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13. THE SEX OF PRIESTS[1] UNDER MONOSEXUAL DOMINANCE

THE sex of priests in the Women's State and in the Men's State seems closely connected with the sex of the leading deities, but despite careful investigation we have been unable to discover the existence of any definite tendency. Of course, it does not follow that no such tendency exists. All that any one is entitled to assert is that, if there be a fundamental tendency, it must be less strongly developed than that which manifests itself in the case of the sex of deities; or else, that history and tradition are so defective in this respect that the tendency is irrecognisable. Moreover, in these investigations concerning the problems of the Men's State and the Women's State, great difficulties arise because (both for psychological and historical reasons) we are rarely if ever able to decide the precise point at which, in the history of a particular people, the dominance of one sex ends and that of the other begins. We have in fact learned that between two epochs of monosexual dominance, masculine and feminine respectively, there always intervenes a phase of sex equality. For this reason, the transformation of the manners and customs typical of

[1] The authors use the word "Priester" as of common gender, distinguishing in case of need between "weibliche" and "männliche" Priester. We have found it convenient to follow them in the English rendering, using "priest" as of common gender, and distinguishing in case of need between "male" priests and "female" priests.— TRANSLATORS' NOTE.

the Women's State into those typical of the Men's State does not proceed at the same pace in all departments of social life. Thus in certain States we encounter characteristically Men's-State institutions and laws side by side with such as are characteristically Women's State. Inasmuch as we are writing a pioneer work, the laws of all these extensive psychological and historical transformations are in many respects still to seek.

As regards the particular problem we are now considering, that of the sex of priests, we lack precise evidence to show that the sex of the priesthood was determined by monosexual dominance. There have been peoples whose priests were all males, peoples whose priests were all females, and peoples whose priests were of both sexes. But there is no definite correspondence in either of the two former cases between the sex of the priesthood and that of the dominant sex; nor do we find, when priests are of both sexes, that this has a necessary connexion with the phase of equal sexual rights.

Among the Pampas Indian tribes, which are now extinct, there were only female priests.[2] In Formosa, likewise, there was a tribe whose priests were all women. The Mandayas of the Philippines, too, would have no male priests.[3] Unfortunately we have no information as to which sex was dominant in any of these cases. Among some of the tribes of northern Asia, and also in ancient Mexico, female priests predominated. But in these cases, as well, we lack information as to the type of sexual dominance that prevailed. Christianity, during the days when the domi-

[2] Platz, Die Völker der Erde, vol. ii, p. 82.

[3] Jaeckel, op. cit., p. 32.

nance of men attained its climax, knew only male priests, but in the days of its early spread it seems in this matter of the sex of the priesthood to have accepted the custom of the people among whom it was being introduced.

Where the priesthood comprised both sexes, Christianity at the outset followed the native example. This was the case in Germany and also in Rome. In the days of Charlemagne, female priests still officiated at Rome in the Christian church. We know that Alcuin begged the arch-priestess Damoeta in Rome to take active measures in order to heal the schisms in the church.[4] When St. Boniface wished to spread the Christian faith in Germany, he called in the aid of women, presumably because the Germans were used to the ministrations of female priests. Thus he requested the abbess Thekla to preach publicly in church. We see that the Pauline prescription, "Let your women keep silence in the churches," was disregarded by Boniface, the great missionary, when he found that it was discordant with the spirit of the people he was trying to convert. At the present time, women are again making their way into the priesthood. According to Max Hirsch,[5] in the year 1900 there were already in the United States 3,405 female ministers of religion.

The obverse to this parallelism between masculine dominance and masculine priesthood in Christianity, is to be found among the Wabuna, a Congo tribe. According to Mense[6] the Wabuna were under the dominance of women, having women chiefs and only women as priests.

[4] Klemm, Die Frauen, vol. iv, p. 37.

[5] Ueber das Frauenstudium "Archiv für Frauenkunde," 1919.

[6] Quoted by Schurtz, Urgeschichte der Kultur, p. 125.

Turning to ancient Egypt, we find, that, as far as the very earliest times are concerned, those in which the dominance of women was most thoroughly established, details as to the sex of the priests are unfortunately lacking. In later days there were priests of both sexes; for instance, all the members of the royal family were priests, regardless of sex. Numerous mummies of high priests both male and female have been disinterred. Although to-day, when the dominance of men is almost universal, it is hardly less universal to restrict the priesthood to males, it would be erroneous to infer that, speaking generally, the entry into the priesthood has been reserved for members of the dominant sex. The enquirer need merely turn to Rome, where, during the days when male hegemony was absolute, women could act as high priests. Among the Celtae, on the other hand, concerning whom there are definite indications that they lived under the dominance of women, male soothsayers officiated as high priests.[7] Strabo also informs us concerning the oracle of Dodona, that originally the soothsayers had been men, but later were women. Now in the days when women priests were delivering these oracles, the dominance of men seems to have prevailed in Epirus, whereas primitively it is probable that women held sway there. Here, then would be another instance in which the priests did not belong to the dominant sex.

Jaeckel has drawn attention to the remarkable fact that, despite the great diversities among religions, there is one trait which is generally shared by male priests. For the most part their dress and their way of doing the hair has a markedly feminine stamp. The medicine men of Patagonia were always dressed

[7] Strabo, iv, 6,

like women. Plutarch relates that the priests of the temple of Hercules at Arimathea wore women's robes when performing the sacrificial rites. Tacitus mentions a tribe whose priests wore women's dress. In Christian churches, Protestant as well as Catholic, the priests (males with rare exceptions) perform their official duties in long, flowing robes resembling those worn by women.

The same thing strikes us as regards the way in which male priests dress their hair. Herodotus says that among the priests of all the nations known to him, the custom was, except only in the case of the Egyptians, to wear the hair long.[8] In connexion with the feminine attire of the Egyptian gods, we pointed out that these male deities had probably undergone a change of sex, but had retained feminine attire so that the common people might not be too abruptly made aware of the change of sex. It seems possible that the feminine attire of male priests can be explained on similar grounds. These male priests may have had female predecessors. The retention of feminine attire would in that case be a deference to the externals with which the common people were familiar.

When a monosexual priesthood officiates for worshippers of both sexes, there is always danger that the religion will unwittingly invade the sexual sphere. A mingling of sexuality and religion takes place. Such mingling introduces psychological complications into all the manifestations in this field, inasmuch as it veils intrinsic religion with the ambiguities of a sexually tinged piety or of a religious sexuality.

[8] Here is further proof, if proof be needed, that when men leave their hair uncut, it will grow just as long as women's. But there are still many pundits who believe that a man's hair has less inclination to grow long than a woman's!