ANTB19H3 Study Guide - Final Guide: Homicide, Group Cohesiveness, Structural Functionalism
Document Summary
Before the study of the neur by evans-pritchard, the people were thought to be a people with no social order and that existed among complete chaos; however, Evans-pritchard understood the system that the neur functioned within and saw the order hidden in the chaos. The theory that evans-pritchard used to describe the political life of the nuer is known as structural functionalism and it is used to illustrate the interconnectedness between various institutions that work together in the society. These institutions help hold the society together and maintain, in a sense, an equilibrium that allows for the reproduction of cultural patterns. One of these key institutions in the nuer was believed by evans-pritchard to be feud. What he defined as a feud was different from a war. A feud focuses more on the tribal and local politics; whereas, a war is much larger and involves a dispute between tribes or an outsider and a tribe.
