Menopause has been given many names by many different cultures. The change. The climacteric. The crowning. In American culture, menopausal women are often viewed as old, sexless women who complain of hot flashes and weight gain. This American view of menopause is not common in most other cultures and societies. The Cherokee Indians believed that women did not enter adulthood until the age of 51. In Celtic cultures, the elder woman was seen as the seed –
2 the part that contains all the knowledge of the parts within it. The elder’s role was to go forth and reseed the community with her wisdom. Anthropologists Margaret Mead and Judith K. Bwon studied the status of women in primitive cultures around the world. They found that women who have reached menopause are “crowned” wise women, midwives, healers, and givers of initiation.ii In a wide diversity of ancient cultures from North American to Middle Eastern, African to Aborigine, and European to Icelanders, postmenopausal women are valued for their intuitive wisdom. In ancient times, these women were trained as oracles, priestesses, shamans, and healers.