ANT207H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Twin Unit, Matrilocal Residence, Incest
Document Summary
Society = societal structure = matrix of duties, rights, division of labour, norms, social control. Individuals are not random, they followed structured paths/movements: these paths depend on circumstances of birth, family wealth, where you live, what schools are nearby/within reach, etc. Marriage and why is it so important: forms alliances between groups and changes relationships between people within these groups, defines households, residence, who lives where (spatial pattern, transfers rights/ownership over woman, children. Keeps things (property, resources, people, etc. ) more in the family . Affines (in-laws) as friends and enemies: claude levi-strauss defined the elementary structure of kinship as: man, his sister, her husband, nuer saying: they are our enemies, we marry them. Basically saying that you can"t marry within your family/lineage/patrilineage/matrilineage, but most people outside of that in some societies are enemies; often the two groups may be at war or in conflict so marriage is a tense matter.