Iron, Gender, and Power: Rituals of Transformation in African Societies

[Herbert] has constructed a model of power relationships structured upon gender and age, and derived from male transformative processes, and in so doing has written a notable, and most enjoyable, book. --African History

Herbert examines with great care and thoroughness the relationships between gender and power and the rationales that give them social form. . . . [Her] analytical ability is outstanding. --Patrick McNaughton

This book is a well-written and essential study of the place of belief in African material culture. --International Journal of African Historical Studies

Herbert relates the beliefs and practices associated with iron working in African cultures to other transformative activities--chiefly investiture, hunting, and pottery making--to propose a gender/age-based theory of power.

Author: Eugenia W. Herbert
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Published: 01/22/1994
Pages: 278
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.10w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9780253208330

About the Author

EUGENIA W. HERBERT is E. Nevius Rodman Professor of African History at Mount Holyoke College and author of Red Gold of Africa: Copper in Precolonial History and Culture.