Title: The Uses of Kinship: Kwaio, Solomon Islands11Fieldwork on Malaita has been carried out in 1962–1964, 1966, 1969–1970, 1974, 1977, and 1978. I am indebted to, in chronological order, NIMH, the Ford Foundation, the University of California, NSF, the Social Science Research Council, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and the Australian National University for generous support. I am indebted to Rodney Needham for helpful suggestions.
Abstract: Kinship for the Kwaio is the inescapable moral imperative, the quintessential social bond. Being ‘born with’ someone places actors in the continuing interdependence that is the basis of social life in a small-scale society. One's kinship bonds define the place in the life cycle, from dependent child to controlling ancestor. One's close senior kin are those who sustained life and gave protection when one was young and helpless. One's age mates, with whom one played as children, are those with whom the serious games of adulthood must be planned and staged. This chapter discusses the symbolic foundations of Kwaio kinship, conceptualizations and categories of kinship distance and kinship obligations, kinship and the social identity system, the behavioral wellsprings of kinship obligation and sentiment, and the uses of kinship in Kwaio society. The deep positive affect between close kin and the sense of transcendant moral obligation are tinged with resentment that can turn into conflict, and the bonds are strategically exploited for individual ends as well as for collective ones.
Publication Year: 1980
Publication Date: 1980-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 4
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