Of Sex and Procreation in the Primitive World

Until their first contact with European colonizers, most primitive communities were unaware of the biological function of sex. Procreation was considered as one of nature most gnawing mysteries, especially for men who could not accept the fact that the survival of the group and of the species entirely rested in the hands of women. Endowing spirits with a procreative role will not only provide pregnancy with its first comprehensive explanation, but will also bestow on men a decisive role in its process. Excerpts from The Masculine Civilization by Rene Hirsch