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MAN VERSUS WOMAN INTERPERSONALDISPUTES IN THE WORKMEN'S COMMUNITY OF DEIR EL-MEDINA*

BY

JAANA TOIVARI
(Leiden University) Abstract This essay discusses various male-female disputes which are recorded in texts originating from the workmen's community of Deir el-Medina. The materialis consideredwithin a frame of reference adapted from legal anthropology. Thus both legal as well as other systems of social control are taken into account in the examination of the different means by which interpersonalconflicts were settled.

Over the years gender issues have attractedsome interest in Egyptological research,resulting in miscellaneous studies on Ancient Egyptianwomen.') In addition to findings within the field of art,2)legal aspects, such as property rights, have providedmuch of the more in-depthinformationnow available.3) Situationsof interpersonal conflicthave also been discussedto a variabledegree within the legal discourse,but when a traditional and more narrowdefinitionof law has been adoptedthe disputeswhich ended up before some authoritywere of primaryinterest.4) law" and recognise Alternativelyit is possible to "rethink a diversity of regulatorypracticeswithin a wider networkof power.5)Such a standpointtakes into considerationboth legal and informal systems of social control operatingwithin a society.6)The frame of referencefor the subject of
* The writer wishes to thank Professor J.F. Borghouts and Dr. R.J. Demaree for reading the manuscript and the very helpful suggestions they made. Dr. B.G. Davies and Dr. K. Donker van Heel are also thanked for their help and useful comments. The shortcomings of this article are entirely due to the writer herself. 1) As anticipated by Ardener 1985, p. 25, the designation Gender Studies is in practice used more or less as a euphemism for Women's Studies. For discussions of some Egyptological works see for example Meltzer 1990, pp. 503-509, Meskell 1997, pp. 1-5 (in press). 2) E.g. Allam 1986, pp. 7-17, Malaise 1977, pp. 183-198, Robins 1989, pp. 105-116, id. 1990, pp. 45-58, id. 1994, pp. 33-40. 3) E.g. Allam 1984a, pp. 152-160, id. 1989, pp. 123-135, id 1990, pp. 1-34, Pestman 1961, Tanner 1967, pp. 5-37. 4) Allam 1973a, Bedell 1973, Eyre 1984, Lurje 1971, McDowell 1990, Seidl 1939. 5) Collier 1995, pp. 70, 83, 86, Ellickson 1991, Horwitz 1990. 6) A critical comment on making a too sharp distinction between Ancient Egyptian law and social life has been raised among others, by Janssen 1975a, pp. 294-295. ? Koninklijke Brill, Leiden, 1997
JESHO 40,2

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male-female disputes focused upon in this paper is from anthropology,with to emphasison the institutional aspects complemented some degreewith processual ones.7) A dispute may be defined as an occasion where one person feels s/he has been wronged by another,of equal or unequalstatus, who is then blamed and with the responsibility: breachof laws or normativeguidelinescan confronted a be consideredto have taken place. In settling a dispute three basic modes of interaction bilateralnegotiation,passive (medithird-party may be distinguished: and active (arbitration adjudication).8) or Such a classificationis not rigid ation) or clear cut, as practice often shows a wide range of variation to the point where distinctivecategoriesmight in some cases be merged. Before considering the textual material originatingfrom Deir el-Medina,9) some commentson the natureof this communityare in order.The village, situated in a small valley on the Theban west bank, formed a close-knit workmen's community during the XVIIIth-XXth Dynasties.'0) While the wives, daughtersand other female relatives of the workmenstayed in the village, the male inhabitants were away most days workingon the construction the royal of As a result of this situation some of the communicationbetween tombs.") women and men did take place in writtenform, and not very surprisingly, interalso figuredwithin this discourse.From a personaldisputes and disagreements structural point of view, such disputeswere, as a rule bilateral,with only occasional cases of third-party intervention. When active third-party intervention in problemsolving was needed, one could turn to a higher authoritysuch as the local court or the oracle. Thus references to disputes settled by a third party are mostly seen in legal and administrative documents,ratherthan in personal letters. One should, however, keep in mind that the majorityof interpersonal quarrelsin daily life leaves no writtenrecord.Thereforereferencesto interpersonal disputesin the Deir el-Medinamaterialshould be perceivedas the tip of the iceberg.12)As the differentmodes for solving disputesagree to a remarkable
7) Roberts 1983, pp. 1-24. Questions concerning distinctions between biological sex (man-woman) and socially constructed gender (male-female) will not be focused on in this essay. Therefore the writer has chosen here somewhat simplistically, to use these terms here interchangeably. 8) Roberts 1983, pp. 14-15. 9) Besides texts found from the village itself, documents from the surroundingsites relating to the community are here also taken into account. Cf. Eyre 1987, pp. 22-32. 10) Valbelle 1975, pp. 1028-1034, id. 1985, pp. 23-26, 159-226. 11) The proportionof days worked varied quite remarkablyduring various reigns. Janssen 1980, pp. 127-152. 12) This essay will mainly discuss texts which have already been published. The writer is finishing a doctoral thesis on the social status of women at Deir el-Medina, in which a more extended discussion, including unpublished sources, is undertaken.

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degree with a division of the source materialinto letters and communications on the one hand, and legal and administrative documentson the other, malefemale disputeswill be discussedbelow within each of the two text categories.
Letters and communications

About 14% of the letters and communications originatingfrom the workmen's of Deir el-Medinahave female senders and/orrecipients.'3) this Of community almost all (86%) takes place between men and women,14) and correspondence often some degree of tension or disagreement found within the discourse.'5) is The correspondents: may themselves be spouses, relatives or acquaintances,'6) When correthe disputants be otherwiseinvolved in a recordeddisagreement. or with each other, there is no third-party intervention. spondentsare quarrelling In cases of parent-offspring disputes,issues centre on qualitativeor quantitative in shortcomings exchangeof goods or services. One finds more or less straightforwarddisagreements,such as a father demandingrepaymentfrom a daughand ter,'7)a son complainingto his motherover an issue of sandals,'8) a mother, in her turn, grumblingat her son, because he has failed to send her various commodities.19) Disputes such as these suggest that, at least concerningreciprocalobligations, withinthefamily,maynothavebeenextremely marked, authority thus grantingall members,irrespectiveof gender,access to make demandsand take action in case of irregularities. Male-femalecorrespondents also find themselvesinvolved in disputesarising from failures in the performance services, tasks, or expectations.Cases inof We clude a man accusing a woman of not doing her job properly.20) also find a woman complainingto a man because he has taken away some commodities His are and failed to provideher with other ones.21) shortcomings furtheraggravated by the fact that she is sufferingfrom illness. Anotherwoman accuses a
13) This number, 66 letters, also includes quotations of letters. Sweeney 1993, p. 523. 14) Sweeney 1993, p. 523. 15) Tension within correspondence does not restrict itself to confrontation letters, but can also be found in those concerning family matters and errands.For this categorisationof letters with regard to subject matter follows Sweeney 1993, p. 524. 16) Women write, not only to family and relatives, but also to male non-relatives. Sweeney 1993, pp. 523-524. 17) O Cairo 25725 + O Louvre E 3259. Allam 1973b, pp. 68-69, pl. 59 (= O Louvre E 3259), Cernm1935, pp. 70, 89*, pl. LXXXVII. The text is not a letter, it consists of a case brought before the local court and quotes the correspondencewhich had taken place. 18) 0 DM 446. Cerny 1951, p. 29, pl. 27. 19) O AG 106 (unpublished,mentioned by Sweeney 1993, pp. 527 n. 7, 528 n. 24). 20) 0 Letellier. Letellier 1980, pp. 127-133, pl. IX. 21) O DM 562. Sauneron 1959, pp. 3-4, pls. 8, 8a.

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man in strong terms of not listening to her in mattersconcerninghis wife's As inforwhichencourage adulterous behaviour.22) in mostclose-knitcommunities, mal patternsof social control,gossiping, as a means of facilitatingthe flow of can information be seen at work in this last example. The indecent reputational behaviourcommentedon does not merely provide a piquantmatterfor discussion; the stakes are much higher, as is seen from the fact that the wife's sexual conduct is equated with the abominationof the god Monthu. An active between disputants,who are siblings,23) (furby attemptto end a disagreement ther) discussion, is undertaken a brother.24) by Accordingto this letter, the sister had previouslyreproached him, and in a somewhatdefensive tone he tries in orderto counteractthe tension. Communications such as to reason with her, the ones mentioned above suggest the existence of normative guidelines for with respectto interpersonal social interaction obligationsand rights, as well as of informalcontrols concerningthe behaviourof the vilan operativesystem or lagers in general. As the correspondents disputantsare at close social distance (mostly relatedto each other)they possess good knowledgeof each other In and hold the reciprocal power to solve problems informally.25) cases like these genderas such does not seem to be a decisive factor, neitherwith regards to issues debated,nor to possible power hierarchies.What counts is the role of those who interfereas respondentsfor socially acceptedbehaviour. Quarrelswhich are narratedin letters, but do not take place between the senderand recipient,may be mentionedin orderto align or offer support,or to direct the recipient to act in a passive or active mediatoryrole. In one case are even, where two male correspondents arguingwith each other, the reason for their argumentis a maritaldispute,which is told as a joke.26) would seem It that the occasionalamusingaspects of interpersonal were recognised. arguments the of Unfortunately effect in this case was not the one intended;the narration the male-female dispute caused some offence. Arguments between two correspondentsmostly centreon breakdownsof reciprocitywith regardto services or commodities. Similar issues are also seen in the recounteddisagreements. Thus we find a man writing to his brother(?) mentioningthat his motherhas been arguing about the payment of slaves.27)Although not explicitly stated, either the recipientor the sendermay be the other party to the dispute. Some1981, pp. 11-22. 22) O DM 439 vs. Cerny1951, p. 27, pl. 26, discussedby Borghouts 23) The correspondents be eitherfull siblings(Allam 1983, p. 31), or step siblings may

(Sweeney 1993, p. 527 n. 12). 24) O DM 587. Sauneron 1959, p. 8, pls. 20, 20a. 25) Bilateral social control is related to the presence of cross-linkages between disputants. Horwitz 1990, p. 134. 26) LRL no. 46. Cerny 1939a, pp. 67-68. 27) O Glasgow D.1925.83 (O Colin Campbell 17), McDowell 1993, pp. 22-25, pls. XXV and XXVa.

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times quarrelsfocus on more general shortcomingswith regardto conduct.A who writes to a woman complaining good example is providedby a wcb-priest about anotherwoman's slackness, and the improperbehaviourshe had shown He towardshim while he was with his companions.28) is not going to leave the woman. Whetherthis is to be matterbe, but will "fight"with the impertinent as understood an intentionto take her before the court,or to solve the argument All in a more tangible way is open to interpretation. the same, the result is a that deviant situation,which originatesfrom a perception "man-against-woman" behaviourhas takenplace. One might even suggest that the violatednormsconof cerned gender-related appropriateness behaviour.In anotherletter a singer of Amon turns to her husband after she had been arguing with, but all the This case is interestingin several same ended up cheated by delivery men.29) ways, not least because it shows that a wife might indeed act in her husband's The quarrelswhich are mentionedhere can be understood interperas place.30) i.e. a woman against men, but it is equally possible to perceivethe situsonal, ation as a case of individualvs. institution.If the latter option is preferred, it gives rise to some interestingquestionsconcerningfemale access to and agency within the sphere of centre-ruled administration. Maritaltensions also figure in recordeddisputes.Thus a woman approaches her sister with a request for materialhelp, in order to alleviate her husband's complaint on the very point of her family not having satisfactorily fulfilled a Why a puzzled and defeatedhusbandcommunicates reciprocalobligations.31) maritalrow he has experiencedwith his wife to anotherwoman is less clear.32) In one case a father-in-law,with foresight, acknowledgesthe possibility of a future marital dispute, which may perhapsresult in the break-upof the marIn riage, and offers supportto his daughter-in-law.33) another,the fatherwarns his son not to wrong women and children of the father's household, as this This latter case would be identical with a crime against the father himself.34) reveals an existence of father-sonhierarchywith regardsto the women of the family, which when violated might evoke a penal response.35)
28) O Glasgow D.1925.87 (O Colin Campbell 21), Cerny and Gardiner 1957, p. 13, pls. XLII.4, XLII.4A, McDowell 1993, pp. 27-29, pls. XXX and XXXa. 29) LRL no. 37. Cern 1939a, pp. 57-60. 30) Discussed by Janssen 1986, pp. 30-31 and Sweeney 1994, pp. 208-212. and Gardiner 1957, p. 20, pls. LXX.2, LXX.2A. 31) O Prague 1826. Cernm 32) O DM 439 rt. Cernm1951, p. 27, pl. 26, discussed by Borghouts 1981, pp. 11-22. 33) O Petrie 61. Cerny and Gardiner 1957, pp. 7-8, pls. XXIII.4, XXIII.4A. The relationship between sender and receiver was kindly clarified to the writer by Dr. R.J. Demar6e. Cf. Davies 1996, p. 13 n. 21 and chart 1. 34) LRL no. 3, Cernm1939a, p. 21. 35) A similar constellation is already seen in the Heqanakhte correspondence (letters I and II) dating to the Middle Kingdom. James 1962, pp. 12-45, pls. 1-7.

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If larger groups of partisans align themselves in support of the respective disputants, the encounter remains, from a structural standpoint, with the two opponents striving for a bilateral solution. However, as structural distinctions can in practice become blurred, the power of decision making may actually shift from the disputants themselves to either of the two groups, and negotiation tactics may turn into a demand for punishment from either side.36) This is not to say that negotiated outcomes would otherwise always be left to the goodwill of the parties themselves.37) In cases where sanctions are administered informally, there are usually normative rules governing the procedure.38)The scenery may be further complicated if several go-betweens are involved. Two papyri, possibly referring to the same case, provide glimpses of such a colourful situation.39) The more informative of the two, P BM 10416, focuses on a conflict arising from an extramarital affair, which had been going on for a period of eight months. The sender, most likely the daughterof the mistress,40) contacts an unnamed man. His position is perhaps best understood as being either on the side of the adulterous husband or that of the wife.41) The sender gives the recipient an update of the latest episodes of the conflict. These events include an attempt on the husband's side to beat up the mistress, together with her supporters, or alternatively an attempt by people from the sender's (and mistress') side to beat up the lover.42) Furthermore a steward as well as another man intervene and try actively to achieve a solution. The former, among other things, restrains the mob from administering the intended beating to the mistress and "her people." Unfortunately it remains unclear whether the steward's exercise of authority springs from his moral judgement on the impropriety of the situation. Or is his intervention biased by his own partial involvement on the side of the supporters of the mistress? Moreover, as a solution to the problem the steward suggests that the lover should make up his mind whether to stay with his wife or have a socially acceptable relationship with the mistress, and if he chooses for the latter option, he should go to the local court and get a divorce. This indicates that divorces were also matters of the court rather than informal bilateral agreements
36) In close-knit communities even petty argumentsabout minor matters between individual persons may turn into quarrelsbetween groups to the point that they endanger the public space. Horwitz 1990, p. 53. 37) Roberts 1983, p. 13. 38) Ellickson 1991, p. 124. 39) P BM 10416 and P BM 10418 + 10287. Janssen 1991, pp. 28-36, pls. 15-22. 40) I am reading vs. 2 as "my (feminine first singular suffix pronoun) mother"and understanding, contrary to Janssen 1991, p. 31 n. 33, the masculine suffix pronoun "I" as referring to the steward. 41) The sender makes a clear distinction between "my (= sender) mother" and "your people." 42) Rt. 3 and rt. 7.

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only. The last line of the text, which forbids the recipient to discuss the matter with a named woman, may be taken as a suggestion that the case is far from being solved. The other papyrus, P BM 10418 + 10287, although conveying only fragmentary details, is clear to the point that a punishment in the form of a beating is intended for a woman. Thus a more or less spontaneous reaction to breaches of normative guidelines for behaviour in the community seems to have been to inflict physical punishment by beating people.43) Quarrels between women and men are to a considerable extent similar to disagreements men have with each other in their correspondence. As letters between males are much more numerous, they convey an even more marked picture of an existence of normative patterns for social interaction as well as a strong desire for informal dispute settlement through dialogue.44) One can indeed see a resemblance to the exemplary behaviour prescribed in didactic literature, such as the Maxims of Ani,45) which also heavily emphasises the avoidance of conflict. In this case literature and life seem to have had a point of connection. Women do not quarrel with each other through correspondence, but one reason for this is, to a certain degree, surely the low number of letters found, a fact which must be further linked with the question of female literacy.46) It has also been suggested that women had more opportunities to settle disagreements face to face in the village with each other, than their fellow male inhabitants.47)When considering gender power hierarchies in the disputes conveyed through letters and communications, women seem not to have been in a significantly weaker position when arguing with men. Nonetheless there are some indications of their position being less favourable. Especially in marital disputes men seem often to be the stronger disputants, with the power to threaten to or to actually throw the wife out of the house. Admittedly, there are some cases where the men ended up defeated and puzzled after a wife left the home on her own initiative. When confronted with aspects of corrupt administration, a wife acting on her husband's behalf also sees herself at a loss and
43) Several administrativerecords of the necropolis mention "beatings"and these are perhaps to be understoodas administeredinformal sanctions. Davies 1996, p. 359 n. 1. As penal responses are mostly activated within a moralistic system of social control, it means that the justification for punishmentusually springs from moral correctness. Horwitz 1990, p. 24. 44) E.g. O Berlin 10627 (Kitchen 1983 vol. VI, pp. 155-156), O DM 303 (Cernm1939b, and Gardiner p. 16, pl. 18.), O DM 326 (Cernm1939b, p. 23, pl. 28), O Leipzig 12 (Cernm 1957, p. 9, pls. XXVIII.3, XXVIII.3A), P DM 4 (Cernm1978, pp. 15-17, pls. 19-20, 19a1978, pp. 18-19, pls. 21, 21a). 20a), P DM 5 (Cernm 45) Latest edition, Quack 1994. 46) For discussions on female literacy see Baines and Eyre 1983, pp. 81-85, Bryan 1985, pp. 17-32, Lesko 1990, pp. 656-667, Sweeney 1993, pp. 525-526. The question is still far from being conclusively settled. 47) Sweeney 1993, p. 524.

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decides to wait for her husband'sreturn.48) However, before immediatelytransthese indicationsinto general terms of female status, questions such as lating rank and individual personalitiesas well as the conceptualisation the indiof vidual in relation to a larger group, such as family, have to be taken into
account.49)

documents Legal and administrative I. Disputes taken to the local court and various officials Before discussing the actual cases taken before the local court (qnbt), some brief commentson the natureof this court might be worthwhile,as it provided a higher authorityfor problem solving for the inhabitantsof the village. The composition of the court varied for each session and all the members were, from a legal point of view, laymen, who owed their membership an influento tial position in the community.50) Occasionally administrators (3tw-officers)as well as the scribe(s)of the vizier, or chiefs of police (hry-md3y)could also be When some of the latter,or other outside agents, occur as members present.51) of the qnbt, one can anticipatethe case being of some interest to the central administration being of a specificallydifficultnature.52) questionwhether or The one should understand qnbt as a "proper" the court with means to administer sanctionshas broughtforwardopposingviews. Some have tendedto understand the qnbt merely as an arbitrating umpiring)institution,53) while others,more (or The recently, have seen it as a court proper.54) basic argumentfor this latter opinion springs from evidence indicating that the qnbt indeed had effective means to enforcejudgements.However, these two alternativesneed not necessarily be mutuallyexclusive. The local court did not only inflict punishments. In many cases disputeswere settled by the administration fines or oaths; i.e. of the court exercised compensatorysocial control. Moreoverit has been shown that in some instances the qnbt functionedas a public notary.55) And it seems
48) LRLno. 37. Cernm 1939a,pp. 57-60. 49) Toivari(forthcoming). 50) Allam, 1973a,p. 45, Janssen1975,p. 295, McDowell1990, pp. 159-165,Seidl 1939,

unknown. 51) McDowell1990,pp. 162-165.Thesewere not professional judges. 52) Id., loc. cit. 53) E.g. Seidl 1939, pp. 37-38. 54) Allam 1973a,pp. 98-106,McDowell1990, 171-9. 55) Allam 1984b,pp. 179-180,McDowell1991, p. 155.

pp. 32-33. Usually at least one of the chief workmen and the scribe acted as court members, but the precise basis on which the court was formed is unknown. The place(s) where the court met and the kind of procedures that were followed to reach a verdict are similarly

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that at least one of the judgementsreached by the local court had taken into account the interestsof both litigantsin reachinga solution.56) Lately there has indeed been some discussion concerningwhetherlegal terminologyoriginating from Roman and Western jurisprudence actually is applicable for Ancient One Egyptiancircumstances.57) of the functionsof the qnbt was clearly that of a local court, but the evidence points stronglyto the qnbt being somethingfar more than that. Thus it is perhapsbest understoodas a rather flexible utilitarian institution,which served the members of the village in various ways. would be in keepingwith the generalidea of variousaspects Such a standpoint of social life not being as sharplymarkedin Ancient Egypt as they tend to be in modern Western societies.58)However, it is highly doubtful that women might have acted as membersof the qnbt.59) Male-femaledisputantsended up before the local court in cases concerning a wide range of issues. To some extent these issues resemble disagreements voiced through correspondence:obligations and expectations which had not and been substantially met, especially concerningtransactions maritalaffairs.In additionto matterssuch as these, women appearat odds with men, either alone or togetherwith other men, both as defendantsand claimants,in cases dealing with theft, slander, and propertyrights, including disputes concerning inheritance. However, the total numberof cases with women is relatively low, and the position of women in the majorityof these is that of the accused party.60)
a) Commodities: ownership and debt

To a large extent the cases dealt with at court concernvariousdegrees of failure within the domainof economic exchangeand generalreciprocity.61) quite A informativeexample is providedin a case where a father,after bilateralnego56) O Gardiner 189. Allam 1973b, p. 188, pl. 49. Another ostracon, O Ashmolean HO 655, may also record a case of arbitration.However, this case is not dealt with by the local court. McDowell 1995, pp. 220-225. Groups which feature dense networks of interaction between people tend generally to prefer conciliatory strategies. Horwitz 1990, p. 73. 57) E.g. Mrsich 1994, p. 177. 58) Janssen 1975a, pp. 294-295. 59) The only evidence of women as members of a qnbt is provided by O Gardiner 150. Cerny and Gardiner 1957, p. 21, pls. LXXI.3 and LXXI.3A. Although McDowell 1990, p. 160, seems more than hesitant to draw this conclusion from the ostracon in question, the beginning is well enough preserved as to leave one in hardly any doubt that two ladies are among the other persons (men) listed as members of the court. The problem might to certain degree lie in pure semantics, if the qnbt is defined strictly as an official legal body the threshold to be willing to interpretslight evidence in favour of the existence of female "judges"is remarkablyhigher than if qnbt is understood as a sort of "all-round"village institution. 60) McDowell 1990, p. 152. 61) For discussions of economic exchange and reciprocitysee Janssen 1975b, pp. 453-563, id. 1982a, pp. 253-258, id. 1988a, pp. 10-23, id. 1994, pp. 129-136.

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tiationsbetween himself and his daughterhad brokendown, addressesthe local He betweenhimself and his daughter, which court.62) quotes the correspondence had not resultedin the fulfilmentof reciprocalobligationsto their mutualsatisfaction.Thetextfurther had, conveysthattheseprocedures to someextent,involved other parties as well, perhapsfamily members.In this case the father finally selects another, more powerful option: that of third-partyinterventionby a This very interestingtext shows that, at least in this case of a higher authority. of breakdown generalreciprocity, fatherhimself does not decide to exercise, the or does not perhapspossess power to bring about a solution in a case involving himself and his daughter.What made him decide to take these particular steps? Were there norms prescribing how to proceed: i.e., first negotiation between the involved parties,and then third-party intervention ratherthan turning to self-help? Or was there fear that gossip disparagingto his reputation of might spreadaroundthe village, should his self-help actions be disapproved other membersof the community?63) would mean that third-party This interby vention was preferred,or perhapsprescribed,over second-partyenforcement. answers to questionslike these are beyond our reach, as is also Unfortunately the final court solution reached in this specific case. What we do know, however, is that not only parentsand offspringendedup before the local courtwhen quarrellingabout commodities.Occasionally also men and women, otherwise related or connectedwith each other, try to resolve their disputes concerning commodities before the court. In one case a man successfully wins a case involving a d3yt-cloth.64) Interestingly enough, anotherd3yt-cloth,one given by pharaoh,plays some role in anotherdomestic argumentas well, althoughit is not the key issue in this particulardispute.65) one case a woman ends up In before the court due to a debt: she owes a man a chair anda footstool, and is However, the lady does not pay and is taken a second time to given a fine.66) thistime,theRamesseum, wherean even higherfineis administered. Another court, woman is made responsiblefor her husband'sdebt for a coffin and a bed.67) The charge is that she should either pay the debt or returnthe items. These cases
62) O Cairo 25725 + O Louvre E 3259. Allam 1973b, pp. 68-69, pl. 59 (= O Louvre E 3259), Cernm1935, pp. 70, 89*, pl. LXXXVII. 63) The choice of a specific way or institutionfor problem solving can be dictated by considerations of which is the most likely to succeed from an utilitarianstandpointin ruling and enforcing of rules, and what are the specific features of the dispute (subject matter, gravity, parties etc.). Ellickson 1991, pp. 242-243, 249. 64) P Turin 167 + 2087/219 (198). Allam 1973b, pp. 308-309, pls. 106-107, McDowell 1990, p. 173. 65) O Petrie 18. Cemr and Gardiner 1957, p. 20, pls. LXX.1, LXX.1A. 66) 0 Berlin 14214. Allam 1973b, pp. 38-39, pls. 16-19. McDowell 1990, pp. 182, 184. 67) 0 Berlin 12630. Allam 1973b, p. 35, pls. 10-11.

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show that commoditiespassed throughthe hands of both sexes and although the similar cases with men as disputantsare far more numerous,68) evidence is abundantenough for one to conclude that women as well as men were well acquainted,besides with generalreciprocity,with the mechanismsof economic transactions. b) Sex deviance form another,not insignificant,numIssues concerning(hetero)sexual ber of cases dealt with by the local court. Some of these disputes are clearly activitiesrendered with the verb nk,69) one and statedto springfrom inter-sexual can safely conclude that a villager's sexual conduct, although not perhaps strictly regulatedas such, was somethingthe communitymemberskept a keen accusaeye on. As already seen from some of the letters and communications, tions of (hetero)sexualmisconductof men and women were voiced not only by men but by women as well. In one of the cases taken to the local court a woman accuses a man of having had sex with anothermarriedwoman on the occasion of carryingtorches.70) the Unfortunately text offers no furtherclarification on the situation.Anotherfragmentary difficulttext is somewhatmore and In transparent. this case a man takes an oath before the courtconcerninga marOne might understand oath he takes as a denial referring the ried(?)woman.71) to the past, i.e. the man denies having known the woman sexually.72) Some water-carriers were called in, probablyin order to provide additionalcircumstantialevidence on the case, but they deny having anythingto say. The interpretationof what follows is somewhatunclear.Perhapswe have a referenceto a divorce,and the purposemightwell be to specify and clarify the situationfurther. In the end the man has to take three additionaloaths assuring to keep away from the woman.

68) E.g. Davies 1996, pp. 345-350. 69) It appears that during the New Kingdom the verb nk, besides having a neutral meaning of "to have sexual intercoursewith," also gained negative connotations of impropersexual activities, such as "sleeping with other men's women," i.e. to commit adultery. Janssen 1988b, pp. 52-55. 70) P DM 26 B vs. 1. Cerny 1986, p. 4, pls. 15, 15a. The location, place of carrying torches, is discussed by Janssen 1995, pp. 115-121. This case is not explicitly stated to have taken place before the local court, although this seems very plausible since the papyrus is a collection of legal records. 71) 0 Cairo 25227 vs. Allam 1973b, pp. 55-56, pl. 28. & 72) This passage has been understoodas a prospective in Cernm Groll 1984, p. 336, ex. 922 and Eyre 1984, p. 100. Davies 1996, p. 387, suggests a translationin the present tense. However, a past tense is here grammatically possible as well, and the two given statements can implicitly be understoodas: "She has not known <me> sexually, she has not made love <with me>."

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To promise under oath to stay away from the involved female party seems indeed to be something of a standard procedure in cases dealing with sexual liaisons which were not tolerated in the community.73) Thus a son from one of the more notable families, who wanders into the bed of a married or betrothed woman and is caught in the act by the husband-to-be, finds himself eventually taken before the court.74) Probably due to a decisively inferior social status, the husband-to-be does not succeed in bringing the adulterer before the court himself,75) but when the culprit finally has to face justice, he takes an oath not to speak with the woman again. In this particular case the attraction to the woman is obviously far stronger than the power of the oath taken before the officials. Thus we learn that the father later drags his son before the court, after the son renewed his acquaintance with the woman and even made her pregnant. At this point the husband-to-be does not figure in the narrative anymore. But if the husband-to-be seems to vanish, it is interesting to note that the woman does not figure actively in this case at all (and this seems to a certain extent to hold true for the previous case as well). She is the object of the culprit's advances and she is subsequently made pregnant. However, in this narrative, she plays no role, she does not even give testimony or take an oath.76)It means that cases such as these do not present examples of male-female disputes, they are in fact male disputes over women.77) Such an "invisibility" becomes even more striking when compared to the numerous oaths from later periods where women actively attempt to clear their reputation.78) No similar parallel, concerning female sexual fidelity, is seen in the Deir el-Medina sources. c) Domestic disputes Although women hardly ever figure in an active manner in disputes concerning adultery, they are definitely "alive" in other domestic disputes. To a certain
73) For the use of oaths in legal proceedings see Allam 1973a, pp. 67-71, McDowell 1990, pp. 33-38, 145-146, 224. See also Wilson 1948, pp. 129-156. 74) P DM 27, Cerny 1986, pp. 4-5, pls. 16-17, 16a-17a. Discussed, among others, by Allam 1973b, pp. 301-302, Janssen 1975, pp. 294-295, id. 1982b, pp. 119-120, McDowell 1990, pp. 27, 62, 67, 115-117, 154-155, 170, 175, 222. 75) Cf. Janssen 1975a, pp. 294-295. 76) Although one takes into account a suggestion put forward by Allam 1973b, p. 302, that the woman escapes punishment because she is here in fact the victim of rape, it does not explain sufficiently her marginal position. However, one has to keep in mind that the majority of the written material from Deir el-Medina represents a male discourse, which of course makes it male biased. 77) This holds true also for the other references we have of (hetero)sexualassault or rape committed by men. 78) In demotic temple oaths women frequently have to clear their reputationwith regard to fidelity and good housekeeping. Kaplony-Heckel 1963, pp. 32-50, oaths nos. 1-3 and 5-14.

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degree sex might also play a part here, but often one can anticipate several other issues embedded in the case such as behaviour more generally, compatibility and property. The letters suggest that friction between spouses occurred quite frequently, so cases which were taken as far as the court must be considered as only a minute fraction of domestic disputes in general. A somewhat obscure quarrel between man and wife, dealt with by the local court, seems to end in an attempt of arbitration, or perhaps one in this particular case might even call it marital counselling.79) In another case Paneb, who later in his career as chief workman is accused of having sex with several wives of his "subordinates,"80)makes his first definite appearance in the Deir el-Medina sources in year 66 of Ramses II,81)during a dispute he has with his wife before the local court.82)Unfortunately no details are preserved, except for the beginning of an oath taken: the latter part, which would convey information concerning this case, is extremely fragmentary. In another case, a woman's negligence towards a man, who is suffering from illness, as well as her helping herself to some of his property, namely a d3yt-cloth, seem to be crucial.83) However, the fragmentary state of this text also makes a substantial understanding difficult. The case might concern either marriage and/or divorce issues, or leaving a woman out of a will.84) An incident of wife beating was also taken before the court.85) Understanding this text has posed problems,86) to which the writer proposes a reconstruction as follows: a woman, or a workman (male relative of the woman) acting on her behalf, approaches the local court.87)The woman has been badly beaten by her husband. A vivid description of the battering is given, and the husband's mother is brought to court in order to provide more information or evidence on the case. It is indeed very unfortunate that the text is fragmentary to the point that it is impossible to know if any punishment was inflicted in addition to the declaration that the husband was in the wrong and the administration of oaths. If this reconstruction of the case is correct, it provides a significant indication of gender hierarchies and power both, out of, as well as, before 189. Allam 1973b,p. 188, pl. 49. 79) 0 Gardiner to 1929,pp. 243-258.Eyre 1984 pointsout parallels this as a stand80) P Salt 124. Cernm ardthemeof blackening name. the the 81) However,Davies 1996, p. 42 has considered possibilitythat Panebwas actually on the workforce as early as year 50 of RamsesII. 82) O Cairo25237 vs. Kitchen1980 vol. III pp. 529-530. and 83) O Petrie18. Cernm Gardiner 1957, p. 20, pls. LXX.1,LXX.1A. betweenthe man and the womanis not clearhere. 84) The relationship and 85) O Nash 5 rt. Cernm Gardiner 1957, p. 16, pls. LIII.2,LIII.2A. 86) Cf. McDowell1990, p. 152. 87) The fact thatthe subject,"I,"is masculinemakessense if thereis a man actingon behalfof the beatenwoman.Another used the maspossibilityis thatthe scribemistakenly culinepronoun.

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the court, but even so the question of how to translatethe particularinto the There is anothercase with referenceto beatgeneralremains a delicate one.88) a woman, which also came up before the court.89) Here, too, the passage is ing too badly damagedto preservethe details of the case, except that it is specified that all the woman's limbs had sufferedfrom the beating.We do not know what triggeredthese cases of physical assault.This also holds true for a case of wife Here a workmanstayed home from work beatingrecordedin a work journal.90) because he was fighting with his wife. It seems inevitable that domestic violence, as a form of male dominance,did take place in the village, but considering the frequencyof the problemcross culturally,this can hardlybe regarded as surprising.91) fact that cases of wife beatingwere dealt with at the local The court, ratherthan being solved throughtoleranceby the injuredparty is nonetheless significant.92) However, there is not sufficientevidence to estimate how common such occurrenceswere at Deir el-Medina. d) Thefts In the village community stealing seems to have been an activity not restrictedexclusively to either sex, and there is evidence of women stealing from men. In one instance93) case is triggeredby a woman, who experienceddivine a then submits informationconcerning the identity of the thief to the bereaved party. It turns out that the woman, thus pointed out, was actually guilty of several thefts. The first of her crimes results in a man-up-against-a-female-thief situation,where the man brings an accusationagainst her to the court. She is the one who stole a working tool of his. The text conveys a much more active role for the court than is seen in most of the other cases, and it also paints a vivid picture of our female villain, who besides having committedthe thefts also commits perjury.As the thefts were not restrictedto privateproperty,the case is put aside until the arrivalof the vizier, who gets this particular report sent to him. He is also providedwith a precedentand a suggestionfor a punishment which would work as a deterrent.Anothercase of theft ascribedto a woman is offeredby a text in which a woman suffersdivine intervention after
88) Toivari(forthcoming). intervention after having withheld evidence during a preliminary inquiry.94) She

89) P DM 26 B rt. 9-13. Cerny 1986, p. 4, pls. 14, 14a. 90) O Cairo 25521. Cerny 1935, pp. 10-11, 22*-25*, pls. XV, XVI. 92) In cases of remarkableasymmetry in power hierarchiestolerance is often the only way an offended party of low status might react, especially if the two disputants are intimates. Horwitz 1990, pp. 101-121. and Gardiner 1957, p. 14, pls. XLVI.2, XLVI.2A. 93) O Nash 1. Cernm 94) For a discussion of divine intervention see Borghouts 1982, pp. 1-70.

91) Walsh 1997, pp. 207-209.

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Her reactionto this incidentis to confess, having stolen a cake from a man.95) on her own initiative,her misdeed to the bereavedman. In this latter case one conflateswith self-controland selfmay suggest that the "divine intervention" or the force of the actor's conscience, a mechanismof social consanctioning, trol well attestedin close-knit communities.96)
e) Slander

Gossip and slander are phenomenaone can expect in abundancein a closed communitylike Deir el-Medina.Although gossiping is a very convenientway to exercise social control, the line between gossip and slandermight at times be delicate, and if crossed dire consequencescould follow. Both women and men seem to have taken a sharein spreadinggossip. Ratherthan gender,social status might have been decisive whether repercussionsmight have followed slander or gossiping. Thus a chief workmanaccuses a group of men and one woman of slander.97) may never know whethertheir claims were true, as We the chief workman uses his authority to have them punished-beaten-and exact a promiseunder oath never to repeat their allegationsagain.98) The punishment is inflictedwith no consideration gender.This case probablyfound to its way to the records as the issue was serious, an allegationof lese majeste. Other quarrelsinvolving slanderwere possibly dealt with without any written documentation.99)
f) Inheritance

Egyptological and papyrological research on legal documents has unveiled the techniquesof transmittance propertythroughinheritance.100) system of The both lines of the family and the offspring,irrespectiveof sex, acknowledged as the primaryheirs. In most cases an inheritancewas probablydivided without any third-party but intervention, as always, situationsinvolving transferof It propertycan be very "dispute-sensitive." is thereforeno surprisethat a number of claims concerninginheritanceended up before the officials, or the oraintervention. When obscurities cle, and thus became solved throughthird-party occurredconcerninginheritancerights, the inhabitantsof Deir el-Medina,irrespective of gender, seem to have taken action. Besides siblings, who quarrel

96) Ellickson 1991, pp. 243-246. 97) O Cairo 25556. Cern 1935, pp. 21-22, 44*, pl. XXVIII. 98) McDowell 1990, 152-153, 160-161, 251, id. 1987, pp. 17-22. 99) However a case submittedby a man to the oracle in P DM 26A rt. 18-19, might be understoodas concerning slander. Davies 1996, p. 365. 100) Cf. Allam 1984a, pp. 152-160, Janssen and Pestman 1968, pp. 164-170, Pestman

166. 95) 0 Gardiner Allam 1973b,pp. 184-185,pl. 46.

1969, pp. 58-77.

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over inheritance,101) woman-against-men constellation is found in a case where a a widow takes action against three workmen and successfully claims her dead In husband's property.102) another case a male disputant takes up an inheritance claim against another widow.103)He might be the widow's brother-in-law, and is perhaps acting on behalf of the two daughters the deceased had from a previous marriage.104) It seems plausible that this case is mentioned in another papyrus record as well.105)If the papyrus refers to the same dispute the man vs. woman constellation becomes more diffuse, as there seem to be more persons involved. II. Cases submitted to the oracle The local court and the officials were not the only higher instances from which dispute settlement might be sought within the village. The oracle provided another quite commonly solicited authority. The most prominent of the gods who were consulted at Deir el-Medina was the deified Amenophis I.106) The oracle was approached on all sorts of matters, and it has been suggested that it offered an alternative institution for the poor, who had no chance before a (corrupt) local court.'07) Another opinion is that the oracle had more power than the local court to impose decisions,108)and that it actually dealt with most of the cases concerning inheritances.109) These ideas have been challenged and modified to the point where actually all real estate cases should be considered belonging to the sphere of either the oracle or the vizier.110)The cases which concerns us here are indeed inheritance disputes which have to do with property,"') but there is also an inheritance dispute concerning movables,"2) as
101) O Petrie 16. Cerny and Gardiner 1957, p. 7, pls. XXI.1, XXI.1A. P Boulaq X. Janssen and Pestman 1968, pp. 137-170. The family relationships are far from clear. For a somewhat modified reconstructionof Janssen and Pestman see Davies 1996, pp. 379-382. 102) O DM 235. Cemr 1937, p. 9, pl. 21. There exists some disagreement as to whether this claim is brought before the officials of the local court, Allam 1973a, p. 109, Lurje 1973, p. 54, or authoritiesfrom "outside,"McDowell 1990, pp. 67-68. The relationshipbetween the men and the widow is unfortunatelynot clear, Davies 1996, pp. 385-386. 103) O DM 225. Cerny 1937, p. 9, pl. 16. Discussed by Allam 1973b, pp. 105-106, Janssen 1975a, pp. 291-292, McDowell 1990, pp. 121-122. 104) Janssen 1975a, pp. 291-292. 105) P DM 26 A rt. 1-8. Cerny 1986, p. 4, pls. 12, 12a. 106) For an outline of the oracle see McDowell 1990, pp. 107-141. 107) Bedell 1973, pp. 200-206. 108) Allam 1973a, p. 96. 109) Allam 1973a, p. 80. 110) McDowell 1990, p. 118. 111) O DM 618. Sauneron 1959, p. 13, pls. 30, 30a. O DM 663 (to the vizier). Cerny 1970, p. 9, pl. 17. 112) O Berlin 10626. Allam 1973b, pp. 27-29, Kitchen 1983 vol. V, p. 574.

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well as a case of theft, where a chief workman's daughter is accused of the theft of a workman's garment.13) However, male-female disputes seem not in any extensive number to have been dealt with by oracles. Conclusion When viewing the bulk of material which encompasses references to malefemale disputes the first impressions are those of female "visibility and voice." A rough estimate is that women figure in about 10-15% of the written documentation from Deir el-Medina. The references to male-female disputes seem to be in proportion with the general estimate. Thus, from a quantitative aspect, references to women as well as references to male-female interaction are, although not exceedingly abundant in number, still a good enough sample to work with. The material at hand indicates that interpersonal disputes were frequent events in people's daily life: not a very surprising fact considering the extreme physical closeness of the abodes in the village, surely a circumstance which helped in creating friction. This does not mean that the society would have tolerated quarrelling as such. It rather provided various means of problemsolving, thus indicating that the ideal was a non-conflict situation. When things went wrong and disagreements occurred, men found themselves at odds with women for almost all the same issues they quarrelled with their male fellows, except for work and work related matters. And both sexes were able to voice their disapproval, irrespective of whether the dispute was dealt with by bilateral negotiation or any kind of third-party intervention. However, this is not to say that women and men would have operated within an egalitarian power hierarchy, as there are indications of asymmetry. But such an asymmetry is not dependent on sex/gender only; rather it forms a part in a complex relationship with other variables, which also influenced the construct quite remarkably.114) The general conclusion is therefore, that the workmen's community at Deir elMedina was neither with respect to the social organisation, nor in mentalites, constructed with gender as its main organising principle, and this is reflected in the material discussed above.

4. and 1957, p. 9, pls. XXVII.3,XXVII.3A. 113) O Gardiner Cerny Gardiner 114) Toivari(forthcoming).

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