Although most historical and contemporary religions are governed by men, there are, scattered throughout the world, a handful of well-documented religions led by women. Most of these are marginal, subordinate, or secondary religions in the societies in which they are located. The one known exception to this rule is the indigenous religion of Okinawa, where women lead the official mainstream religion of the society. In this fieldwork-based study, Susan Sered provides the first in-depth look at this unique religious tradition, exploring the intersection between religion and gender. In addition to providing important information on this remarkable and little-studied group, this book helps to overturn our mostly unexamined assumptions that male dominance of the religious sphere is universal, axiomatic, and necessary.
Introduction
Prologue: Okinawan History, Henza Village, and `nthodology
Part I: Divine Dis-order
1: Divine Dis-order: On Social Planes
2: Divine Dis-order: On Cosmological Planes
Part II: Questions of Gender
3: Gender in an Egalitarian Society
4: Gender Separation and Social Integration
5: Women and Men and Ritual
Part III: Sitting in the Seat of the Gods
6: Priestesses and Ritual: Feeding the Kami-sama
7: Divine Dis-order: Signs, Symptoms, and Sitting in the Right Seat
8: Born to Be Kami-sama
Part IV: Questions of Power
9: The Problematics of Power
10: Priestesses, Yuta, and Ogami People
Part V: Deconstructing Gender
11: Un-gendering Religious Discourse
12: Gender Bending(?) and Ritual Deconstruction
Conclusion: Religion, Power, and the Sanctification of Gender
Appendixes:
1. Glossary of Japanese and Okinawan Words
2. Dramatis Personae
Notes
References
Index
