article

Sexual magic and money: Miskitu women's strategies in northern Honduras

Ethnology45 (2)Published In 2006 • Pages: 143-159

By: Herlihy, Laura Hobson.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article highlights Afro-indigenous Miskitu women's position and agency on the increasingly cash-oriented Miskito Coast (northeastern Honduras). While Miskitu men (the main breadwinners) work as deep-water lobster divers, women live in matrilocal groups and use sexual magic to beguile men into giving them their earnings. The women's discourse of sexual magic contests, but does not subvert, the male-dominant gender ideology of the lobster-diving economy. Nevertheless, Miskitu women have refashioned their gender identities and their views of money, into empowering and strategic practices for domestic security (p.143).
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Sexual stimulation
Gender status
Gender roles and issues
Labor supply and employment
Household
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Miskito
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2010
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Middle America and the Caribbean
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Central America
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
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; 2009
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1997-1998
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1997-1998
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Village of Kuri, Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve, Northeastern Honduras
NotesAdditional notes
Laura Hobson Herlihy
Includes bibliographical references (p. 156-159)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
64005713
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Miskito Indians