essay

The paradoxical powers of Tamil women

powers of Tamil women (6)Published In 1991 • Pages: 153-170

By: Wadley, Susan Snow.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this essay Wadley discusses the extraordinary powers that Tamil women are believed to have that can lead to life and prosperity or to destruction and even death. Despite the drudgery and subordination of women's everyday lives, Tamils believe that Tamil women can, and do, control and alter events - they can save their husbands from death; they can destroy whole towns; they can bring health and wealth to their kinfolk; and they can cause povery and ruin. A woman's curse is feared, her blessing is sought (p. 153).
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Gender status
Ethnopsychology
Celibacy
Conception
Puberty and initiation
Nuptials
Sexuality
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Tamil
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2009
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Asia
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
South Asia
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
essay
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle; 2007
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
no date
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
not specified
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Tamil Nadu, India
NotesAdditional notes
Susan S. Wadley
Includes bibliographical references (p. 168-170)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
91035987
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Tamil (Indic people)