Rains gone bad, women gone mad: Rethinking gender rituals of rebellion andpatriarchy

This article reconsiders the argument that 'rituals of rebellion' be seen a s women's ritual response to everyday patriarchal structures - an argument originally suggested by Gluckman, but recently evoked by Spencer, the Creid ers, and others - in light of recent anthropological theorizing on gender. Using as an example one such women's ritual among the Ihanzu of Tanzania, I show how this particular formulation reduces complex notions of gender and gender practices to unnuanced, monolithic, and all-encompassing gender-sys tems, both in everyday and ritual realms. This it does, first, by conflatin g gender ideals with gender behaviours and, second, by ignoring people's co nflicting ideas about gender. By problematizing these contradictions, I dem onstrate how Ihanzu women's rites are not about rebellion but gender comple mentarity, played out by women dancers embodying both genders simultaneousl y. Above all, this case compels us to rethink, fundamentally 'rituals of re bellion' and 'patriarchy'.