Khutulun Political Influence

The narrator’s mother tells her story of her aunt as a cautionary tale, and in doing so draws a connection between the two. The narrator’s menstruation (Yue Jin in Chinese, as in “the moon’s passing” – once again, the roundness motif) mirrors the her aunt’s, her “forerunner[’s]” (8) “protruding melon of a stomach” (3). Indeed, the narrator views her childhood, barred from simple joys of flying “high kites” and “carnival ride[s]” and having to “pa[y] in guilt” (6) when she dares disobey, as markedly similar to her aunt’s life. Under the feudal system, women are relegated to the role of extending the descent line into perpetuity. Roundness, as critic Sau-Ling Cynthia Wong describes, is “mindlessly self-perpetuating; if a symbol of perfection and self-sufficiency, a circle also represents confinement” (“Necessity and Extravagance in Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior: Art and the Ethnic Experience”

These women seem to be too intelligent for their own good; this perhaps hints at an ulterior motive. It isn’t possible to fathom having these “dainty creatures” and not have them wanting more than what they already have. We have noticed the power and riches both kings from both stories have. In Sakuntala and the Ring of Recollection the king says that Sakuntala, “was born to be a warrior’s bride or my noble heart desires her.” (883) This points out the copious amount of wealth the king appears to possess. Sakuntala could’ve been devastated because she lost her power and wealth she gained when she married the king. The same goes with Shahrazad who married the king Shahrayar. In a particular passage in the One Thousand and One Nights we get a glimpse into his wealth. “He provided his brother Shahzaman with supplies for his journey and sent him back to his own country with gifts, rarities, and money.” (562) Shahrazad also could’ve had different motivation to marry the king. She could keep him distracted long enough to live among all the riches provided by her new husband. Both women seem manipulative enough to be able to get away with marrying these men and enacting their true

It can be concluded that the princesses are trained by the imperial court to only be married. A famous writing by a Chinese princess proved this to be true. She wrote “My family married me to a lost horizon…Were I only a brown goose and could fly back home.” (p. 81) Despite the low status of women in this era, their role in the society was needed to keep relations between kingdom friendly. As a khatun, Taihe had power in the Uygur court. Although women rarely were able to hold such a position, Taihe was “allowed to establish her own quarters, and for almost a year she had the company of the Chinese ministers” (p.86). The status Taihe gained through marriage displayed that the tradition held a lot of power.

Khutulun was born in c.1260 and died in c.1306. She was the daughter to Kaidu, cousin of Kublai Khan, and great-great-granddaughter of Genghis Khan. She had 14 brothers. She always followed her father into battle giving advice and political support along the way. Marco Polo said in one account that while she was up at her father's side, she scanned the enemy crowd. Before anyone could do anything, she would quickly ride her horse up to the enemy leader and snag him by his throat and then take him to her father. That causes the enemy forces to panic and flee. She was an amazing warrior and earned respect among her father supporters and her father's respect also rose. She didn't want to marry but her father wanted her to, so she compromised and

People had seen one-eyed kings, one –armed kings, and lame kings, but a stiff –legged king had never been heard tell of. No matter how great the destiny promised for Mari Djata might be, the throne could not be given to someone who had no power in his legs; if the jinn loved him, let them begin by giving him the use of his legs.”(67). The harsh remarks to Sundiata’s mother broke her spirit, she had of her son becoming the next king of Mali despite the prophecy. At the age of seven Sundiata still crawled while the other kids his age flourished. However, all of these challenges Sundiata had to faced created his character. Sundiata’s vulnerability makes his accomplishments even more special because he was so difference from everyone else within the Mali town.

While it was not unusual for the men of the Mongol empire to be out battling for control over foreign lands, the wives of the tribal and clan chiefs would frequently accompany their husband’s during actions against enemies (Hartog 10). The women would, “put on the helmet of war, taking up the bows and arrows of battle, and going forth to defend their nation and their families” alongside their husbands (Weatherford, Secret History).

There are few examples of politics and government in ancient society that are as informative and detailed as those during the Third Dynasty period of Ur. The location of this ancient Sumerian city of Ur was located midway between Baghdad, Iraq and the head of the Persian Gulf. (Ur, 2014) In addition, the ruins of Ur are now known as Tell al-Muqayyar, Iraq. Interestingly, this city state has had a long and significant history throughout the pages of antiquity. However, the time period of the Third Dynasty being observed only covers the years approximately between 2112-2004 BC. (Ur, 2014) The importance of this small part of the timeline of the city state of Ur can be marked in the politics that show us the roots and early trends of human governance via the history of one of the earliest large city states of the prehistoric world.

There was once a poor bamboo cutter, cutting away. As he is cutting he sees a small child the size of his thumb inside the bamboo. He was awed by her beauty and took her home to his wife. They decided that they would raise her together, just as if she were their own child. But what they don’t know is that she is actually Princess Kaguya-hime. She has been sent down from the moon by her race to be protected from a raging Celestial war.

In the story of “Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali,” the male king, as always is the dominant figure. Maghan Kon Fatta, was a Mandinka king who received a divine hunter at his court. The hunter predicted that if he married an ugly woman she would give him a son who would be a mighty king one day. He had three wives and six children, three of which were boys and three were girls, one of his sons was going to take his spot on the throne.

Moreover, to explain these labels, the important events relevant to the development of the waiting-woman should be recognized and explained. The waiting woman is first set on her journey to fulfill her duties beside the Princess after mounting their respective horses. On both occasions that the Princes has been thirsty, the waiting-woman declares “I will not be your slave. If you want a drink, you may get it yourself; I am not going to be your slave” (582). To this, the Princess does not respond; the second time around, as she bends to drink her water, she looses

Xiao Jingyan, Prince Jing of the Liang Empire, pulled his horse into a standstill and the soldiers behind him stopped moving in unison. The last time he rode out like this, he led twenty thousand men into a victory against thirty thousand. This time, he was visiting the capital of the Hua Kingdom to stay for an undetermined amount of time as a privileged guest of honor, an appellation prescribed by the newly established peace treaty between Hua and Liang.

King Mongkut may have the authority of the country’s ruler but in Anna’s perspective, he does not intimidate her and she firmly asserts herself as an English woman; Anna knew to state an older age and was quick to establish herself as educated and intelligent.

Long time ago, there was a beautiful girl named Buhlaluse. She was the king's beloved daughter. Her father loved her so much that he hired some maidens to be her companions / attendants, but her companions were envious of her beauty and her life.

"My mother was the Chief of the White Shadow Sect," said Yuan. "When she realized my father wanted to marry Princess Kara-Shutai, she stopped taking her medicine. They were married a day before she passed away and I vowed to become everything my father didn 't want me to be."

Māori societies rely on a hierarchical system to keep balance within the Iwi (tribe) or Hapū (sub-tribe). The leaders can determine how tikanga (the correct or Māori way of doing things) is defined within that iwi or hapū so hold a great deal of responsibility. A good leader would have gained mana (power and authority) from his/her people and would often have whakapapa (genealogy or lineage) which they gained their mana and leadership skills from (Duncan, 2015). Kaumātua (elders) were often looked upon as leaders in any community because of their knowledge and advice but a highly respected leader would also be of direct descent from the atua (ancestor with continuing power, can be related to gods) or ariki (original chief of the waka). In this essay I will use the Kīngitanga movement on the 1860’s to show how mana, tikanga and whakapapa are all important concepts for a good Māori leader to encompass into his role.