Chapter 6: Sacred Voices Beyond the Center

This chapter is part of the book The Sacred Editors: Lost Women.

She stood on the temple steps, firelight flickering across her robes. Her name was Hvov, daughter of the prophet Zarathustra, and though few outside Zoroastrian tradition remember her, she was said to have kept the sacred flame alive in a time of threat and confusion. In later lore, she became a custodian of her father's teachings—one of the women entrusted to carry the Avesta when oral memory was all they had.

In the North Indian plains, another woman gathered flour and lentils in the courtyard of a modest home. Her name was Mata Khivi, wife of Guru Angad, second master of the Sikh faith. In a young, still-forming religious community, she quietly established a practice that would become foundational: the langar, a communal kitchen feeding all regardless of caste or creed. Though she left no writings, her theology was imprinted in action. Feeding others was sacred text made flesh.

And across the mountains in Mesoamerica, long before Spanish conquest, priestesses of the Mexica (Aztecs) memorized cosmological chants, performed lunar rites, and spoke with the voices of earth and sky. Their names were often titles—cihuacohuatl ("woman serpent") or ticitl ("priest-healer")—but their authority was recognized in rituals that connected the living to the gods.¹

These women did not appear in the "big five" canon lists. They were not part of the textual traditions that formed the basis of world religion syllabi or interfaith dialogues. But they shaped the sacred in their own ways: through vision, transmission, memory, and ritual. Their voices mattered, even if written history failed to hear them.

However, we must approach their stories with scholarly caution. Many of these figures exist at the intersection of history and legend, their lives filtered through centuries of oral tradition, religious interpretation, and sometimes romanticized modern reconstruction. The challenge in recovering women from traditions with limited written records requires us to balance recognition of their importance with acknowledgment of what we cannot definitively know.

In Zoroastrian tradition, women held early religious roles that became obscured over time. The Gathas, the most ancient hymns attributed to Zarathustra, speak often in inclusive, even gender-egalitarian language.² Later texts, such as the Denkard and Bundahishn, include stories of women participating in sacred debates, temple leadership, and ritual transmission. While most of these women remain unnamed, figures like Hvov—daughter of the founder himself—suggest the possibility of early female prophetic agency. Her memory survives primarily in later Pahlavi commentary, and while her historicity is debated, her symbolic significance is not.³

Sikhism, emerging in the 15th century, offered unusual prominence to women in both its theology and practice. Guru Nanak's own writings rejected gender hierarchy, and women were included in the early congregations (sangats). Mata Khivi (1506–1582), wife of the second Guru, is remembered not for formal theological writing but for her institutional legacy: she organized and expanded the langar, a revolutionary form of caste-free, communal eating that remains central to Sikh identity today.⁴ While Sikh scripture (the Guru Granth Sahib) includes compositions from both male and female contributors of varying castes and religions, women's names are few. Yet figures like Mata Khivi demonstrate how shaping sacred practice can be as enduring as shaping sacred text.

Indigenous traditions across the Americas, Africa, and Asia offer rich, though often under-documented, examples of female religious leadership. In Mesoamerican societies, particularly the Aztec and Maya, priestesses performed divination, interpreted calendars, and conducted public ritual.⁵ The Spanish conquest and forced Christianization destroyed most indigenous texts and suppressed female authority, but oral traditions preserve the memory of spiritual women whose knowledge linked cosmos and community. Recent archaeological evidence from sites like Teotihuacan suggests that women held significant ritual roles, as evidenced by burial goods and temple murals depicting female religious figures.⁶

Among the Yoruba of West Africa, Iyanifa—female Ifa diviners—were essential in interpreting the Odu Ifa, the sacred corpus of divinatory verses. Though often overshadowed by male babalawo in scholarly accounts, these women held communal authority in ritual and cosmological knowledge.⁷ Similarly, female griots—oral historians and praise-singers—preserved genealogies and sacred narratives across generations, often adapting language and metaphor to reflect women's lives and struggles. For deeper understanding of West African women's religious roles, see Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí's The Invention of Women and Jacob Olupona's comprehensive studies of Yoruba religion.⁸

In Central Asia, women mystics and saints are commemorated in local shrines and stories, though few are recorded in canonical Sufi literature. Figures like Amina Khatoon and Bibi Pak Daman are remembered as spiritual teachers and guardians of sacred spaces.⁹ In Daoist tradition, immortal women—such as He Xiangu—emerged in religious tales as paragons of wisdom and virtue, associated with sacred mountains and divine elixirs. For scholarly treatment of these figures, see Suzanne Cahill's Transcendence and Divine Passion.¹⁰

The Yazidi tradition of northern Iraq preserves ancient stories of female spiritual authority, though persecution has threatened both the community and its oral traditions. Yazidi women known as qawwals and kocheks serve as religious singers and keepers of sacred songs, maintaining theological knowledge through performance rather than text.¹¹ Among Jain communities, sadhvis (female ascetics) have long practiced extreme renunciation and scripture memorization, with some achieving recognition as spiritual teachers despite the tradition's emphasis on male leadership.¹²

In the Pacific Northwest, Indigenous women like those of the Tlingit and Haida peoples served as clan mothers and keepers of oral traditions, responsible for maintaining genealogies, territorial rights, and ceremonial knowledge. The devastating impact of colonization severely disrupted these traditions, though revival efforts continue today.¹³

These figures remind us that the boundaries of sacred text are broader than paper and ink. Transmission can happen through song, ritual, memory, and embodied practice. Though many of these women were never canonized—indeed, never written down in their lifetimes—their presence shaped the beliefs and behaviors of countless communities.

What unites them is not a single tradition or textual corpus, but the fact that their voices endured despite structural erasure. They were carried in chant, remembered in family stories, inscribed into the architecture of community. Their contributions lie not in verses quoted but in rituals performed, ethics enacted, and lives changed.

"She [Mata Khivi] served the congregation with loving care;
She spread the Guru's message not by preaching, but by feeding."
—Bhatt Bhikan, Guru Granth Sahib, Ang 967

To seek sacred voices only in the centers of canon is to overlook the women who whispered theology in kitchens, danced it into ritual, and kept it alive in stories told under starlight. Their absence from scripture was not the absence of sacred thought. It was the absence of scribes who recognized it. Their memory endures—not just in what was written, but in what was lived.

Also Remembered

Bibi Nanaki (15th century, Punjab): Sister of Guru Nanak, considered the first believer in his message. Respected for her spiritual insight and early support of the Sikh community, she represents the often-overlooked family members who nurtured emerging religious movements.

He Xiangu and Other Daoist Immortals (Tang–Song dynasties): Female sages associated with health, immortality, and wisdom in Daoist lore. While often mythologized, they preserve memories of women's spiritual authority in Chinese religious tradition.

Yazidi Qawwals (modern Iraq): Female spiritual leaders who maintain oral religious teachings in a persecuted minority tradition. Their role demonstrates how women preserved sacred knowledge through performance in communities under threat.

Jain Sadhvis (India, ancient to present): Female ascetics known for extreme renunciation, fasting, and scripture memorization. Many remain anonymous but have been pivotal in oral transmission and spiritual guidance within Jain communities.

Tibetan Translator Wives (8th–10th century): Local women who married Indian Buddhist scholars, learned Sanskrit, and helped transmit Buddhist texts into Tibetan. Their linguistic skills were essential to preserving Buddhism during its transmission to Tibet.

Mesoamerican Priestesses (pre-Columbian Americas): Women who served as diviners, healers, and ritual specialists in Aztec, Maya, and other indigenous traditions. Though their names are largely lost, archaeological evidence confirms their significant religious roles.

Notes

This opening vignette represents a plausible composite based on documented practices in Zoroastrian, Sikh, and Mesoamerican traditions. While specific scenes are reconstructed for narrative purposes, the roles described—fire-keeping, langar establishment, and priestess functions—are historically attested. See Mary Boyce, Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (Routledge, 2001), 78–95; Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, The Feminine Principle in the Sikh Vision (Cambridge University Press, 1993), 85–88; and Susan Kellogg, Law and the Transformation of Aztec Culture (University of Oklahoma Press, 1995), 128–133.
Jenny Rose, Zoroastrianism: An Introduction (I.B. Tauris, 2011), 44–47.
Mary Boyce, Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (Routledge, 2001), 112–115.
Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, The Feminine Principle in the Sikh Vision of the Transcendent (Cambridge University Press, 1993), 85–88.
Susan Kellogg, Law and the Transformation of Aztec Culture (University of Oklahoma Press, 1995), 128–133.
Rosemary A. Joyce, Ancient Bodies, Ancient Lives: Sex, Gender, and Archaeology (Thames & Hudson, 2008), 142–156.
Jacob K. Olupona, African Religions: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2014), 66–68.
Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí, The Invention of Women: Making an African Sense of Western Gender Discourses (University of Minnesota Press, 1997); Jacob K. Olupona, City of 201 Gods: Ilé-Ifẹ̀ in Time, Space, and the Imagination(University of California Press, 2011).
Devin DeWeese, Islamization and Native Religion in the Golden Horde (Pennsylvania State University Press, 1994), 215–220.
Suzanne Cahill, Transcendence and Divine Passion: The Queen Mother of the West in Medieval China (Stanford University Press, 1993); Livia Kohn, Daoism and Chinese Culture (Three Pines Press, 2001), 142–145.
Christine Allison, The Yezidi Oral Tradition in Iraqi Kurdistan (Routledge, 2001), 89–102.
Padmanabh S. Jaini, Gender and Salvation: Jaina Debates on the Spiritual Liberation of Women (University of California Press, 1991), 45–67.
Sergei Kan, Symbolic Immortality: The Tlingit Potlatch of the Nineteenth Century (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989), 78–95.

Further Reading

Mary Boyce, Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (Routledge, 2001). Comprehensive study of Zoroastrian tradition including discussion of women's early roles.

Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, The Feminine Principle in the Sikh Vision of the Transcendent (Cambridge University Press, 1993). Analysis of gender and spirituality in Sikh tradition.

Susan Kellogg, Law and the Transformation of Aztec Culture (University of Oklahoma Press, 1995). Examination of Mesoamerican gender roles and religious authority.

Jacob K. Olupona, City of 201 Gods: Ilé-Ifẹ̀ in Time, Space, and the Imagination (University of California Press, 2011). Detailed study of Yoruba religious traditions including women's roles.

Suzanne Cahill, Transcendence and Divine Passion: The Queen Mother of the West in Medieval China (Stanford University Press, 1993). Scholarly treatment of female figures in Daoist tradition.

Christine Allison, The Yezidi Oral Tradition in Iraqi Kurdistan (Routledge, 2001). Academic study of Yazidi religious traditions and women's roles in preservation.