The Construction of Gendered Identities in Myth and Ritual

This chapter investigates how gender ideology and gendered identities are given materiality in ritual and myth. To critically engage gender ideology in this chapter, it discusses rites and myths of circumcision to make visible how the media of ritual and myth are central to the construction and maintenance of gender ideology. The rites and myths chosen for analysis are derived from the Mende folk of Sierra Leone who continue to practice circumcision as a rite of passage for youth into adulthood. Drawing on the Mende rite of circumcision as a preliminary rite to allow for the acquisition of knowledge and social power secured through the secret societies of the Sande and Poro, the chapter presents the three segments/phases of the rite using Arnold van Gennep's model by which to think about the circumcision of the fleshy bits called/named genitals.