My culture for this artifact are the Igbo people of Nigeria. This is a bilinear l(or bilateral) culture but not in the traditional manner.The two main areas of focus in Igbo culture are the trade/finances, and home life/home owning. This may sound fairly typical and you are most likely already assigning genders to each of those roles. However, in this culture, the women run the trade and finances while the men are the primary land owners and grounds keepers.

I found this shocking. This financial responsibility gives women a type of independence that is not seen in most other parts of the world. Not only are the women the face of organizing transactions, but they are responsible for the cultivation of the agriculture. The only part men participate in is the planting of the rice, their staple food. This female responsibility allows them to interact with people from other cultures, but most importantly it allows them to have their own personal money instead of relying on the men. This being said, the men are the primary owners of all land and homes. This does not seem to be a system that upsets the women of the Igbo tribe.

The independence demonstrated in the Igbo tribe is similar to the Mosuo Culture of China. Chinese culture is typically known for being Patrilneal (male dominant) but the Mosuo culture is considered to be a “Woman’s paradise.” Unlike main land Chinese culture, the women are in complete control of their finances and personal life. Because this culture does not believe in marriage each individual is responsible for making their own money. This is similar to the Igbo where women handle the money in the family. Unlike the Igbo however, women in Mosuo practice walking marriages. This is where a different man can come to the woman’s bed at night and it is her choice if she wants him to stay. They say this is based off of love they are just avoiding the forced dependence on one another. These are some differences and similarities between the two cultures.

Something else that I found interesting between the two genders in the Igbo culture was their separation in government. Unlike the male dominated political world in the USA, the Igbo have two entirely separate “house”. There is one “house” specifically for the men, and one for the women. Each of these two “houses” only deals with law in regards to their own sex. Within the two “houses” the members are separated into three groups. The highest of which is are the elders of the community. It is the elders who hand down punishments and decide who is guilty.  This purpose of this system is to allow both genders to be heard equally. While I believe that it would be ideal for both sexes to work together this is a step in the right direction compared to the biased male persecution of women in third world countries.