As well as taking the right hand of their enemies of trophies, Egyptian soldiers would also castrate enemies they viewed as the most vile. This was done to make their enemies permanently imponent and destroy their enemies powers of procreation which is tied to power in the afterlife.
Posted by the lioness, (Member # 17353) on :
Posted by Djehuti (Member # 6698) on :
^ The custom of emasculation is not unusual in many ancient cultures. It was done to the most feared and/or hated enemies to humiliate them and ritually disempower them in the most severe way you can to a male foe. It was also done to create eunuchs that can serve in royal harems as guards of the women and children.
This custom was practiced sporadically in other parts of Africa such as the Afar people of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It used to be that part of an Afar warrior's bride-gift was the genitalia of a slain enemy.
Posted by Ibis (Member # 23674) on :
Is there any record of genitalia mutilation being performed against Nehesi/Nubian ethnic groups? Or did it only happen to Eurasian and Mediterranean populations?
Posted by the lioness, (Member # 17353) on :
terrible question
Posted by Ibis (Member # 23674) on :
quote:Originally posted by the lioness,: terrible question
I'd argue it's very valid, as information on this cultural practice is scarce.
Posted by BrandonP (Member # 3735) on :
quote:Originally posted by Ibis:
quote:Originally posted by the lioness,: terrible question
I'd argue it's very valid, as information on this cultural practice is scarce.
I've only heard of Egyptians taking penile trophies from ethnic groups that did not practice ritual circumcision like they did, ergo mostly Levantine groups. But it has been a while since I looked into the matter.
Posted by Djehuti (Member # 6698) on :
^ That's an interesting notice by you. I know that Egyptians viewed uncircumcised men as effeminate and inferior to men who are circumcised, though I did not know this was a basis for their ritual penectomy. But were there not Asiatics who also practice circumcision?? Also, besides Asiatics they also collected penises from Libyan foes as well. I still have yet to read about this being done to Nubians or other Africans to their south.
This article one source I've read about the practice being done to Libyans:
Gender Culture is a Violent Culture: On Archaeology, Gender and Violence Considering that Libyans are also feminized in textual sources referring to them in military contexts, as shown by David O’Connor, I also took into account the possibility that the New Kingdom Egyptian practice of cutting of penises of Libyan enemies as known from textual/visual sources (Athribis stela of Merenptah, Karnak temple inscriptions, Medinet Habu temple inscriptions and reliefs) is more than astrategy for an accurate count of defeated or mutilated enemies. When depicted attached to the bodiesof Libyan enemies in Egyptian visual representations of war, penises of Libyans are flaccid, they are everything but a powerful and erect penis highly valued in many ancient Egyptian social contexts. One thinks of the New Kingdom Egyptian Tale of Two Brothers in which Bata cuts off his penis in order to convince his brother that he did not sleep with his wife. After having to protect his own wife later in the story he says to her that he is a woman like her. Bearing this in mind, and the above mentioned discursive feminization of enemies, one can say that cutting of penises of Libyan enemies could have also been understood as their reduction to women-like. Of course, we do not have archaeological remains of cut off penises, but there is nothing indicating that the practice was not existing. Here actual physical violence against one gender is enforced by already existing symbolic violence, a gender system in which enemy’s body is discursively feminized.
The author sounds leftist in his thinking. Violence in and of itself really has nothing to do with gender however its expression can be gendered. The majority of physical violence is perpetrated by males though the victims are also predominantly male and such is definitely the case in times of war. Combat and warfare is about domination and a large part of that is psychological by degrading your foe. What other way to degrade another man than to emasculate him if not symbolically then literally! I know many feminist types get upset about males name-calling other males as girly or effeminate as if this was an insult on women when in fact the insult is specifically to the targeted males since being effeminate and womanly is only insulting to men.
