The Versatility of Kinship

Studies in Anthropology: The Versatility of Kinship focuses on the dynamics involved in the special class of interpersonal ties that bind individuals to others.

The selection first offers information on the variant usage in American kinship, uses of kinship in Kwaio, Solomon Islands, and incest and kinship structure. Discussions focus on incest categories in Cachama and Mamo, childhood bonds and adult residence, kinship with the dead, kinship, social identities, and behavior, and models of relatedness. The text then explores the biological, linguistic, and cultural aspects of the Hopi-Tewa system of mating in First Mesa, Arizona and the Navajo exogamic rules and preferred marriages.

The publication ponders on the Kpelle negotiation of marriage and matrilateral ties and kinship and descent in the ethnic reassertion of the Eastern Creek Indians. Topics include social and cultural history, genealogy as social instrument, crystallization of the Eastern Creek community, Kpelle marriage and matrilateral ties, ethnographic background, and the negotiation of marriage and matrilateral ties.

The selection is a valuable reference for anthropologists, sociologists, and readers interested in the dynamics of kinship.

Contenu

List of Contributors

Harry W. Basehart: An Appreciation

Introduction

1 Variant Usage in American Kinship: The Nomenclator Effect

Introduction

The Schneider-Homans Model

Methods

From Where Do Terms for Kinsmen Come?

What Makes a Relative?

Summary and Conclusions

References

2 The Uses of Kinship: Kwaio, Solomon Islands

Introduction

Kwaio Kinship as Symbolic System

Models of Relatedness

"Kinship Terminology"

Kinship and Attachment: Behavioral Roots of Cultural Connection

Childhood Bonds and Adult Residence

Kinship with the Dead

Kinship, Social Identities, and Behavior

The Uses of Kinship

Conclusion

References

3 Incest and Kinship Structure

Introduction

The Contemporary Karinya

A Case of Incest

Traditional Incest Categories

Incest Categories in Cachama

Incest Categories in Mamo

Conclusion

References

4 The Hopi-Tewa System of Mating on First Mesa, Arizona: Some Biological, Linguistic, and Cultural Aspects

Introduction

The Hopi-Tewa System of Mating

Linguistic, Geographical, Genetic, and Anthropometric Data

Linguistic Relationships

Ethnohistorical and Archaeological Relationships

Blood Group Genetic Evidence

Anthropometric Evidence

Correlation of Geographical and Genetic Distances

The Degree of Mixture in the Modern Hopi-Tewa Population

Summary

References

5 Navajo Exogamic Rules and Preferred Marriages

Introduction

Models of Navajo Prohibitions and Preferences

Rates of Marriage and the Models

Navajo and Western Apache Rates Compared

Navajo Kinship and the Economy

Interpretation of Navajo Exogamy

Summary

A Note on Norming Goodwin's Data

References

6 The Kpelle Negotiation of Marriage and Matrilateral Ties

Introduction

Ethnographic Background

Kpelle Marriage and Matrilateral Ties

The Negotiation of Marriage and Matrilateral Ties

Conclusion

References

7 Kinship and Descent in the Ethnic Reassertion of the Eastern Creek Indians

Introduction

The Eastern Creeks in 1978

The Creek Indians of Alabama in 1947

Early History

The Crystallization of the Eastern Creek Community

Social and Cultural History

"My People Are All of One Family"

Genealogy as Social Instrument

Discussion and Conclusions

References

8 Kinship Ties and the Preferred Adaptive Strategies of Urban Migrants

Introduction

Variation in the Role of Kinship Ties in the City

Alternative Adaptive Strategies

Preferred Adaptive Strategies of New Zealand Workers

Ethnicity and Preferred Adaptive Strategy

Alternative Strategies for Obtaining a Job

The Measurement of Adaptive Strategies

Ethnic, Sex, and Generational Differences in Preferred Adaptive Strategy

Research Implications

Conclusions

References

9 Kin Networks and Family Strategies: Working Class Portuguese Families in New England

Introduction

Family Strategies

Research Setting

The Push for Immigration

The Pull of the New England Economy and Female Labor Force Participation

Conjugal Roles

Women's Paid Employment and Changing Roles

The Reconstruction of Kin Networks

Conclusions

References

10 Familienpolitik: Alliance in a Closed Corporate Community

11 Kinship and Social Organization in Tierra del Fuego: Evolutionary Consequences

Introduction

The Patrilineal and Composite Bands

The Yahgan

The Ona

Evolutionary Consequences

Concluding Remarks

References

12 Population Regulation Among the Bokkos Fulani

Introduction

The Bokkos Environment

Fulani-Ron Mutualism

The Bokkos Fulani Family and Herd

Plains Homesteads

The Bokkos Fulani Neighborhood

Short-Term Herd Imbalances in the Neighborhood

The Opposition of Neighborhoods

Bokkos Fulani Movement Patterns

Conclusion

References

13 Navajo Political Economy Before Fort Sumner

Introduction

Navajo Political Economy Before 1800

Navajo Political Economy 1800-1864

A Model of the 1850 Navajo Political Economy

Conclusions

References

14 Matrilineal Ideology: The Economic Activities of Women in Luapula, Zambia

Matriliny, Crow Terminology, and the Status of Women

Luapula as a Region

Economic Group Differentiation in Luapula

Differential Persistence of Matriliny

Conclusion

References

15 The Resilience of Matrilineality: Gwembe and Plateau Tonga Adaptations

Introduction

Variations in Matrilineality

Querying the Rules of Descent, Inheritance, and Marriage

Gwembe Dissatisfactions

The Impact of Changing Objectives

References

Subject Index