Marriage and Kinship in Small-Scale Societies (10/11)

Lecture Overview

Today's Topic: Marriage and Kinship

  • Focus on Chapters 9 (Marriage) and 10 (Kinship)

  • Importance: Both subjects interrelated and essential for understanding small-scale societies.

    • Key Points:

    • Small-scale societies rely on kinship as a primary organizational structure due to lack of formal organizations found in larger societies.

    • Lack of bureaucracy implies reliance on family ties and kinship structures for social control and organization.

Key Terms and Concepts

Kinship

  • Definition: Kinship is the fundamental organizational principle in small-scale societies, helping establish rights, duties, responsibilities, and social identity.

  • Types of Relationships:

    • Consanguineal Relationships

    • Definition: Relationships by blood

    • Example: Siblings share a consanguineal relationship because they have the same biological mother.

    • Affinal Relationships

    • Definition: Relationships created by marriage

    • Example: In-laws or connections formed through marital bonds.

Marriage Types and Functions

  • Cultural universality of marriage: all known societies have some form of marriage.

    • Considerable variability exists in marriage customs and rituals across different cultures.

    • Examination of marriage customs includes:

    1. Who gets married (who is acceptable/unacceptable as a mate)

    2. What constitutes marriage duties and responsibilities

    3. Where marriage rituals take place

    4. Timing of marriage (age-related variability)

    5. Reasons for marriage: romantic love, politics, economic considerations.

Common Marriage Practices: Variability in Customs

  • Question: How does one mark the beginning of marriage?

    • Lie to Well Known Fact: Not all societies mark marriages with formal ceremonies.

    • Ceremonialess Marriage Societies

    • Definition: Societies that do not have formal rituals to celebrate marriages, e.g. - Notable Examples: Inuit, Trobriand Islanders, and Kwoma of Papua New Guinea.

    • Marriage as an emergent phenomenon: Recognition of marriage occurs informally among community members without the need for formal rituals.

Examples of Ceremonialist Marriage Societies

Interior Inuit

  • Cultural Emphasis: Focus on betrothal rather than formal marriage rituals.

  • Cultural Practices:

    • Marriage relies heavily on familial connections and the acknowledgment of relationships across bands.

    • Engagement begins once children are considered viable (around age 1-2).

    • Engagement lasts approximately 14 years, during which the young couple's families cultivate the relationship.

  • Bride Service:

    • Definition: The groom works for the bride's family for a minimum of 12 months as compensation for the loss of the woman’s labor, emotional support, and familial connections.

    • Normal duration of bride service can extend up to two years.

    • Creates a framework for establishing familial ties and deepening relationships between families.

Trobriand Islander and Kwoma

  • Contributing examples of ceremonialist marriage societies; full descriptions will be studied as related to various cultural practices.

Additional Concepts on Marriage

Bride Price and Dowry

  • Bride Price

    • Definition: Compensation (in wealth or goods) provided by the groom’s family to the bride’s family.

    • Reflects economic transactions and compensation relating to the loss of the bride from her family unit.

  • Dowry

    • Definition: Wealth provided by the bride’s family to the groom’s family as a condition of marriage.

    • Common in stratified societies, typically aimed at marrying up in socio-economic status (hypergamy).

Recap of Kinship Analysis: Dimension Variability

  • Variability themes outlined across marriage practices create pathways for further examination and explorations within kinship studies.

    • Inclusion of term variability and cultural significance in practical applications.

Classroom Engagement and Discussion Approaches

  • Addressing engagement and betrothal practices fosters classroom dialogue.

  • Concepts will include each area of family dynamics and the emerging norms surrounding marriage practices while navigating kinship roles.

Conclusion

  • Acknowledgements: Kinship and marriage are vital aspects that can be studied extensively in anthropology, revealing fundamental cultural patterns in human relationships.

  • Preparation for future discussions on these topics are highly recommended to ensure comprehensive understanding.

Next Session: Wednesday, will focus on who can marry whom and deepen discussion on marriage types, allowing for exams to proceed post-studied content.

Note to Students: Engage with material from Chapters 9 and 10 before the next lecture to enhance discussion effectiveness.