CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE THE FEMALE PROPHET if A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology by Sheila Jacobson Charles January, 1978 The Thesis of Sheila Jacobson Charles is approved: Dr. David Haya.f!o Dr. Lynn Mason Dr. Eva1yn Michaelson, Chairperson California State University, Northridge ii ACKNOh'LEDGEMENTS The author would like to express gratitude and appre­ ciation to the Professors Evalyn Michaelson, Lynn Mason, and David Hayano for their continual support and invaluable advice. I am especially grateful to Professors Michaelson and Mason, who were instrumental in the choice of the topic. A number of other individuals should also be recog­ nized for their unique contributions to this endeavor. I refer here to both of my families, too many to mention, for their empathetic support. Credit and special thanks, how­ ever, must be given to my father, Edward F. Jacobson, my husband, Kenneth D. Charles, and my grandmother, Thelma Sokol, for their unfailing encouragement and genuine interest in the development and completion of this project. ' d iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page AC KNO\AJLEDGEf'-1ENTS iii LIST OF TABLES . vi LIST OF FIGURES vii ABSTRACT . viii Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1 2 THE PROPHET: DEFINITIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS . 8 3 FEMALE RELIGIOUS ROLES 19 4 _EENALEJ:>ROJ'HETS-AND--HiE-IR-­ CHARACTERISTICS ... 25 UNIQUE AND POWERFUL PERSONALITY . 28 Charisma . 28 Agency and Communion . 30 Extraordinary Abilities and Advantages 32 COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE SUPERNATURAL 36 The Conversion Experience . 36 Ways of Communicating . 38 Supernatural Guidance . 38 The Prophetic Martdate . 40 CALL TO ACTION 40 The New Philosophy 40 Guidelines . 42 Dramatic Future Change 44 Endorsement of Social Change 45 Dissemination of the "Word" . 46 iv Chapter Page ADHERENTS .••.•. 47 Personal Devotees . 47 Co-Workers . 48 Prophet Receives Gratuities, Not Wages . · · · 50 Adherents Are Both Male and Female . 52 5 FEMALE PROPHETS: BIOGRAPHICAL PATTERNS 61 AGE . • . • . 61 EDUCATION •.•.•. 69 RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION 73 MARITAL STATUS ••. 77 FAMILY SITUATION 81 6 THE SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT OF FEMALE PROPHECY . 91 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE PROPHETS . • . • • . • . 93 THE EFFECT OF RELIGIOUS ENVIRONMENT 98 OTHER SOCIAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS 107 7 COfJCLUS IONS . 115 FOOTNOTES 128 BIBLIOGRAPHY .. 130 APPENDICES . 136 APPENDIX A: ALPHABET I CAL LISTING OF THE PROPHETESSES . 136 APPENDIX B: BIOGRAPHICAL I NF 0 Rf·1A T I 0 N SHEETS . 138 v LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 LIST OF FEMALE PROPHETS . 27 2 RELIGIOUS BACKGROUNDS OF THE PROPHETS . 74 3 MARITAL STATUS OF THE FEMALE PROPHET 78 4 FAMILY SITUATIONS OF THE FEMALE PROPHETS 83 5 GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS BY CONTINENT OF THE FEMALE PROPHETS . 95 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 AGE OF TEN PROPHETS AT THE TIME OF THEIR CONVERSION EXPERIENCES . 63 AGE OF FOURTEEN PROPHETS AT THE TIME OF THE FOUNDING OF THEIR RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS .... 64 3 FAMILY SIZE 87 4 TE.MPORAL DIVISION OF FOUNDING DATES FOR THE PROPHETS' SECTS ........... 108 vii ABSTRACT THE FE.HALE PROPHET by Sheila Jacobson Charles Master of Arts in Anthropology The primary objective of this thesis is the analysis of female prophets who have originated religious movements. Female religious leaders of this kind are cross-culturally rare occurrences. This is because men generally occupy these authority positions. In order to discover reliable biographical data on female prophets, it was necessary to do a comparative analysis of the available literature. The study revealed that 28 known female prophets have existed between 1591 and 1950. Five prophets were from Africa, 17 from America, two from Asia, and four from Europe. Biographical data indicated that the prophets were women of varied characteristics with regard to age, education, religious affiliation, marital status, and family situation. Nevertheless, some biographical patterns viii were discerned. These patterns indic~te characteristics which allowed and encouraged these women to become prophetic leaders. For example, it appears female prophets were more likely to have conversion experiences and found sects between the ages of 40-49. Although they were associated with various religions, generally prophets were raised to be Protestant. It also appears that female prophets were more likely to be married and have small families. Socio-cultural factors affecting the prophets were also discerned. It appea~s prophets existed in geo- graphical areas associated with Protestant Western reli­ gions because these environments encourage prophetic appearances and allow women more opportunities for reli­ gious expression. How the prophets affected their environ­ ments is also discussed. These prophets are significant in that they set precedents of female leadership and raised questions of equal status for women, as well as established new religious organizations. ix Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Until recently, in the field of conventional anthro- pology there has been a general lack of interest in and neglect of research on the subject of women in culture. Rosaldo and Lamphere (1974:2) have suggested that "anthro- pologists in writing about human culture have followed our own culture's ideological bias in treating women as rela- tively invisible and describing what are largely the activ- ities and interests of men." Collier (1974:96) points out that this restricted perspective has created quite a seri- ous deficiency: If we, as anthropologists, are to develop models of social reality capable of generating both the normative rules of a system and the pragmatic strategies actually followed by the people, . we must accommodate in our analyses the behavior of all human participants. With this in mind, I decided to focus on an activity of women in positions of authority. Hy thesis topic was then narrowed down to a cross-cultural analysis of those females who have held prophetic leadership roles and originated new religious movements. These women represent a small, elite segment of female humanity who achieved leadership roles under the stimulus of a religious convic- tion. In this study I intend to focus on five areas . 0 1 2 pertaining to the female prophet. The questions I will seek to answer in these respective areas are: 1. What is a prophet? How does he or she differ from other religious specialists? 2. Why is the role of prophet not normally one assumed by women? What are the religious roles women normally accept? 3. Who are the female prophets? What are their personal characteristics which may have caused them to take on a role not normally associated with their sex? 4. What were the social and cultural influences on these females which may have encouraged or discouraged them in taking on the role of a prophet? 5. What effects have these female prophets had on their respective social and cultural environments? The first four of these areas deal with the character- istics of and influences on the female prophet. The fifth area deals with the influences the prophet has had on the socio-cultural system. Many other types of questions could be asked, but because of the magnitude of the subject, I will focus on these five areas. I hope to answer these questions by comparing cross- culturally those females who have held prophetic leadership roles and been the founders of new religious cults. In discussing these female prophets, I intend to utilize an anthropological perspective further elaborated by some sociological and psychological insights. I must point out that not all scholars would be pleased with this social scientific perspective of the prophetic phenomenon. Abraham 3 Heschel (1955:xviii) states: "To interpret prophecy from any other perspective [than religious]-such as sociology or psychology--is like interpreting poetry from the per- spective of the economic interests of the poet." Further- more, Heschel (1955:409) points out: It is not for any psychological analysis, nor for any sociological or anthropological reasoning, however profound and imaginative, however patient and exact, to have the last word about the nature of prophecy. Such analysis or reasoning is prone to reduce prophecy to a commonplace too irrele­ vant to justify the effort of analysis. Although I have chosen to undertake such an analysis, I have tried to remember Heschel's criticism and avoid the hazards he points out. It is not my intention to pass judgment upon the truth of the prophets' claims to have received revelations, nor is it my intention to solve the enigma of prophecy by means of only psychological, socio- logical, or anthropological explanations. However, by use of a social scientific perspective, I hope to offer some valuable insights into the phenomenon of female prophets. Not all social scientific views of religion and pro- phecy are unfavorable, demeaning, and judgmental, as Heschel supposes. Anthony Wallace (1965:5), for instance, encourages the anthropologist to view religion "neither [as] a path of truth nor a thicket of superstition, but simply a kind of human behavior: specifically that kind of behavior which can be classified as belief and ritual con- cerned with supernatural beings, powers, and forces." It 4 is my intent to view the female prophets in a similar light; to see them as women whose behavior exhibits a con- cern with supernatural beings and forces. Wallace (1966:4) also emphasizes the significance of prophets when he points out the many unknown cases of failure: For every religion which has survived and been routinized, either as a small community faith or a "great religion" such as Christianity or Islam, there are dozens of abortive effo~ts by untimely prophets which are ignored or sup­ pressed by the community. The successful prophet who becomes well-known is certainly not commonplace. In fact, female prophecy in conjunction with the founding and leadership of a religious organiza- tion is a rare occurrence in the historical record. My method of research for this study was the analysis of significant books, journals, and newspapers.