The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca presents the expedition to the new world through de Vaca’s personal accounts. During his journey, Cabeza de Vaca is immersed into the native Indian culture, experiencing several different tribes. The exploration narrative is both a dramatic tragedy and a descriptive tale. De Vaca’s personal accounts describe the shift he makes from using the Indians for survival to documenting his life with them, acting as a part of them. De Vaca’s motivation with the Indians evolves into a new experience, as he becomes a part of their culture. De Vaca observes and describes the differences between the male and female Indians. Gender plays a significant role in the natives’ culture. Men hold most of the responsibility for survival, i.e. hunting and fishing for food, protecting the tribe from danger and exploration. Women are responsible for gathering, which keeps them close to the village. Cabeza de Vaca experiences and observes the importance of gender roles while living in the natives’ culture. The selections I have chosen for the narrative emphasize gender roles within the tribes that Cabeza de Vaca encounters. The five selections show the natives’ living conditions, rituals and customs as they pertain to gender. 
Section 1- p 65-70: “Of the Character of the Land”
In this section, Cabeza de Vaca describes his experience upon arrive in Apalachen. The Indians attack De Vaca and his men, which results in their departing of the village. On their journey to the nearby village of Aute, the encountered more dangerous attacks.
I chose to include this section because it exhibits the dangerous conditions Cabeza de Vaca and his men faced during their travels. It also describes the male Indians as strong warriors and “swift” in their attack. This section includes tragedy and description as it relates to De Vaca’s encounters with male Indians.
Section 2- p 89-93: “How Four Christians Departed”
This section describes the harsh weather conditions the natives experienced, resulting in a loss of crops and lack of protection on their homes. De Vaca describes the appearances of the male Indians as well as their rituals for death and marriage.
This section is important in revealing the Indians’ customs and rituals. I felt it necessary to include these rituals because it portrays the paternal and maternal roles within the tribe. Also, this section explains the customs of marriage, which is important in revealing the “rank” of men among the tribe. For example, physicians are allotted multiple wives, while the other men are only allowed one.
Section 3- p 104-110: “Of the Account that [Figueroa] gave of Esquivel”
In this section De Vaca describes the harsh actions the Quevenes tribe demonstrated in front of his men, along with their customs. De Vaca describes how these Indians kill newborns. According to De Vaca, they do this because they believe everyone is their enemey, and reproducing would only result in more enemies.
I felt this section was important in demonstrating a different gender role among the natives. Unlike many of the other tribes, the Quevenes don’t distinguish among gender, in regards to death. They believe all people, either man or woman, to be enemies. This shows a unique portrayal of gender among the native culture.
Section 4- p 45-46 (Norton): “Custom of That Region”
In this section (taken from the Norton’s selection) De Vaca describes the natives’ customs of marriage and child bearing. This section describes the traits of male Indians; how they act when fighting with fellow men and how they should act once the fight is over.
I chose one section from the Norton’s selections because I felt it best described the traits and customs of both male and female natives. This section shows a contrasting culture to that of the previous section. These Indians have more care and respect for their newborns and each other. I thought it interesting to have such a positive description of the culture follow such a negative one.
Section 5- p 150-54: “Of How We Followed the Maize Road”
This section is De Vaca’s description of their journey to fine maize (corn). De Vaca and his men encounter a group of natives, who he describes to be the most clothed women he had seen yet. These women wore shoes and shirts, and asked De Vaca to bless both the sick and healthy. De Vaca blessed the people and their newborns.
I felt this section was important because it showed the religious beliefs of the women of this tribe. This section shows the difference in women compared to previous tribes De Vaca visited. These women are more modern in a sense, with their clothing. It is interesting to see the comparisons of different tribes; how they dress, their customs and beliefs.
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