of father and mother
divinity remained strong in the religious themes and representa-
tions of the people. The sun is the father; the moon, the mother,
and both are said to have worked together to create the world, which
they still maintain (Bennett and Zing 1935:321). The Tarahumara
were given a present rating.
If no grounds for Christian bias were discovered, then the myths
of origin of the various societies were studied. Those societies in
which male supernatural beings, alone or with their consorts, cre-
ated the earth or its inhabitants were given a present rating. To the
societies in which mythological mother-ancestressesplay the roles of
creators and no husbands or fathers appear or take any active part,
absent scores were given.
Usually the chief actor in the origin myth is also the chief deity,
represented as a solitary Supreme Being or as the head of a pan-
theon. A great father theme is common to many North American
religions, and such groups as the southern Paiute and the Cheyenne
were rated present in this category. Their respective male gods are
Wolf (the "people's father") and his brother Coyote, who created
the world from clay (Kelly 1964:133); and Heammawihio ("the wise
one above"), the creator of all (Grinnell 1962:88). Sole male creators
and teachersare also to be found among the Ganda, the Arunta, the
Siriono, the Samoans, and the Maori.
Cases in which a male deity joins his wife or his family of deities
in creating and maintaining the universe are also given present
ratings. The Marquesans' spirit world is inhabited by a god-chief,
Tokohiti, and his wife Hanan; man is considered to have descended
directly from these deities, who initially "enacted the drama of gen-
erative creation" (Handy 1923:251). The Jivaro believe in two par-
ent deities, Kumpara the creator and Chingaso, his wife. Their son,
Etsa, became the sun. Kumpara took a piece of clay and blew on it
to create a daughter, Nantu, the moon. Etsa and Nantu married and
their son was the first Jivaro, and lived on the earth (Stirling 1938:
124-126). Changing Woman is an important deity among the Nava-
jo, but so is her husband the Sun, represented pervasively in Nava-
jo religion. From these two sprang the Holy People, who created
 CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF MENSTRUATION ? 167
the Earth Surface People (the Navajo and other humans) and
taught them methods of survival (Kluckhohn and Leighton 1946:
122-123). All these representations of male/female complementar-
ity in acts of creation were interpreted to be indications of male in-
volvement and were given present ratings.
Direct participation by male gods in earthly fertility was also
considered to be significant. Among the Araucanians, existing
alongside a male supreme being, are believed to be both male and
female spirits of fertility (Titiev 1951:82). And it is Aluelap him-
self, one of three great gods of the Ifaluk, who rules the sky, who
enters the womb of a woman with the man's semen and creates the
child (Spiro 1949:81).

CONCLUSION
The majority of the chi-square tests shows a strong relationship
between participation by men in rituals associated with reproduc-
tion and numbers of restrictions on menstruating women. These
correlations do not establish the origins of menstrual taboos, of
course. And in using cross-cultural data against which to measure
two sets of variables it is impossible to determine which set is "ante-
cedent" and which set is "consequent" (Stephens 1961:391). Full
participation by men in procreative activities may have precluded
the development and elaboration of menstrual taboos. Or, increased
participation may have softened or reduced the number of existing
taboos. It is assumed that impetus comes from change in the amount
and kinds of participation, rather than from the alteration of taboos,
however.
These findings cannot fully explain the wide variations in men-
strual taboos found cross-culturally.As has been stated, additional
factors must have generated and later modified the taboos. And the
possibility that some structural feature, or group of features, may
have equal or stronger influence on the numbers and kinds of taboos
is not denied.
Whether Bettelheim's psychoanalytic concept of vagina envy is
applicable to all individuals in the societies examined is impossible
to determine from these data. The conclusions to be drawn from the
correlations, however, suggest that one important component of the
relations between men and women lies in their respective roles in
the universally important process of procreation-and the attitudes
arising from the degree to which this process is seen as mutual.
168 * ETHOS
ETHNOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

Ethnographic material for 33 of the 44 societies was obtained from

the Human Relations Area Files. To save space, only those sources from
which specific quotations are taken are listed in the bibliography. Other
sources are available in the HRAF or on request from the author. Sup-
plementary information for societies marked with an asterisk was ob-
tained from Murdock 1957. Supplementary information for the Tanala
was obtained from Kardiner 1939.
Alor Lesu Papago
Araucanians Manus Pukapukans
*Arunta Maori *Samoans
Ashanti Maria Gond Tallensi
Aymara Marquesas Tanala
Azande Masai Tarahumara
Chiricahua Murngin Tarasco
*Ganda *Nama Hottentot Thonga
Ifaluk Nuer Tiv
Jivaro Nyakyusa Trobrianders
Lepcha Ojibwa Wogeo

The ethnographic bibliography for the remaining societies is as follows:

AINU(Batchelor 1901, Murdock 1957)
BAIGA(Elwin 1939)
CHEYENNE(Grinnell 1962, Hilger 1946, Hoebel 1960)
DAHOMEY (Herskovits 1938, Murdock 1957)
Gusii (LeVine and LeVine 1963)
KWOMA (Whiting 1941)
LAKHERS (Parry 1932)
NAVAJO(Kluckhohn and Leighton 1946, Leighton and Kluckhohn 1947)
SOUTHERNPAIUTE (Kelly 1964)
SIRIONO
(Holmberg 1947)
TUNGUS(Shirokogorov 1966)

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