ABSTRACT
Among the principal outcomes of postmodern and feminist critiques in anthropology are heightened sensitivity to the question of voice in ethnographic discourse and persistent attention to the fit between analytic and “local” systems of meaning. The postmodern question addresses the terms of the dialogue between ethnographer and subject(s) and asks whose voice is represented in both “data” and analysis. Early on in feminist discussions, Ardener raised the problem of the muted voice of women in male dominant societies (Ardener 1975), a voice which may be silenced both within the culture studied and by Western theoretical paradigms. Rituals of initiation for women bring both of these issues to the fore. It is therefore important to ask whether descriptions and interpretations of women's ritual pay sufficient attention to women's voices within the culture, and whether the categories of analysis fit with cultural conceptualizations.
