Before Pads and Tampons

[browngirl]

(Crossposted a bit)

So, I'm working on a project, and I'm trying to figure out what a woman in a culture which did not weave cloth would have done about her period. (Also, a woman in a culture where cloth was rare and relatively expensive because it's very time-consuming to make--those two cultures are where my story will take place.) That's one area that is sadly, sadly neglected in anthropological studies and histories of peoples; in all those "Daily Life in X place" books no one ever writes about how half the adult population handles a major monthly event.

Sheesh.

So. Can anyone help me here? (This is for my NaNoWriMo novel, so ease of access would be appreciated.)

Comments

[bardling.livejournal.com]

Sidenote to the menstrual hut thing - in some cultures it wasn't a case of "unclean/shunning" so much as of a woman's special/holy time, a time of being close to the spirit world, of being (depending on culture) "too strong" for the men, hence protecting the men by separating themselves, or protecting themselves in a potentially altered/vulnerable state.