1 Anthropology

DAILY
CLASS NOTES
COMPILATION
Anthropology OF
DAILY CLASS NOTES
ANTHROPOLOGY
Lecture - 01
MARRIAGE-01 (Unit - 2.3)
Batch : Optional Anthropology
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MARRIAGE-01 (Unit - 2.3)
Topics covered from the Syllabus-

❖ Definition and universality.
❖ Laws of marriage (endogamy, exogamy, incest taboo).
MARRIAGE: Definition and Universality
❖ George Peter Murdock :
➢ In Social Structure (1949), he defined marriage as a universal institution that

involves residential cohabitation, and economic cooperation, and leads to the
formation of a nuclear family.
➢ Exception: Nayar Community
❖ Edward Westermarck:
➢ In 'History of Human marriage' (1891) defined, “Marriage is a relation of one or

more men to one or more women which is recognized by customs or law and
involves certain rights and duties both in case of parties entering into the union
and in the case of children born of it.".
➢ Exception: Excludes homosexuality eg Azande of Sudan
❖ Kathleen Gough:
➢ In her study of the Nayars (1959), she defined marriage as a 'relationship

established between a woman and one or more other persons, which provides
that a child born to a woman under circumstances not prohibited by the rules of
the relationship, is accorded full birth-status rights common to normal members
of his society or social stratum'.
➢ Exception: Nandi of Kenya.
❖ William N. Stephens :
➢ He defined marriage as "a socially legitimate sexual union, begun with public
pronouncement undertaken with the idea of permanence, assumed with more or
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less explicit marriage contract which spells out reciprocal economic obligations
between spouses, and their future children'
➢ Exception: Live-in relationship, Nayars
❖ Notes and Queries on Anthropology 1951:
➢ "Marriage is a union between a man and a woman such that the children born to
the woman are recognized as legitimate offspring of both partners".
➢ Exception: Homosexuality , Polygamy not considered Eg - Jaunsar community

of Uttarakhand.
❖ Malinowski:
➢ A legal marriage is one which gives a woman a socially recognized husband and
her children a socially recognized father.”
➢ Exception: Polygamy not considered, Nayar
❖ Radcliffe Brown:
➢ Marriage is a social arrangement by which a child is given a legitimate position in

society determined by parenthood in the social sense.
➢ Exception: Live in relationship
❖ Edmund Leach:
➢ Identify the legal mother of a man's and a woman's children as well as their legal
parents.
➢ Give one or both partners a monopoly on the other's sexuality.
➢ Give one or both spouses the right to the other's labor.
➢ Assign one or both spouses ownership of the other's assets.
➢ Establish a joint fund or property—a partnership-for the benefit of the children.
➢ Establish a socially significant "relationship of affinity" between spouses and their

relatives.
MARRIAGE: Laws of Marriage

1. Endogamy
2. Exogamy
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3. Incest Taboo
4. Hypergamy
5. Hypogamy
❖ Endogamy:
➢ Mc Lennen in his book ‘Primitive marriages’ defined the word “Endogamy”.
➢ According to the endogamic norm, a person must marry someone who belongs to
the same defined or determined group as them.
➢ Forms:
1) Caste System in India ( Hypergamy / anuloma -> boy of higher status)
2) Sub-Caste: e.g. Thakur caste or Tyagi Caste in U.P.
3) Ethnic: e.g. Nagas and Khasi
4) Race
5) Class
Advantages/Reasons: Disadvantages:
1) Keep up the numerical force ( Tribals : Eg -Nagas) 1) Restricts the mate selection
2) to preserve the line (Ancient Egyptians) 2) Ethnocentrism
3) ethnic and religious customs Using a Parsi example 3) Regionalism
4) Sense of Unity ( According to William Brown ) 4) Health
5) Behavioral/Cultural aspect
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❖ Exogamy:
➢ Mc Lennen in his book ‘Primitive marriages’ defined the word “Exogamy”.
➢ Marriage outside of one's social group is customary.
➢ Forms:
A. Gotra system
B. Deity: eg Vittu Peramal
C. Clan: eg: Muria Gond (Chhattisgarh)
D. Parvara: Common saint concept
Advantages/Reasons: Disadvantages:
❖ Childhood Familiarity - Westermarck ❖ Moving out – Disadvantage
❖ Alliance Creation (Levi-Strauss’s (monetary)
Theory) ❖ Cultural Contrast: University of
❖ Stability and peace Helsinki (Finland)- leading to
❖ Health (Broad Gene-pool) divorce.
❖ Diversify mate selection
❖ Incest Taboo:
➢ Incest : Sexual intercourse between individuals related in a certain degree of

kinship (According to the Seligman, a thinker) OR "Intimacy with a blood
relative".
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➢ Incest Taboo Theories:
1) Biological Degeneration/Inbreeding Theory - C.H.Morgan (an Evolutionary

Thinker)
Eg: Australopithecus (4 to 1 mya).
2) Family Disruption Theory-Malinowski
✓ In order to prevent the family from disruption Incest Taboo is formed.
3) Childhood Familiarity Theory by Westermarck
✓ Incest taboo in the form of Exogamy.
4) Psychoanalytic Theory by Freud
✓ According to this theory a strong sexual relation exists between two

persons of a closely related family like mother and son, and father and
daughter. But during the process of socialization these sexual feelings of
children are depressed due to fear from parents.
5) Cooperation / Alliance Theory by Levi-Strauss
✓ According to it, only this universal prohibition of incest pushes human

groups towards exogamy. Thus, inside a given society, certain categories
of kin are forbidden to intermarry.
6) Instinctive Horror by R. H. Lowie
✓ According to it, our brain is genetically programmed for certain incest.
Eg: No sexual Attraction towards mother.

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MARRIAGE-02 ( Unit - 2.3 )

Topics covered from the Syllabus -
❖ Laws of marriage ( hypergamy, hypogamy).
❖ Type of marriage (monogamy, polygamy, polyandry, group marriage).
❖ Functions of marriage.
❖ Marriage payments (bride wealth and dowry).
Laws of Marriage
1. Hypergamy :
❖ In a hypergamous marriage, a man arranges
for his daughter to wed a person with a similar
or greater social and economic rank.
❖ Anuloma
❖ Reason:
1. Cultural angel
2. Social Regulation / Caste System.
❖ Spread:
➢ India (trend from east to west)
➢ Imperial China
➢ Ancient Greece
➢ Ottoman Empire
❖ Issues:
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➢ Dowry
➢ Female Infanticide
2. Hypogamy:
❖ The practice of getting married to someone from a lower social or economic background
than you is known as hypogamy (A woman marries a man of a lower caste or class.)
❖ Pratiloma
❖ Reasons:
➢ Legal legitimacy
➢ Independence of people
❖ Issues:
➢ Caste Violence issues Eg - Honour-Killings.
Types of Marriage
★ Monogamy:
● It is a form or kind of marriage when the custom is to only have one spouse at
a time.
● Representation:
● Forms:
➢ 1. Serial Monogamy: when a man has one wife at a time but a succession of
wives, one after the other. Eg: Khasi

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Representation:
➢ 2. Non-Serial Monogamy: where a man has a single wife throughout his life.
Eg: Birhor, Kadar
Representation:
● Advantages: ● Disadvantages:
1. Stability 1. Extramarital affairs
2. Women status high 2. High Bride Price
★ Polygamy:
● Polygamy is the practice of marrying multiple spouses
● Representation:
● Types:
1. Polygyny: In polygamy when a marriage involves one man
with many women it is known as polygyny.

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➢ Subtypes:
➔ 1. Sororal polygyny: The wives of a man if sisters then such
a marriage is known as sororal polygyny.
Eg: Islamic Countries, Bhils
➔ 2. Non-Sororal polygyny: If the wives of a man are not
related such a marriage is known as non-sororal polygyny.
Eg: Baiga cate
2. Polyandry: uses the Greek words poly (many) and andros (man) to give its name.
A lady is thus wedded to multiple men in this kind of union.
➢ Subtypes:
➔ 1. Fraternal polyandry: relates to adelphic polyandry, a
marriage in which a woman marries two or more
brothers. Eg: Jaunsar tribe
➔ 2. Non-fraternal polyandry: The type of marriage
where a woman is either married to a number of
non-related men. Eg: the Todas tribe
➔ 3. Familial polyandry: When the husbands of a woman are father and son. Eg: in
Tibet
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3. Polygynandry: another variety of polygamy pertains to a marriage where several
men are married to several women or a man has many wives and a woman has
many husbands at any given time.
Eg: Marquesans of Polynesia, The Todas of the Nilgiri
hills
● Advantages: ● Disadvantages:
1. Reduction in extramarital 1. Cost of living
affairs 2. Population Burden
2. Status Symbol 3. Disputes in the family
Functions of Marriage
1. Economic Function: According to Murdock - Cooperation Theory.
2. Biological Function:
➔ Procreation
➔ Sexual needs
3. Social Function:
● Creation of Family
● Right and Duties
4. Cultural Function: In ‘An introduction to Cultural Anthropology’.
5. Educational Function: Case Study by Kathleen Gough.

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Marriage payments
★ Radcliff Brown:
Marriage Payment is defined as a means to compensate the woman's family for
the disruption of its solidarity and for the right to demand reimbursement if the
bride is killed or injured.
★ Melford Spiro:
Marriage Payment is defined as an economic compensation for a productive or
reproductive loss of one group to another.
Types:
1. BrideWealth/Bride Price
2. Bride Service
3. Dowry
4. Women Exchange
5. Gift Exchange

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MARRIAGE-03 ( Unit - 2.3 )
❖ Marriage regulations (preferential, prescriptive, and proscriptive).
❖ Marriage payments (bride wealth and dowry)
MARRIAGE PAYMENTS :
➢ Radcliff Brown: According to him, ‘Marriage Payment is defined as a means to
compensate the woman's family for the disruption of its solidarity and for the right
to demand reimbursement if the bride is killed or injured’.
➢ Melford Spiro: According to him, ‘Marriage Payment is defined as an economic
compensation for a productive or reproductive loss of one group to another’.
a.) BrideWealth / Bride Price:
❖ a substantial gift of goods or cash presented to the bride's family at the wedding or
previously by the groom or his family and also referred to as bride wealth.
❖ Reason:
➢ Reproductive loss
➢ Injured / Killed
➢ Alliance
➢ Example: Todas, Nuer (Africa)
b.) Bride Service:
❖ Bride service is a time before or after marriage when the husband works for the parents
of his wife for a few months or years.

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❖ Reason:
➢ High Bride Price
➢ As an Obligation (as in Eskimos)
➢ Example: Lepcha, Chukchee (Siberia).
c.) Dowry:
❖ A dowry is a gift given by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of
the wedding, typically in the form of property or cash.
❖ Reason:
➢ Agriculture Communities are closely related to hypergamy.
➢ Example: North India Agricultural Belt
d.) Women Exchange:
❖ A planned and reciprocal exchange of wives between two groups is involved.
❖ Reason:
➢ Reciprocity
➢ Alliance
➢ Example: Munda(Jh), Bhotiya(Uk)
e.) Gift Exchange:
❖ Gift trade, which builds a qualitative relationship between the transactors, is the
exchange of items between individuals who are dependent on one another.
❖ Reason:
➢ Alliance
➢ Status
➢ Comfortable start to a new life

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➢ Example: Hopi tribe(Arizona -USA)
Marriage Regulations
➢ 1. Preferential
➢ 2. Prescriptive
➢ 3. Proscriptive
R. Needham: Describes two sets of Rules:
➢ 1. Preferential
➢ 2. Prescriptive
1. Preferential:
❖ Preferential norms are rules that are preferred but not always adhered to.
Types:
1. Parallel Cousins:
➢ The marriage of same-sex siblings' children is known as a parallel cousin marriage.
Imagine if a mother's daughter weds the son of her sister. Eg; Ashanti (Ghana)
2. Cross Cousins:
➢ marriage to a child of a parent's sibling of the opposite sex. Eg; Gonds(MBD)
➢ Symmetric/bilateral and Asymmetric/unilateral

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3. Levirate:
➢ A levirate marriage is one in which the brother of a deceased person is compelled
to wed his widow. Eg: North India- Ahir
❖ Reason:
1. Alliance
2. To protect the Lineage
3. Economic
4. Sororate:
➢ In sororate, when a man's wife died, he was expected to marry her sister. Eg:
Todas, Kurds
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2. Prescriptive:
❖ Prescribed norms are rules that must be properly adhered to, even if there aren't many
people in the appropriate category.
❖ Types:
➢ 1. Endogamy
➢ 2. Exogamy
➢ 3. Hypergamy
➢ 4. Hypogamy
3. Proscriptive
❖ Incest Taboo
Ways of Acquiring Mates
1. Probationary Marriage:
❖ In this kind of union, the man and the woman cohabit the girl's home for several weeks
or months. The boy and the girl may get married if they both like each other, or they
may get divorced if they don't. Eg: Kuki Tribe (Arunachal Pradesh)
2. Marriage by capture:
❖ Both the boy and the girl have known one other for a very long time before being
married in this manner. However, a marriage may be consummated notwithstanding
the opposition of either party's parents or the boy's inability to pay the bride price. The
captures frequently occur in food and festival markets and are occasionally planned in
advance. Eg: Nagas
3. Marriage by trial:
❖ The young man's boldness and courage are valued and acknowledged in this kind of
marriage. On "Holi" Day, it occurs. Eg: Bhils

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4. Marriage by Purchase:
❖ Before taking the bride as his wife, the guy must pay a price to the bride's parents.
The payment might be made in the form of money or in-kind. Eg: Munda and Ho
tribes
5. Marriage by Service:
❖ If the groom is unable to pay the bride price, he must work as a servant in the home
of his future father-in-law before being allowed to wed the bride. Eg: Munda and Ho
tribes
6. Marriage by exchange:
❖ When a boy and a daughter of legal age to marry are available in two families, the
families may trade daughters without having to pay a bride price. Eg: Santhal tribe
7. Marriage by Elopement:
❖ If the parents do not agree to the proposed marriage, the would-be couple runs away
to another location without telling their parents. As known as "Udra-Udri Cholki," this
marriage custom is also common among the tribal people of the Chotanagpur region.
Eg: Santhal
8. Marriage by Intrusion:
❖ This is the opposite of marriage by capture, where a female declares her willingness to
marry a certain tribe member and visits his family. Despite the man's rejection, she
imposes herself upon him and stays with him. She endures humiliating treatment, food
deprivation, and even physical torment throughout the procedure. Eg: Juang(Odisha)
Forms of Hindu Marriage
(1) Brahma form of marriage
(2) Daiva form of Marriage

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(3) Arsha form of Marriage
(4) Prajapatya form Marriage
(5) Asura form of Marriage
(6) Gandharva form of marriage
(7) Rakshasa form of marriage
(8) 'Paishacha' form of marriage

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FAMILY -01 ( Unit - 2.4 )
❖ Definition and universality;
❖ Functions of family;
About Family :
❖ The Latin term "familia," which comes from the word "famulus," which means servant,
is the source of the word "family." The term "familia" must have been used to refer to
all slaves and servants who were under the same roof, including the master's home as
a whole as well as his wife, kids, and slaves who were under his control.
❖ The term "family" today refers to all the many groups of relatives that include:
1. Household (all the individuals living under one roof),
2. Gens (all those descended from a common ancestor),
3. Agnatic (relatives on the father’s side) and
4. Cognatic (relatives on the mother’s side, and then by extension all blood relatives).
Family: Definition and Universality
❖ George Peter Murdock : He defined “family as a social group characterized by common
residence, economic cooperation, and reproduction. It includes both sexes, at least two
of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one or more children,
own or adopted.” Exception -Nayar
❖ R.H.Lowie : He defined “family as a group based on material relations, rights and
duties of parenthood, common habitation, and reciprocal relations between parents and
children.” Exception- Na community, self-marriage

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❖ Ralph Linton : He defined family as a group that involves marriage, rights, and duties
of parents and children. Exception- Nayar
❖ Edmund Leach : He defined family as a group to be called a family should comprise
either one or several of the following criteria:
➔ Marriage, legal paternity, and maternity,
➔ Monopoly of the couple over each other’s sexuality,
➔ Rights of the spouses to each other’s labor services,
➔ Rights of both spouses over the property to establish a joint fund of
➔ Property for the benefit of the children,
➔ an affection between each spouse and the other's family that is socially significant.
➢ L H Morgan:
❖ According to his book Ancient Society (1877), early cultures did not place much
emphasis on the family. The function of the father was not significant in such nomadic,
promiscuous civilizations where free-sex relationships were common; as a result, the
mother-sib was the first form of grouping.
❖ He stated, ‘The principal institutions of mankind originated in savagery, were developed
in barbarism, and are maturing in civilization. In like manner, the family has passed
through successive forms and created great systems of consanguinity and affinity which
have remained to the present time. These systems, which record the relationships
existing in the family of the period, when each system respectively was formed, contain
an instructive record of the experience of mankind while the family was advancing from
the consanguine, through intermediate forms, to the monogamian’ (1877).

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❖ Despite the fact that it is no longer used, Morgan's evolutionary theory provided the
first classification of five types of families based on five different types of marriage:
1. The Consanguine family:
➢ It was established through the union of several sets of blood relatives, including
brothers and sisters. The Malayan system of consanguinity, which is the oldest system
of consanguinity still in use, has evidence that tends to demonstrate that the initial
form of the family, as well as the system of consanguinity that it established, were
both equally common in ancient times.
2. The Punaluan family:
➢ Essentially, it alludes to the idea of communal marriage ( intermarriage between
groups happens). It establishes a web of connections.
3. The Syndyasmian family:
➔ Without granting one individual the privilege of exclusive occupancy over the
other, pairing is created via the union of single pairs. The Monogamy Family was
born from that. The options for the husband and wife were divorce or separation.
4. The Patriarchal family:
➔ The patriarchal family was made up of a union between one man and multiple
wives, each of whom was kept apart from the others.
5. The Monogamian family:
➔ The Monogamian family was established through the union of unrelated single
pairs, with the married couple living together exclusively as a necessary
component of the institution. It was basically contemporary since it is the family
of the most civilized civilization.

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❖ William Stephen: Family is based on the principles of parental rights and responsibilities,
reciprocal economic obligations between husband and wife, and marriage as a contract.
Exception - Azande
❖ Kathleen Gough: The mother-sib relationship is the only thing that exists in any
community. Therefore, a married couple or other groupings of kin's people who work
together economically and in the raising of children—and all or most of them share a
shared residence—are considered to be a "family."
➢ Functions of Family
❖ Economic Function :
❖ Biological Function :
➔ Procreation
➔ Sexual needs
❖ Social Function :
➔ Right and Duties-towards children and spouse
❖ Cultural Function :

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❖ Types of family (from the perspectives of structure, blood relation,

marriage, residence and succession);
TYPES of FAMILY
❖ Based on Residence:
➢ Matrilocal Family : the matrilineal household of a man who marries

his wife. The Khasis of Meghalaya are this type.
➢ Patrilocal family : the patrilineal household where a girl joins her
husband after marriage and leaves her birth home. The majority of
locations in northern and central India frequently encounter this type.
➢ Bilocal family : In this type, a married pair alternately shifts
residences after getting hitched. Maternal and paternal households are
valued equally. Both sides' rites and traditions are followed.
➢ Uxorilocal family : Husbands often relocate to a neighboring location
to take care of their wife's property, not necessarily to the wife's
matrilineal home but close to the wife's matrilineal relatives.
➢ Virilocal family : In this household, the wife lives close to the
patrilineal ancestors of her husband.
➢ Neolocal family : when a husband and wife choose to move away from
their parents and start a new, independent family. For instance, if
the wife's family is from Delhi and the husband's family is from
Chennai, and the couple moves to London, their new home.
➢ Avunculocal family : this kind of family, which is most common in
matrilineal societies, consists of a married couple living with the man's
mother's elder brother. Eg: Garos.
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❖ Based on Blood Relations
➢ Conjugal family :Conjugal implies a marriage-like relationship. A

conjugal family is any group of people that includes a married couple
and their kids (by birth or adoption). Example: a nuclear family in
the USA.
➢ Consanguineous family :This kind of relationship involves a husband

and wife who are related to one another; they are either cross- or
parallel cousins. Wives and husbands are biologically linked. Example:
Muslims or some groups of Reddys of Andhra Pradesh .
❖ Based on Marriage Practices:
➢ Monogamous Family : The family consists of a husband, a wife, and

sometimes some kids. It is forbidden for them both to have more
spouses. This form is regarded as the best possible form.
➢ Polygamous family : One person is married to more than one person.

Men and women both marry more than one spouse. A polyandrous
household comprises of one lady who is married to several men
simultaneously.
✓ If the husbands or wives are not related to each other, then it is

known as a non-fraternal polyandrous family. Example, Nayars of
Kerala.
✓ If the husbands of women are related to each other in a relation

of brother, then it is known as fraternal polyandrous family.
Example: Toda of Nilgiri hills
➢ Endogamous family- a household in which a man is expected to

marry someone from his own clan, gotra, caste, or varna. This form
of family adheres to the endogamic rules of marriage. Example:
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Among Muslims and Christians in Kerala, it is necessary to marry

within one's group
➢ Exogamous family- a family where it is customary to wed someone

from a different gotra, clan, Varna, caste, panda, hamlet, or parivar.
In the northern part of India, among the jats of Haryana and many
others, one can find this kind of family.
❖ Based on Structure:-
➢ Nuclear Family : This kind is the most basic and optimal form and it
may be found everywhere. The unmarried children of a husband and
wife make up the nuclear family. This is a simple family unit; there
are not many people in the family. This is an autonomous,
independent unit. The primary family is another name for this group.
Nuclear Family
➢ Extended or Joint Family: This family may consist of more than two
nuclear families due to its size, which goes beyond that of a nuclear
family. Joint Hindu families are the ones that tend to have the most
of this sort. The father, mother, sons and wives, daughters who are
not married, grandkids, grandfather, uncles, aunts, their children,
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father's parallel cousins, their children, and so forth make up this

family.
Extended/Joint Family
❖ Based on Succession:-
➢ Patrilineal Family:
✓ This kind is frequently seen everywhere. This type follows the

parent line from the father to the son to the grandson and so on,
establishing descent or ancestry. Sons inherit both the property
and the family name or caste. For instance, the Haryana Jats.
✓ In this category, men are in charge while women are either

undervalued or marginalized.
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➢ Matrilineal Family:
✓ The mother is the source of the descent or heritage. From mother

to daughter to her grandchild and so forth, it continues. By a
matrilineal line, the family name and property are passed down.
✓ Women are powerful and hold high rank in this type. like in the
Nayars of Kerala.

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❖ Household and domestic groups;

❖ Impact of urbanization, industrialization and feminist movements on
family.
Household
❖ Households are social groups that may or may not be founded on kinship
relationships. Household members don't always have to be blood relatives;
they could be coworkers, friends, or have no personal connections. Eg -
Flats, Hostels etc.
Characteristics:
❖ The majority of homes were small in size.
❖ The majority of definitions of family include domestic and household

groups.
❖ A household is a real, on-the-ground domestic arrangement that is very

adaptable, flexible, and change-responsive.
❖ Members share a home and live in close quarters.
❖ Under the same roof, family members share a common kitchen/hearth

where they prepare and consume their meals.
❖ A household can be formed by classmates who live apart from their

families and rent an apartment together.
❖ A household may consist of individuals who are friends, partners,

classmates, cohabiting couples, or live-in couples.
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Domestic Group
❖ Resource-owning groupings are referred to as domestic groups. The

domestic group's members pool their resources, contribute their fair share
of labour, and engage in a variety of production activities depending on
the division of labour, specifically on the member's age, gender, and
position or status.
Characteristics:
❖ Domestic group members are involved in economic production as well as

resource exploitation. The domestic group is included in definitions of
family because of this.
❖ Once these resources have been collected, a domestic group made up of

labour, urban development, and economic production is split among
several consuming units.
❖ These units may also have various consumption units and separate
residential and cooking areas.
❖ Polygynous cultures are one example. Consumption as a unit of

reproduction in a production process. Say a couple is still young and having
children, but as the female reaches menopause or the husband ages and,
umm, becomes incapable of procreating, they start looking for
consumption units.
Urbanization and Family:
❖ Populations moving en masse from rural to urban areas, together with the
resulting physical changes to urban areas, is referred to as urbanisation.
❖ Impact of Urbanization on the functions of the family:
➢ Economic:
✓ Kind /Nature/Sector of work(Primary/ Secondary/Tertiary)

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✓ Women -> opportunity to work increases.
✓ Income -> increases.
✓ Gig Economy / Startup Culture -> get encouraged.
➢ Biological/Reproduction:
✓ Number of Children -> Decreases.
✓ Abortions( Choice/Urban issues) ( Plus the issue of sex selection) ->

decreases.
➢ Social:
✓ Caste
✓ Class
✓ Health (e.g. Covid)
✓ We-Feelings / Family Connect
✓ Women Status
➢ Cultural :
✓ Homogenization of Culture( New culture development)
✓ Nuclear Families –disconnect
✓ Culture of Rural-Urban Divide

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❖ Joint Family
❖ Industrialization and Family, Feminist movements and Family
❖ Industrialization and Family : An agrarian society becomes an industrial

society as a result of a period of social and economic change.
❖ Dimensions:
➢ First Industrial Revolution: Coal in 1765.
➢ Second Industrial Revolution: Gas in 1870.
➢ Third Industrial Revolution: Electronics and Nuclear in 1969.
➢ Fourth Industrial Revolution: Internet and Renewable Energy in 2000.
➢ Fifth Industrial Revolution: Iot, Machine-Learning, AI. ( present ).
❖ Impact of Industrialization on the functions of the family:
➢ Economic:
✓ Kind /Nature/Sector of work(Primary/ Secondary/Tertiary) → due

to 4th and 5th Industrial Revolution.
✓ Women → Social and Economic status increased.
✓ Income → Increase.
✓ Gig Economy/Startup Culture → Encouraged.
✓ Number of Children → decreases

32
✓ Abortions( Choice/Urban issues) ( Plus the issue of sex selection) →

decreases.
➢ Social:
✓ Caste → rigidity increases.
✓ Class → → more prominent.
✓ Authority → Earning based.
✓ Health (eg Covid) → access to all.
✓ Feelings/Family Connect
✓ Women Status → improved.
➢ Cultural :
✓ Homogenization of Culture( New culture development)
✓ Nuclear Families –disconnect
✓ Culture of Rural-Urban Divide
❖ Feminist movements and Family :
✓ Feminism is a socio-political ideology that is aimed at the advocacy

of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes. Its aim
is to define, establish, and achieve the political, economic, personal,
and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position
that societies prioritize the male point of view, and that women are
treated unfairly within those societies.
✓ The feminist movement, also known as the women's movement,

refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for
33
radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by the

inequality between men and women. Such issues are women's
liberation, reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave,
equal pay, women's suffrage, sexual harassment, and sexual violence.
❖ Feminist Movement:
✓ Liberal- Equal Opportunity
✓ Socialist- Marxian views
✓ Radical- Extreme form
❖ Impact of the Feminist Movement on the functions of the family:
➢ Economic:
✓ Kind /Nature/Sector of work(Primary/ Secondary/Tertiary) → due

to the 4th and 5th Industrial Revolution.
✓ Women → Social and Economic status increased.
✓ Income → Increase.
✓ Gig Economy/Startup Culture → Encouraged.
✓ Number of Children → decreases.
✓ Abortions( Choice/Urban issues) ( Plus the issue of sex selection) →

decreases.
➢ Social:
✓ Caste → rigidity increases.
✓ Class → → more prominent.
✓ Authority → Earning based.
✓ Health (eg Covid) → access to all.

34
✓ Feelings/Family Connect
✓ Women Status → improved.
➢ Cultural :
✓ Mother-sib
❖ Joint Family : A joint family is described by Merriam-Webster as a

consanguineal family unit that consists of two or more generations of
kindred who are connected by either the paternal or maternal line and
who live together and are bound by the same social, economic, and
religious rules.
❖ Characteristics:
➢ Common Residence
➢ Common Kitchen
➢ Large Size
➢ Principle of Seniority
➢ Responsibility
➢ Mutual Rights and Obligations
➢ A Unit of Consumption
➢ Economic Unit
➢ Religious Functions and Common Worship
➢ Strong Affinal (by marriage) and Consanguineal (by blood) Bond
❖ Family: North India vs South India

35
❖ Challenges: Family :
➢ Family is impacted by globalization and urbanization and encounters

the following difficulties:
✓ Communication problem
✓ Grief and loss
✓ Divorce
✓ Frequent fights, arguments
✓ Financial problem
✓ Live-in relationships, co inhabitation
✓ Separations
✓ Gay couple adopting children
✓ Single-parent families
36
✓ Illegitimate child and mother
✓ Late marriages
✓ Old people left alone

37
Kinship (Part- 1)
Topic covered from syllabus :
❖ Definition
❖ Consanguinity and Affinity;
About Kinship:
❖ Kinship is a principle that describes how people or groups of people are

arranged into social groups, roles, classifications, and genealogy using
kinship terminologies. So, kinship serves as the basis for calculating
relationships.
❖ In any society every normal adult individual belongs to 2 different nuclear

families -
➢ Family of Orientation: The family in which he/she has been and

reared.
➢ Family of Procreation: The other family with which he establishes

relations through marriage.
❖ The kinship system is based on the universal truth that each individual
belongs to two nuclear families.
Definitions Given by Thinkers:
❖ L H Morgan: Kin terms are, "reflected the forms of marriage and the
related makeup of the family."
38
❖ A R Radcliffe Brown: "Kinship terms are like signposts to interpersonal

conducts or etiquette, with the implications of appropriate reciprocal
rights, duties, privileges and obligations."
❖ Mc Lennan: " kinship terms are merely forms of solutions and was not
related to actual blood ties at all. "
❖ J Beattie: "kinship is not a set of genealogical relationships rather it is a set

of social relationships."
❖ D N Majumdar (an Indian anthropologist): " In all societies people are

bound together in groups to buy ( or want to have) various kinds of
bonds. The most universal and the most basic of these bonds which are
based on reproduction and inherent human rights is called Kinship. "
❖ G P Murdock (an English anthropologist): " kinship is culturally recognised

relationships between individuals within the family or within a group
established by marriage or descent. "
KINSHIP: Consanguinity and Affinity:
Consanguineal kins Conjugal / Affinal kin
❖ Bonds that are formed due ❖ Bands formed by

to blood relationships. marriages.
Eg- father-son, Mother- Eg- Brother-in-law, Sister-

Daughter etc. in-law etc.
❖ Social bonds and ❖ It is acknowledged and has

recognition are emphasized a social and legal
in many societies. foundation.
39
KINSHIP: Degree of Kins:
The term "degree of kinship" describes the degree to which one is biologically or
romantically linked to another. There are broadly three types of kins:
1. Primary kins
2. Secondary kins
3. Tertiary Kins
Primary kins
❖ If a person is related to the ego directly. Thus, they are the relatives which
are very close, direct and near to Ego. Example- father, mother, sister and
brother etc.
Secondary kins
❖ They are primary kin of primary kin. In other words, they are related
through primary kin. They are not our primary kin but are the primary kin
of our primary kin, hence our Secondary Kin. Example; Uncle (Father’s
Brother), Aunt (Mother’s Sister) etc.
Tertiary Kins
They are Secondary kin of our Primary kin OR primary kin of our secondary kin.
Example -Wife of Brother-in-law (Saala in Hindi) is Tertiary Kin because the
Brother-in-law is the Ego’s Secondary Kin and his wife is the Primary kin of the
Ego’s Brother-in-law.

40
Kinship
Topic covered from syllabus

❖ Consanguinity and Affinity
❖ Principles and types of Descent. (Unilineal, Double, Bilateral, Ambilineal)
About Kinship:
❖ Kinship refers to a principle by which individuals or group of individuals are
organized into social groups, roles, categories and genealogy by means of kinship
terminologies.
❖ Thus, kinship is the method to reckoning relationships.
❖ In any society every normal adult individual belongs to 2 different nuclear families -
➢ Family of Orientation: The family in which he/she has been and reared.
➢ Family of Procreation: The other family with which he establishes relations

through marriage.
❖ The universal fact of individual membership in two nuclear families gives rise to the
kinship system.
Definitions Given by Thinkers:

❖ L H Morgan: Kin terms are, "reflected the forms of marriage and the related
makeup of the family."
❖ A R Radcliffe Brown: "Kinship terms are like signposts to interpersonal conducts or

etiquette, with the implications of appropriate reciprocal rights, duties, privileges and
obligations."
❖ Mc Lennan: " kinship terms are merely forms of solutions and was not related to
actual blood ties at all. "
❖ J Beattie: "kinship is not a set of genealogical relationships rather it is a set of social

relationships."
41
❖ D N Majumdar (an Indian anthropologist): " In all societies people are bound together
in groups to buy ( or want to have) various kinds of bonds. The most universal and
the most basic of these bonds which are based on reproduction and inherent human
rights is called Kinship. "
❖ G P Murdock (an English anthropologist): " kinship is culturally recognised

relationships between individuals within the family or within a group established by
marriage or descent. "
KINSHIP: Consanguinity and Affinity:
Consanguineal kins Conjugal / Affinal kin
❖ Bonds that are formed due to ❖ Bands formed by marriages.

blood relationships. Eg- Brother-in-law, Sister-in-law
Eg- father-son, Mother-Daughter etc.
etc. ❖ It has a social and legal basis and
❖ Focus in many societies is on social recognition.
recognition and social ties.
KINSHIP: Degree of Kins:

The Degree of kinship refers to the extent to which one is directly or indirectly related to
another by means of blood or marriage. There are broadly three types of kins:
❖ Primary kins
❖ Secondary kins
❖ Tertiary Kins
Primary kins
❖ If a person is related to the ego directly. Thus, they are the relatives which are very
close, direct and near to Ego.
❖ Example- father, mother, sister and brother etc.

42
Secondary kins
❖ They are primary kin of primary kin. In other words, they are related through
primary kin. They are not our primary kin but are the primary kin of our primary
kin, hence our Secondary Kin.
❖ Example; Uncle (Father’s Brother), Aunt (Mother’s Sister) etc.
Tertiary Kins
❖ They are Secondary kin of our Primary kin OR primary kin of our secondary kin.
❖ Example -Wife of Brother-in-law (Saala in Hindi) is Tertiary Kin because the

Brother-in-law is the Ego’s Secondary Kin and his wife is the Primary kin of the
Ego’s Brother-in-law.
KINSHIP : Descent :
Definition :
❖ Descent refers to a Person’s Affiliation and Association with his/her Kinsman.
❖ Descent is the Connection between an Individual and his/her Ancestors.
❖ In a Patrilineal-Society, a person traces his Descent through his father While in a

Matrilineal-Society, the Descent is traced through the Mother.
Importance :
❖ As a means for one person to assert rights, duties, privileges or status in relation to
another person, who may be related to the first either because one is an ancestor to
the other or because the two acknowledge a common ancestor.
❖ Descent has a special influence when Rights to Succession, Inheritance, or Residence

follow Kinship lines.
❖ Descent is a cultural rule Exhibition huge Diversity but still has a common truth of
recognizing blood relations.
43
Kinship v/s Descent :
KINSHIP DESCENT
❖ Defined with Reference to an ❖ Defined with Reference to an

individual (ego) or pairs of Ancestor (Or Ancestress).
Individuals. ❖ Culturally recognized Only in some
❖ Universally Important. Societies.
❖ Kinship-Relationships are Relative. ❖ Descent Status is, in a Sense,
❖ Eg - You are a son or a nephew Absolute. Eg - You are, Or are
only to some Particular Persons. not, a member of a particular

Descent-Group.
Rules of Descent :
❖ Rules that Connect Individuals with Particular Sets of Kins because of known Or
presumed common ancestry are called ‘Rules of Descent’.
a. Unilineal
b. Double
c. Bilateral
d. Parallel
e. Ambilineal
Unilineal Descent :
❖ It has two Basic forms -
❖ Patrilineal : Tracing descent through the MALE ( Father ) line.

44
❖ Matrilineal : Tracing descent through the FEMALE ( Mother ) line. Eg - KHASI

Tribes.
Double Descent :
❖ It is traced through Both the Patrilineal and the Matrilineal group with attendant
rights and Obligations but assigns to each a different set of expectations. For
example, the inheritance of immovable materials, such as land may be the domain of
the Patrilineage, while the Matrilineage controls the inheritance of movable objects
such as Livestocks.
❖ Eg - YAKO Pastoral Herders of NIGERIA.
❖ CASE-Study of YAKO of AFRICA : They have a system of Double-Descent. Among

them, Patrilineal descent has Economic rights to farmland and house sites etc. They
also recognized Matrilineal descent, which governs the inheritance of transferable
wealth, such as livestock and currency.
45
Bilateral Descent :
❖ The system of Descent in which a child is recognized as a Descendant Equally of both
the Father and the Mother. Thus, a person gives Equal emphasis to both his Mother’s
and Father’s kin.
❖ No Unilateral groups can be formed here but Group-Structure can be Cognatic, that
is , the group of kin persons on the Father’s and Mother’s side.
❖ Here, Membership can be Acquired through either the Fanter or the Mother.
❖ Eg - JAVANESE People of Indonesia.

46
Kinship

❖ Types of Descent ( Parallel and Ambilineal )
❖ Forms of Descent ( Lineage, Clan, Phratry, Moiety and Kindred )
KINSHIP : Rules of Descent
Parallel Descent :
❖ Every person, male or female, can trace their line of descent; that is, males can do so
from the male line and females can do so from the female line. The descent does not
overlap.
❖ For instance: Kogi People of Santa Marta
Ambilineal Descent :
❖ With ambilineal descent, a person can pick which branch of his family to belong to—
either his mother's or his father's. Eg: Kwakiutl Tribe of British Columbia
KINSHIP: FORMS of Descent or Descent Group
A descent group is a group in which all members share a common ancestor and each
member is a descendant.
❖ Representation
47
Lineage :
❖ A consanguineal kin group produced by either of unilineal descent is technically
known as lineage. Only those who can really trace their shared ancestry through a
specified set of remembered genealogical links in the dominant line of descent are
produced.
❖ On average, a lineage consists of five to six generations' worth of forebears. Members

of the bloodline came together and worked together at times of crisis.
Clan :
❖ Clan is a unilineal kinship group larger than a lineage. Here the members are
supposed to be descendants from a common ancestor but the genealogical links are
not specified.
❖ Clans are exogamous in nature. Clans are often designated by an animal name (like
tiger, wolf), plant, or natural object called a totem.
Example: Gonds have a goat clan.
Lineage vs Clan :
Lineage Clan
1. Demonstrated Descent 1. Stipulated Descent
2. Part of clan 2. Two or more lineages
3. Composed of several families 3. Composed of several lineages
4. Kinship traced over a definite 4. Kinship is acknowledged for over several

number of generations. generations
5. Small groups may reside together. 5. Large groups may not reside together.
6. Always a corporate group 6. Not always

48
Phratry :
❖ The Greek word "phrater," which means "brother," is where the word "phratry"
comes from. Phratry is an interaction between two or more clans.
❖ There are more members of unilineal descent in this group than in a clan. Apart
from the identification that unites them to the community, each clan in a phratry
has its own distinct original identity.
❖ A phratry may or may not be exogamous. Phratries thus are organized around either
a division of labor or distinct ritual functions.
For instance, it has been discovered that there are 13 clans of Crow Indians, which are
divided into 6 unnamed phratries, 4 of which have lax marriage laws.
Moiety :
❖ It is the greatest unilineal social group, formed when a society is divided into two on
the basis of ancestry. The word "moiety" is derived from a French word that means
"half." Exogamous or endogamous moieties are possible. Each moiety has members
who consider themselves to be related through a common ancestor.
❖ The size of a moiety is greater than that of a phratry and it might include a number
of phratries. It is the greatest unilineal social group, formed when a society is divided
into two on the basis of ancestry.
Examples : Toda of Nilgiris, which is divided into the moieties of Teivaliol and Tartharol,
and the Bondos of Orissa, which are divided into the moieties of Ontal and Killo.
KINSHIP: Kinship Behavior/Usage
❖ Avoidance:
1. In most of the societies, the usages of avoidance act as an incest taboo.
2. A father-in-law avoids his daughter–in–law according to traditional social

norms.
49
3. The same relationship prevails between a mother–in–law and between the

husband’s elder brother and the younger brother’s wife.
4. This is actually a protective measure against incestuous sexual relations among

close relatives who remain in face-to-face contact every day.
❖ Joking Relationship:
1. It is just the opposite type of kinship usage in contrast to “avoidance”.
2. This special privileged relationship indulges in testing each other with different
kinds of jokes including vulgar sexual jokes.
3. Usually such relationships exist between a man and his wife’s younger sisters or
between a woman and her husband’s younger brothers, between cross cousins,
and between grandparents and grandchildren.
4. Joking relationships are found in tribal as well as in Hindu society.
❖ Avanculate:
1. Among some matrilineal societies, the maternal uncle assumes many of the duties
of the father as a matter of convention.
2. His nephew and niece remain under his authority. They inherit his property also.
3. Such a relationship exists among the Trobriand islanders of Melanesia, the Fijians,
the African tribes
❖ Amitate:
1. This kind of language, which is more or less avanculate-like, is common among

patrilineal people. The father's sister is given a lot of respect and priority in this
situation. She influences her nephew in many aspects of life and is more than just
a mother to him.
2. In fact, it is a social mechanism, which protects the father’s sisters from falling
into neglect, especially in situations when they are driven off from their in-law’s
house. Communities like the Toda of South India, the Tonga of Polynesia, and
others use kinship in this way.
50
❖ Couvade :
1. This is yet another weird instance of a husband and his wife being related. Every
time his wife has a kid, the husband is required to lead an ascetic life. Along with
his wife, he must follow a stringent diet and a variety of taboos. According to
anthropologists, couvades serve as a symbolic depiction of proving paternity for
the child.
2. Toda and Khasi communities of India can be cited as examples.
3. This particular usage was once common among the Nayers of South India, the
Ainus of Japan, and several Chinese populations.

51
KINSHIP -04
❖ Kinship terminology (descriptive and classificatory);
About Kinship terminology :
❖ An individual kin relation's name is referred to as a "kin term." The term "kinship
terminology" refers to a set of names given to different types of kin based on their
interrelationship. A system of kin terms that make sense in context with one another
is referred to as a kinship terminology.
❖ The possibilities for such nomenclature would seem limitless, but anthropologists have
identified a small number of basic systems that are found in all world societies.
Significance : The significance of kinship terminology lies in the way that it represents -
➢ Kinship relationships' strength and weakness
➢ The social links in society are reflected.
➢ The most common family type, the laws governing their habitation, and the laws
governing their descent
➢ Kinship words and other early social system elements resist change extremely well.
➢ Draw attention to the status of and relationships between kin in accordance with
the socially mandated roles.
Classification :
❖ Technically, kinship terms can be divided into 3 categories:

52
1. By the mode of use:
2. By the linguistic structure:
3. By the range of application:
❖ In his thorough research of kindred, Murdock offers a sophisticated framework for
comprehending the terms used in kinship:
★ By the mode of use:
➔ The kinship terms can be separated into two groups based on how they are used.
Other terms are used for indirect referencing, while others are used for direct
addressing.
➔ A “term of address” is used to call a relative, whereas “term of reference” is used
to designate a relative for speaking about him/her to a third person.
★ By the linguistic structure:
➔ Kinship terms can be divided into two categories, elementary and derived,
according on linguistic structure. An elementary term is a word that cannot be
broken down into parts with kinship meanings, such as the English words "Father"
or "Nephew." So it is referred to as an "elementary word."
➔ When two or more basic terms are combined to signify a certain relative, the
result is a derivative term. The terms "grandfather," "father-in-law,"
"stepdaughter," etc. are derived terms.
★ By the range of application:
1. Classificatory
2. Descriptive /Denotative
53
Kinship terminology : ( descriptive and classificatory )
❖ Lewis Henry Morgan's two significant works, "Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of
the Human Family" (1870) and "Ancient Society" (1877), both of which contained
ethnographic data acquired from the Iroquois, an American tribe, showed his conception
of kinship terminology.
❖ Lewis Henry Morgan coined and described the terms:
➔ Classificatory System
➔ Descriptive System
Classificatory System :
❖ In classification systems, terms related to kinship may be used to group or equate
relatives who may have different genetic make up. It employs linguistically neutral
terminology for people who behave differently in social contexts. Example: the word
"cousin" is classificatory in nature. Any generational relative on one's mother's or father's
side is referred to as a cousin.
❖ Systems of classification may mix or compare kin who may have different genetic make-
ups. Example: Mother, the wife of the father's brother, and the mother's sister are all
referred to by the Sema Naga of Assam as "aja," whereas the father, the husband of
the father's brother, is referred to as "apu.“

54
Descriptive System :
❖ The descriptive kinship system has a phrase for each kin, and each of these terms
precisely expresses the ego's relationship to the kin in question.
Note :
➔ The names "Classificatory" and "Descriptive" actually only pertain to kinship
concepts, not the entire terminology system.
➔ No society in the world is completely classificatory or descriptive in nature, and the
system of kin terms has been placed between two extremes of Inuit (extreme
classificatory) and Sudanese (extreme descriptive).
Terms:
FB - Father’s Brother FBS - Father’s Brother’s Son MBS - Mother’s Brother’s
Son
FZ - Father’s Sister FBD - Father’s Brother’s
Daughter MBD - Mother’s Brother’s

MB - Mother’s Brother
Daughter
FZS - Father’s Sister’s Son
MZ - Mother’s Sister
MZS - Mother’s Sister’s
FZD - Father’s Sister’s
Son
Daughter
MZD – Mother’s Sister’s
Daughter
55
Kinship terminology Systems :
Six significant terminology systems were categorized globally by G.P. Murdock. Here are
some of them -
1. The Eskimo system
2. The Hawaiian system
3. The Iroquois system
4. The Omaha system
5. The Crow system
6. Sundanese system
★ Eskimo / Inuit Systems :
➔ The Eskimo system does not distinguish between matrilineal and patrilineal
ancestors. Parental siblings are distinguished only by their sex (Aunt, Uncle). All
children of these individuals are lumped together regardless of sex (Cousins).
➔ This is especially evident in societies where the nuclear family often lives apart
from other relatives and is only really associated with them on ceremonial
occasions.
➔ In Canada, the name Inuit has supplanted the disparaging epithet Eskimo because
it is seen as offensive there.The former remains in use in Alaska, though less so
than in past decades because the term includes both Inuit and non-Inuit Native
Alaskans. In Canada, the term Inuit kinship is therefore widely used instead of
Eskimo kinship.
56
The Hawaiian Systems :
➔ The pre-contact kinship structure of the Native Hawaiian population in the
Hawaiian Islands is whence the Hawaiian system gets its name. The simplest
classification system for kinship is Hawaiian. All that separates relatives is
generation and gender. There is a generation of parents and a generation of kids.
➔ In this system, a person (called Ego in anthropology) refers to all females of his
parents' generation (mother, aunts, and the wives of men in this generation) as
"Mother" and all of the males (father, uncles, and husbands of the women in this
generation) as "Father".In the generation of children, all brothers and male
cousins are referred to as "Brother", and all sisters and female cousins as "Sister".
57
★ The Iroquois Systems:
➔ Named after the Iroquois people who lived in North America. People from various
generations are treated differently.
➔ Like the Omaha and Crow systems, the Iroquois system has different terms for
relatives on the father’s and the mother’s sides. Mother’s brother’s daughter and
father’s sister’s daughter are both referred to by the same term. Also, the
mother’s brother’s son and the father’s sister’s son are referred to by the same
term.
★ The Omaha Systems:
➔ Although it is utilized in many patrilineal groups around the world, the Omaha
system of kin nomenclature is named after the Omaha people of North America.
➔ Paternal kins are given top attention in the patriarchal society because of the
patrilocal nature of residency. This approach divides family members into groups
based on their maternal and paternal sides.

58
Gender and generational disparities are taken into account on the father's side, while the
offspring of the mother's brother do not account for these differences on the mother's side.

59
KINSHIP -05
Topics covered from the Syllabus:
● Kinship terminology Systems.
● Filiation and Complementary Filiation.
Kinship terminology Systems :
● Six significant terminology systems were categorized globally by G.P.

Murdock. Here are some of them -
1. The Eskimo system
2. The Hawaiian system
3. The Iroquois system
4. The Omaha system
5. The Crow system
6. Sundanese system
❖ Eskimo / Inuit Systems :
➢ The Eskimo system does not distinguish between matrilineal and

patrilineal ancestors. Parental siblings are distinguished only by their sex
(Aunt, Uncle). All children of these individuals are lumped together
regardless of sex (Cousins).
➢ This is especially evident in societies where the nuclear family often lives
apart from other relatives and is only really associated with them on
ceremonial occasions.
60
➢ In Canada, the name Inuit has supplanted the disparaging epithet

Eskimo because it is seen as offensive there.The former remains in use in
Alaska, though less so than in past decades because the term includes
both Inuit and non-Inuit Native Alaskans. In Canada, the term Inuit
kinship is therefore widely used instead of Eskimo kinship.
❖ The Hawaiian Systems :
➢ The pre-contact kinship structure of the Native Hawaiian population in

the Hawaiian Islands is whence the Hawaiian system gets its name. The
simplest classification system for kinship is Hawaiian. All that separates
relatives is generation and gender. There is a generation of parents and
a generation of kids.
➢ In this system, a person (called Ego in anthropology) refers to all females

of his parents' generation (mother, aunts, and the wives of men in this
generation) as "Mother" and all of the males (father, uncles, and
husbands of the women in this generation) as "Father".In the generation
of children, all brothers and male cousins are referred to as "Brother",
and all sisters and female cousins as "Sister".
61
❖ The Iroquois Systems:
➢ Named after the Iroquois people who lived in North America. People
from various generations are treated differently.
➢ Like the Omaha and Crow systems, the Iroquois system has different
terms for relatives on the father’s and the mother’s sides. Mother’s
brother’s daughter and father’s sister’s daughter are both referred to
by the same term. Also, the mother’s brother’s son and the father’s
sister’s son are referred to by the same term.
62
❖ The Omaha Systems:
➢ Although it is utilized in many patrilineal groups around the world, the

Omaha system of kin nomenclature is named after the Omaha people
of North America.
➢ Paternal kins are given top attention in the patriarchal society because
of the patrilocal nature of residency. This approach divides family
members into groups based on their maternal and paternal sides.
➢ Gender and generational disparities are taken into account on the

father's side, while the offspring of the mother's brother do not account
for these differences on the mother's side.
❖ The Crow Systems:
➢ It has been said that the Omaha system is the mirror image of the
Crow system, which takes its name from another North American
tribe. The system is fairly akin to the Iroquois system, although it
makes a distinction between the father's and mother's sides. Family
members on the father's side use more classificatory terminology, while
those on the mother's side use more descriptive terms.
➢ The Crow system stands out because, in contrast to most other kinship
systems, it opts to blur the lines between specific generations. No of
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their age or generation, the relatives of the subject's father's

matrilineage are identified exclusively by their sex. On the other hand,
generational differences are seen within Ego's own matrilineage. The
system is linked to ethnic groups with a long history of matrilineal
ancestry. In doing so, the system creates an almost exact replica of the
patrilineal Omaha structure.
❖ The Sudanese Systems:
➢ The Sudanese system is often a descriptive system, where each relative

is designated by a separate descriptive phrase. The parents' and ego's
generations typically do not include any relatives in the Sudanese
system.
➢ Among all kinship systems, the Sudanese one is the most intricate.
Based on their relationship to Ego, their gender, and their distance
from Ego, it keeps a separate classification for practically every one of
Ego's relatives. The father of Ego is different from the father of Ego's
sibling and the brother of Ego's mother. The mother of Ego can also be
separated from the sister of Ego's mother and the sister of Ego's father.
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● Filiation and Complementary Filiation.
❖ About Filiation :
➢ Whether the parents are of the same sex or not, a child and their
parents have a relationship known as filiation. Whether the parents
are of the same sex or not, a child and their parents have a
relationship known as filiation. The link can be proven through
adoption judgements, specific legal provisions, or through blood
relatives. No matter how the child was born, once filiation has been
shown, it gives rise to rights and responsibilities for both the child and
the parents.
❖ Filiation vs Descent : Difference -
➢ A person's only relationship with his or her parents is one of filiation.
➢ The term "descent" describes a relationship that a parent mediates

between himself and an ancestor.
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❖ About Complementary Filiation
➢ The term "complementary filiation" was first used by a group of

African anthropologists known as "descent theorists," among them M.
Fortes. In communities with unilineal descent groups, individuals
nonetheless acknowledge kinship relationships with relatives who do
not come from their own descent group, according to the expression.
So, in patrilineal cultures, people have strong, socially defined
relationships to their mother's family members, such as their
mother's brother or maternal grandparents, whereas in matrilineal
communities, they have strong, socially defined ties to their father's
family.
➢ Originally, the phrase was used to denote a crucial anthropological

aspect of several African societies, including the Tallensi of Ghana
that Fortes investigated.

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Economic Organization-01
❖ Meaning, scope, and relevance of economic anthropology
❖ Formalist and Substantivist debate;
❖ Principles governing production,
Economic Anthropology :
❖ The social processes involved in the creation, exchange, and consumption of
diverse objects are the subject of economic anthropology. "Objects" includes
both obvious objects like physical things and less evident ones like labor and
services that people provide for one another (such as names, ideas, and so
forth).
❖ Economic anthropology investigates how human cultures deliver the tangible
products and services that sustain life. It imagines how primitive man would
conduct his economic affairs within his social and cultural context. In other
words, economic anthropology is the study of economic life as a component of
cultures.
❖ According to Firth (1951), economic anthropology is concerned with social
interactions. The economy is a crucial component of community life and
affects how societies' social and cultural structures are formed.

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Economic Anthropology vs Economics:
❖ Economics mainly addresses aspects of the market. They assisted scholars in
analyzing the role money plays in society and its key drivers, including
production, distribution, consumption, demand, and supply.
❖ Economic anthropology focuses on the changes in social aspects of society. It
deals with prehistoric and agrarian communities, where the economic
structure differs from that of an industrialized society. As a result, economic
anthropologists must reevaluate the fundamental assumptions that economists
make.
❖ Anthropologists researching prehistoric and peasant communities are
compelled to focus more on small-scale production because classical economics
is typically focused on distribution issues, which predominate in industrialized
economies.
Economic Systems/Organizations:
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❖ Societies and governments manage, allot, and distribute resources, goods, and
services across space via economic systems.
❖ Economic organization is a sort of social action, according to Raymond Firth
(1952). It entails combining diverse human service types with things and with
one another so that they work together to achieve the stated goals.
❖ According to Ralph Piddington (1952), "the economic system is designed to
identify the rights and claims of ownership within the community, to organize
production, to manage distribution, and to satisfy the material requirements
of the people."
❖ The definition of the term "economic system" with particular reference to
"tribals" is "an economic system that may include two fundamental
components:
➢ The mode of production
➢ The structure of production
❖ The mode of production: it implies the technique and organization of economic
activities relating to production
❖ The structure of production: it means social relations in the performance of
production activities and in the process of distribution between different social
groups of the tribal societies

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Primitive/Simple Economy Characteristics:
❖ Simple Society:
➢ refers to small-scale communities with relatively primitive technologies.
Such civilizations are not only small in size, but they also have very little
environmental control. Smaller markets limit their ability to specialize in
the division of labor.
➢ According to Dalton (1971), there are three important characteristics of
the primitive economy :
1. Small Economy
2. Simple technology compared to the industrialized economies
3. Geographical or cultural Isolation (Comparatively)
❖ The following nine points serve as an overview of the essential traits of the
tribal economy:
1) Forest-based economy
2) Unit of production, consumption, and pattern of labor being the family
3) Simple technology,
4) Absence of profit in economic dealings,
5) The community as a cooperative unit,
6) Gift and ceremonial exchange
7) Periodical markets
8) Interdependence
9) The minor institutions related to the tribal economy.

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Formalist and Substantivist debate
❖ Karl Polanyi originally argued against substantivist and formalist economic
theories in his book The Great Transformation (1944). According to him, the
term "economics" has two definitions:
➢ The formal definition of economics is the logic of reasonable action and
decision-making, as well as the rational selection of one use over another
for finite (scarce) resources.
➢ But meaningful meaning assumes neither rational decision-making nor the
existence of scarcity.
❖ George Dalton and Paul Bohannan were the main substantivist model
proponents. Formalists like Raymond Firth and Harold K. Schneider argued
that, with the right adjustments, the neoclassical model of economics could be
used to analyze any culture and that its tenets are applicable to all societies.
➢ DEBATE:
Formalist View:
❖ The principles of the capitalist economy, which differ significantly from the pre-
capitalist economies, are linked to formalism. Additionally, it implies that the tenets
of the capitalist system are regarded as universal, subordinating non-industrial
economies to the tenets of the market system.
❖ According to Herskovits, the behavior of scarcity and maximizing is a universal trait.

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❖ The formal economy, or capitalist economy, which is subject to self-regulatory
mechanisms, spreads the notion that people act in ways that maximize their financial
benefits. According to one theory, there is a means-end link between these two
things that is based on the idea of choosing between limited means and desired ends.
The logic of rational action, which refers to yet another fundamental principle of
formal economics, is the name given to the rules controlling the selection of methods.
❖ In the formal economy, rationalization is the selection of methods in relation to goals.
Anything that is suitable to achieve the goal in accordance with the game's or
nature's rules is a means. So, all societies are made up of decision-making individuals
whose every action entails conscious or unconscious choices among many ways to
achieve various ends, such as culturally established objectives.
❖ [ Principle of Maximization; Principle of Rationalization; Principle of Demand and
Supply]
Substantivist View:
❖ Only the substantive definition of economics, according to Polanyi, is appropriate for
understanding non-Western, non-capitalist pre-industrial countries. Their means of
subsistence are not based on commercial exchange, but rather on reciprocity and
redistribution. Formal economic analysis does not apply in the absence of a system of
price-making markets.
❖ The term "embeddedness" describes how much non-economic institutions restrict
economic activity. The concept of "embeddedness" conveys the idea that, contrary to
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what traditional economics would have us believe, the economy is not separate from
society.
❖ Eg: Kula Ring
Principles governing production, distribution, and exchange
❖ Production is the process by which people convert raw materials or natural
resources into something that can be consumed or used to satiate a
consumer's need or desire.
❖ While trade enables an individual or organization to obtain specific products
into which they wish to convert the quantity allotted to them through
distribution, distribution is the process of allocating goods amongst different
individuals or groups.
❖ Consumption refers to using products or services, as the name suggests.
PRODUCTION:
❖ The study of production modes has not received as much emphasis as it might
have due to substantivist scholars' tendency to overemphasize the study of
exchange processes and interactions.
❖ Marxian anthropologists who emphasize the relevance of production to the
economy have given it the attention it deserves in economic anthropology. In

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order to obtain their material means of existence, humans engage with nature
through the tools of their culture. This is known as production.
❖ According to Marx (1904), the economic base or mode of production in every
society is made up of two components:
➢ the driving force behind production and the technological and physical
configuration of economic activity.
➢ The interpersonal and intergroup ties that men must forge with one
another as a result of their roles in the production process. The social
relations of production.
Production :
1. Food Collection
2. Food Production
Food Collection:
❖ Any forms of subsistence technology that rely on obtaining food from
naturally occurring resources, such as wild plants and animals, without
significantly domesticating either, are referred to by this term. The oldest
method of human survival is gathering food.
❖ Types:
1) Hunting and Gathering
2) Fishing
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Food Production:
❖ Around 10,000 years ago, during the Neolithic period, man began to
domesticate and cultivate plants and animals in an effort to change nature
from something to be used for his own benefit.
❖ Types:
1. Horticulture
2. Pastoralism
3. Intensive Agriculture
   
PW Web/App: https://smart.link/7wwosivoicgd4
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ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION -02

❖ Principles governing production, distribution, and exchange
PRODUCTION:
A.) Hunting and Gathering : A person who lives an ancient lifestyle and forages for the
majority or all of their food is known as a hunter-gatherer or forager. There is
evidence that Homo sapiens, modern humans, and their ancient ancestors lived in a
hunter-gatherer lifestyle as far back as two million years ago. Up until about 11,000–
12,000 years ago, early humans lived in hunter-gatherer cultures.
1. entirely or primarily nomadic.
2. reside in a tiny community.
3. contain sparse populations.
4. Do not employ officials with specialized political duties.
5. has small wealth disparity
6. Only by age and gender are they economically specialized.
7. Men and women typically share the labor of fishing and virtually always hunting,
whereas women typically collect wild plants.
8. possess animistic religions, which hold that all natural objects possess a soul or a life
power that may influence people.
❖ Types of foraging: Anthropologist identified three types of foraging -
1) Pedestrian
2) Equestrian
3) Aquatic
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➢ Pedestrian :
➔ This kind of sustenance is characterized by varied on foot hunting and gathering,
and significant mobility. The Australian Aborigines, the Bushmen, the Pygmies,
and numerous Indian tribes like the Chenchu, the Birhors, the Kadar, etc. are the
most well-known pedestrian foragers.
➢ Equestrian :
➔ These societies had greater populations, a male-dominated hierarchical structure,
and a history of robbing nearby societies to steal their horses. The Sioux, Crow,
and Cheyenne of North America's wide plains as well as Southern Argentina's
scant grassland are home to equestrian foragers (the Tehuelche tribe).
➢ Aquatic :
➔ Fish, mollusks, crabs, and marine animals can all be caught by aquatic foraging.
In North America's northwest coast, aquatic foraging is most prevalent (the
Kwakiutl, the Caribou Inuit Eskimo).
❖ Examples:
➔ The Hadza people of Tanzania rely on hunting wild game for meat, a task that
requires great skill in tracking, teamwork, and accuracy with a bow and arrow.
➔ Australian Aboriginals
➔ San man/Bushmen from Namibia.
B.) Horticulture: In the absence of permanently cultivated fields, the term "horticulture"
refers to a primitive food production method that involves cultivating crops with basic
hand instruments like a digging stick and a hoe. Horticulture is the area of agriculture
that deals with cultivating plants for human consumption, medical treatment, and
aesthetic pleasure. Domesticated plants are used as the primary source of food in
horticultural communities, which set them apart from hunting and gathering tribes.
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Horticulture was initially created in the Middle East some 9,500 years ago, and by
5,000 years ago, it had spread throughout much of the East and to the Atlantic in
the West.
❖ Horticulture Society Characteristics:
1) using basic tools and growing plants without big, permanent farms.
2) Technology frequently places restrictions on horticultural groups.
3) A society based on horticulture cannot sustain a population as large as a modern
society with farms that are far more productive for the amount of space they occupy.
4) Social Organization based on Kinship
5) Group Ownership
6) Larger groups exist than hunter-gatherers did.
7) In fact, compared to the time of hunters and gatherers, settlements are considerably
more likely to be permanent or semi-permanent today.
8) Similar to Amazonian horticulturists, who make warfare a significant part of their
society.
❖ Example:
➔ The Yanomami people of the Amazonian rainforest are one example of a community
engaged in horticulture. Even while they engage in some hunting and gathering to
supplement their food supply, a large portion of their food is grown using only basic
tools. They create temporary agricultural patches where they practise slash-and-
burn farming and shifting cultivation to grow crops like sweet potatoes and
plantains.
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C.) Pastoralism: Pastoralism is defined by a significant, though not always sole reliance,
on the herding of domesticated animals as a source of income. Grasslands and other
semi-arid environments are typical places where it is carried out because they are
not particularly conducive to agriculture. The first pastoral civilizations appeared
between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago when some hunting and gathering groups
started to capture, breed, and care for various wild animal species.
1) The care of flocks or herds is the main focus of daily living.
2) Pastoralism does not have a clear kind of social organization attached to it. The
"home," which frequently includes the extended family, serves as the primary unit
for the management of work and expenses in pastoral communities that are
frequently organized into tribes.
3) Sometimes pastoralists transverse international borders with their herds in search
of fresh grazing or for commerce.
4) climate that is unfavorable.
5) Herd diversification
6) Seasonal mobility
7) ownership of grazing resources by the community
8) Like any other straightforward culture, pastoralist societies are egalitarian. Their
elders settle the conflicts, yet occasionally disagreements inside the tribe cause them
to split apart.
❖ Examples:
1) Gaderia in UP and MP
2) Gurjar found in North India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan
3) Kuruba found in South India
4) Kurma found in South India

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5) Rabari of Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Punjab
6) Ranghar found in North India and Pakistan
7) Sherpa in Nepal
D.) Intensive Agriculture: Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and eastern
Syria), India and Pakistan, North China, Mesoamerica, and Western South America
were the earliest extensive agricultural communities.
❖ characteristics:
1) Use of tools like the simple plough and the tractor, as well as intricate irrigation and
water management systems, is possible.
2) In societies where intensive agriculture is practiced, land is typically owned privately.
3) Societies are also likely to be distinguished by a greater degree of economic
specialization, a more intricate political system, and differences in the distribution
of wealth and power among various social classes.
4) Family is the fundamental unit of production, and gender and age are used to divide
labor.
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DISTRIBUTION AND EXCHANGE:
★ Distribution: It refers to the manner in which the goods are
divided amongst the members of the society.
★ Exchange: Exchange is the transfer of things
between social actors. The things can be human
or animal, material or immaterial, words or
things.
❖ Honigman(1973) opines:
1) As a result of their control over the factors of production or in exchange for the
labor they provided throughout the productive process, distribution denotes a system
in which produce is distributed among individuals or groups.
2) Contrarily, exchange describes the different ways in which things (and services) are
moved or transferred between people or organizations, such as between a producer
and a consumer, a buyer and a seller, or a donor and a recipient.
❖ Commons (1954) opines the concept of exchange, from the anthropological
viewpoint, embraces two distinct kinds of transfer events-
A. Physical transfers: involves locational movement and physical control
B. Jural transactions: involves the transfer of culturally defined ownership and the use
rights.
❖ Kinds of exchange: Following the examination of several ethnographic cases, Polanyi
and colleagues distinguished three categories of exchange-
1) reciprocative sequence among fixed partners;
2) redistributive sequence between a central actor and many peripheral actors;
3) random market sequence

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★ Reciprocity : It describes the non-market exchange of products or the transition
from direct barter (immediate exchange) to gift exchange arrangements where a
return is later anticipated (delayed exchange), such as the exchanging of birthday
presents.
❖ Modes of reciprocity: In Stone Age Economics (1972), anthropologist Marshall Sahlins
identified three modes of reciprocity:
1) Generalized Reciprocity
2) Balanced Reciprocity
3) Negative Reciprocity
1. Generalized Reciprocity: Gift-giving without taking into account any upcoming or
planned returns involves unstipulated reciprocation.
2. Balanced/Symmetrical Reciprocity: occurs when someone donates to another with
the expectation of receiving something in return at a set amount, time, and location
like Kula
3. Negative Reciprocity: is the trade in products and services where both parties hope
to gain something from the transaction, frequently at the expense of the other.

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ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION -03
● Principles governing production, distribution, and exchange.
● Globalization and indigenous economic systems.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXCHANGE:
❖ Redistribution:
➢ A redistribution is a type of
economic trade where
products (or labor) are
accumulated with the
intention of distributing
them later within a social
group in accordance with culturally particular norms. Although
redistribution occurs inside the family, where labor, goods, or income
are pooled for the benefit of all, it only becomes a significant
mechanism in societies where there is a political hierarchy. as in
Potlatch
➢ Redistribution occurs in modern market economies through state

taxation, where resources are returned to individuals or groups within
society either indirectly through the provision of public services or
directly through welfare benefits.
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❖ Market / Market Exchange:
➢ A market is any of a wide range of systems, institutions, processes,

social relationships, and infrastructure that allow parties to exchange
goods and services. Although if money is not always involved in market
trade, it is in the majority of business dealings nowadays. Even though
the majority of these transactions occur in a specified marketplace, a
market can nonetheless exist without a physical location.
➢ A marketplace in basic societies may denote much more than just a

location for conducting business. Even today, weekly haats or markets
in rural and tribal India give individuals a chance to reconnect with old
friends, swap neighborhood rumors, set up weddings, and some may
also hold profound cultural importance.
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❖ Anthropological Views:
➢ According to Plattner (1985), the substantivist stance in economic

anthropology is rendered redundant in the context of markets in the
present day.
➢ According to Dilley (1992), over-simplistic notions of economic man as

an individual maximizer of economic value, as enunciated by the
formalist position, have now receded in the face of theoretical criticism
that such assumptions provide few convincing explanations of socio-
economic status.
❖ Market Types (Frequency:
1) from market day to market day within the same season,
2) from season to season, and
3) from year to year.
CONSUMPTION / UTILIZATION:
❖ A resource, food, commodity, or service is said to be consumed when it is

purchased, eaten, or used. When it comes to the topic of consumption in
simple cultures, a crucial idea is the consumption unit, a kin-based income-
pooling or family unit that is common in all pre industrial communities
and often consists of males and females of various ages.
❖ More specifically, consuming is understood by anthropologists as the

patterns of conduct that link our economic activity to the cultural symbols
that give our life significance. Herskovits (1952) says, then, utilization has
to be considered to be broader in scope than consumption. According to
him, the process of utilization involves two aspects:
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1. those leading to further production by employing the resources

obtained as ‘capital’;
2. those involving direct, immediate consumption to satisfy current wants.
❖ Ceremonial Exchange:
➢ It is a type of social structure in which neighbors, friends, and family

members are given products and services on special occasions like
weddings, funerals, and other rites of passage. The primary goal of this
exchange is to foster positive relationships among the many social
groupings in society.
➢ For instance, KULA: The kula is one of the most well-known gift-
exchange organizations. It was originally thoroughly detailed by
Malinowski and resembles many other systems in Melanesia and
Australia in many ways.
❖ KULA Explanation:
➢ According to Malinowski (1922), The Trobriand Islanders of New

Guinea engage in a ceremonial exchange known as kula. Other names
for kula are kula exchange and
kula ring. It involves a complicated
system of visits, the trade of two
different types of ornaments, and
the exchange of food and other
goods with residents of other (close
by or distant) islands. Each island
could only produce a small number
of specialized goods or commodities and was forced to rely on other
islands for other necessities.
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➢ By building economic relationships through the exchange of kula

ornaments and gift-giving, Trobrianders have developed the kula for a
secure trade. Such trading interactions have as their core an exchange
of priceless shell decorations that is muted or integrated into a
ceremonial exchange rather than the trade itself.
➢ The Kula ornaments are of two types-
1) One consists of shell-disc necklaces (Soulava) that are traded to the

north (circling the ring in a clockwise direction).
2) Others are shell armbands (Mwali) that are traded in the southern
direction(circling counter-clockwise).
➢ The Soulava was presented with the left hand, and Mwali with the
right. They are only exchanged in a ceremonial setting to improve
social standing and prestige, secure trade, and build mutual trust
connections.
➢ The Kula jewelries are not particularly valuable in and of themselves.

Nonetheless, these ornaments are rich in folklore, mythologies, ritual,
history, etc., which arouses a great deal of enthusiasm and ties the
trading partners together. Never do those taking part in the Kula ring
bargain over the items offered and stolen. Individual members interact
amicably when exchanging commodities while moving the Soulava and
Mwali.
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❖ POTLATCH :
➢ A potlatch is a lavish feast celebrated by American Indian tribes along

the Northwest Coast, where copious amounts of food and expensive
items (such as blankets, copper pots, boats, etc.) are pompously and
aggressively presented to the guests in an effort to make the host look
good. It is also customary to burn enormous amounts of merchandise. A
neighboring village is always required to accept the chief's invitation to
attend the potlatch. The hosts in turn extend an invitation to the
guests to attend their potlatch. Although such gift-giving is
competitive, it also acts as a leveling mechanism over time, distributing
food and gifts equally across several towns over a large area.
Globalization and indigenous economic systems
❖ Globalization:
➢ Globalization is the word used to describe the growing interdependence

of the world’s economies, cultures, and populations, brought about by
cross-border trade in goods and services, technology, and flows of
investment, people, and information. It is an intensification of global
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interconnectedness, suggesting a world full of movement and mixture,

contact and linkages, and persistent cultural interaction and exchange”
(Inda and Rosaldo 2002).
❖ Indigenous Economic System:
➢ The idea of reciprocity is the cornerstone of an indigenous economy. It

is a location-based economic system. It acknowledges and values origin
as the connections that exist between people and their physical
surroundings over an extended period of time. The sense of
accountability to place and time is created by this continuity.
❖ Impact :
Impact (Negative) Impact (Positive)
1) Land: Kondhs case ( Vedanta Group 1) Recognition and

- Al mining ) Marketing. Eg: TRIFED
2) Sustenance Pattern change: Chukchi 2) Indigenous Medicines

of Siberia ( Hunting by Arms ) 3) Justice
3) Commercialization: Orissa tribes 4) Opportunity
examples
4) Embedded Nature: Dinka tribes and

Nuer Tribe
5) Habitat vs Development: ( Orissa )
6) WTO

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POLITICAL ORGANIZATION -01
❖ Economic Organization : Scope, and Relevance of economic anthropology.
❖ Political Organization: Political Organization and Social Control: Band, tribe, chiefdom,
kingdom, and state.
ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION :
A.) Scope of Economic Anthropology: It may cover various branches like:
1. Study of Primitive Economy : A primitive economy is an underdeveloped economy
in which communities depend on simple equipment and hunting and gathering
techniques, which frequently lead to minimal economic development. ( Herkowitz,
Malinowski etc)
2. Study of Peasant Economy: Peasants are the result of both urban development and
rural-to-urban migration. They are a rural, subsistence-based agricultural class
with small landholdings. Agriculture was the most prevalent class in state societies
until capitalism and the industrial state emerged. (Jajmani-System → work of
William Wizer )
3. Study of Urban Economy: The social relationships, symbols, and political economies
that are most visible in cities are the focus of urban anthropology. (Formalist
Thinkers)
4. Study of Economic History
5. Study of Economic Development
6. Study of Business Anthropology: Business anthropology is the field that investigates
firms and their ecosystems using the theories and methodology of social
anthropology. (Wagon R car Case-Study)

90
7. Study of Economic Holism: Studying the Economic causes and other dimensions
which are associated with the Economy. (Malinowski – magic, religion and
economy).
B.) Relevance of Economic Anthropology
1. Means to understand social relations/ embeddedness. Eg-Kula.
2. Reorient the focus from the formalist view.
3. Thick Description. Eg-Potlatch.
4. Policy Planning
5. Applied Economic Anthropology. Eg-Forensic Study done by Anthropologist is used
in Counterfeiting of Illegal Currency.
MISCELLANEOUS:
❖ Silent Trade: Silent trade (also known as silent barter or trade and dumb barter)
is a peculiar form of exchange where the exchanging parties do not come into face-
to-face interaction during the process of exchange. The exchanging partners could
be enemies or antagonized. One group of people leaves a certain quantity of products
at a customary place to be taken by another group, who in turn leaves back some
other products. Eg: The pygmy Semang and Sakai of Malaya and the Vedda and
Sinhalese of Sri Lanka practice silent trade.
POLITICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
★ Politics:
➢ The comparative, fieldwork-based study of politics and the political is the focus of
the subdiscipline of social and cultural anthropology known as Political
Anthropology. It was a crucial area, especially for social anthropology in Europe,
between the 1940s and the 1970s. The study of political power, leadership, and
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human influence in all facets of our social, cultural, symbolic, ceremonial, and policy
dimensions falls under the umbrella of the discipline of political anthropology, which
is a subfield of anthropology. It focuses on the anthropological point of view in the
creation of the typology of political structures based on distinctions and similarities
seen across the world's societies and its political processes as they evolve across
nations and complex civilizations. It also investigates nation-building procedures
and political culture.
➢ According to Steven Gregory, politics is a broad category of social behaviors used
to negotiate power dynamics. Politics is a social activity that involves creating and
enforcing social bonds as well as culturally constructing social meanings that either
strengthen or weaken those bonds.
★ POLITICAL ORGANIZATION
❖ Power structure and distribution in society are topics covered by political
organisation. Political parties, non-governmental organizations, and advocacy
groups for particular interests are all examples of organizations that participate in
politics. It is the mechanism through which a society preserves its own internal
social order and controls its connections with other social groups. It is a mechanism
that a society employs to uphold social harmony and reduce social disorder. Hence,
political organizations are those involved in political activities (such as lobbying,
community organizing, campaign advertising, etc.) aiming at achieving clearly-
defined political goals, which often serve the interests of their members.
Development of Political Anthropology:
1. The Nineteenth-Century Evolutionists:
➔ Sir Henry Maine, in his work Ancient Law‟(1861) stated that the ancient
society was organized along the lines of kinship ties.

92
➔ In “Ancient Society‟ Lewis Henry Morgan developed the concept of primary
sociopolitical structure. Henry Morgan based his evolutionary sequence; he
termed the stages as savagery, barbarism and civilization i.e. the initial stage of
hunting-gathering, horticulture and developed agriculture.
● Reaction to Evolutionists: The two fundamental changes i.e., the rejection of
evolutionary theory and methodology, and a growing gap between the
anthropologies of the United States and of England and France majorly
characterized early twentieth-century anthropology.
➔ Levi-Strauss, R.Lowie etc
2. British Functionalist: Bronislaw Malinowski and A.R.Radcliffe-Brown -
➢ Malinowski suggested that cultural institutions are products of particular
psychological and biological requirements.
➢ African Political Systems‟ which was edited by Meyer Fortes and E. E. Evans-
Pritchard-illustrated the two kinds of African political systems prevailing namely-
1) those with centralized authority and judicial institutions i.e., (primitive states),
and
2) those without such authority and institutions i.e., (stateless societies)
3. Neo-Evolutionists: Elman Service's Primitive Social Organization (1962) and Morton
Fried's The Evolution of Political Society (1967), which took a more descriptive than
causal tack, are two important evolutionary books.

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● Political Organization: Political Organization and Social Control: Band,

tribe, chiefdom, kingdom, and state.
POLITICAL SOCIETIES
❖ Evolution of Political Societies:
➢ A four-fold scheme of development of human societies was based on the

socio-economic and political-religion parameters, which was suggested
by an American cultural neo-evolutionist, Elman Service in the year
1962.
➢ The four fold-scheme is as follows:
1) The Band
2) The Tribe
3) The Chiefdom
4) The State
➢ According to Fried and E. Service-

94
➢ Uncentralized Systems:
✓ In non-state systems, power is typically dispersed among families,

bands, lineages, and diverse alliances and is of a transient nature.
Political groups are then temporarily formed during times of
emergency when a threat, such as that of fighting neighbours, is
present. These groups are later disbanded once the issue has been
resolved. These social systems are flexible communities that
occasionally and seasonally combine into larger tribal units before
dissolving into more compact, potentially subdivisible units.
✓ Types:
1) Bands
2) Tribes
Centralized Systems:
✓ A centralized political system is typically one in which there is a

sizable population, specialization, increased labor division, and
exchange of surplus in growing trade networks (Haviland - 2008).
✓ Political power is concentrated in one person or group of individuals;

power is the result of the people voluntarily bestowing such power on
those in positions of authority (Haviland).
✓ There is a chance that these societies, which are organized by class or

position, will be more densely inhabited than bands and tribes.
✓ They will use more productive technology, centralized redistribution-

based economies, and specialized social and vocational responsibilities.
They will also be more stable in relation to current socio-political
groupings.
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✓ According to Morton Fried, the fundamental feature that sets

centralized systems apart from decentralized ones is that
recruitment is based on belonging to a particular class or elite family.
✓ Types:
1) Chiefdom
2) State
Political Societies : (Classification)

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A) Band Societies: A politically independent local group that is quite small and
typically itinerant. Anthropologists have defined the term "Band" as a small,
egalitarian, loosely-knit social organization that is based on the proximity of
its members. Band societies were compared to tribes, chiefdoms, and states
in Julian Steward's (1955) cultural development theory as having a primary
level of social integration.
● Characteristics:
✓ The largest group that functions as a political unit in a band

organization is the local group, which can occasionally be as small as
a family.
✓ Bands typically have fewer than 100 members, and frequently much
fewer.
✓ Because each little band covers a big area, there is a low population
density.
✓ Seasonal variations in band size are common. Depending on the food

resources available at a particular time and location, the band may
split apart or reassemble.
✓ For instance, Inuit bands are smaller during the winter months when
food is scarce and larger during the summer months when there is
enough food to sustain a larger population.
✓ Within the band, political decisions are typically made informally.
✓ There usually isn't a formal, permanent position of leadership;

instead, choices like when to move a camp or how to organize a hunt
are either made by the community as a whole or by the member
with the highest qualifications.
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✓ When someone practices leadership, it is not as a result of being the

boss or using force.
✓ Each band may have its own unofficial leader, its best hunter, or its
most skilled ritual performer.
● Examples:
✓ Examples of patrilineal bands include the Aruna and Aranda of

Australia, the Ona of South America, the Shoshonean Indians of
Southern North America, the Semang of Malay, the Kung Bushmen
of Africa, and the Birhor and Kadar of India.
✓ Elman Service (1971) established a new category, the "Anomalous"

band, which is defined at the "family level" and includes groups like
the Eskimo and has an atypical composition.
B) Tribe : We refer to a society as having tribal organization when small

communities largely function independently, but there are kinship groups
(like clans or lineages) or connections (like age-sets) that may bring together
a number of local groups into a single, larger entity (a tribe). Tribes were
viewed by Sahlins (1968) as the ancestors of states, but he was more
interested in integration methods than borders.
✓ A tribe's organization is more sophisticated than a band's because it

can support a considerably bigger population.
✓ Instead of centralized and formal institutions, tribes have well-

formed kinship-oriented entities, such as lineage, clan, moieties,
kindred, etc., and sodalities, which are special-purpose non-
residential groups.
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✓ The age-set system is an example of sodality. What separates tribal

political organization from band political organization is the presence
in the former of some multilocal, but not typically societal,
integration.
✓ Military prowess of tribal groupings is far greater than that of band

formations in cultures.
✓ The elders of the local kin groups typically have significant influence
in tribal societies where kinship serves as the fundamental foundation
of social structure. If age-sets are significant, a certain age-set is
looked to for leadership.
✓ Societies having tribal organizations, as opposed to band societies,

typically produce their own food.
✓ It is because farming and animal husbandry are often more

productive than hunting and gathering, tribal cultures typically have
higher population densities, larger local groups, and a more
sedentary lifestyle than hunter-gatherer bands.
● Examples :
✓ They include the Sierra Leonean tribes of Mendi and Temari in

Northwest Africa.
✓ All the tribes of INDIA.
C) Chiefdom: A chiefdom is a type of political structure in which a single central

figure oversees numerous minor political entities. In these societies, which are
known as chiefdoms, a single person, acting either alone or in conjunction
with the advisory council, holds political power. Chiefdoms are a type of
transitional society that are frequently viewed as a stage in the social
evolution (Service 1962).
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✓ Chiefdoms are highly centralized and socially complex, with

populations that frequently reach the thousands.
✓ There are social distinctions between the chiefly lineage or lineages

and non-chiefly groups in many chiefdoms, which are characterized
by hereditary systems of social ranking and economic stratification.
✓ Commoners are inferior to chiefs and their progeny, and

intermarrying between social classes is prohibited.
✓ A chief planned and executed raids and military expeditions, resolved

internal disputes, and controlled production and distribution.
✓ Assumed qualities (being born into a mainly family or being the first
son or daughter of the chief), individual leadership abilities, charisma,
and acquired money are requirements for becoming a chief.
✓ Anthropologists are interested in the political ramifications of

chiefdom systems' evolution as a bridge between tribes and states as
well as how and why it happened.
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● Political Organization and Social Control: Chiefdom, kingdom, and state.
C.) Chiefdom: A chiefdom is a type of political structure in which a single

central figure oversees numerous minor political entities. In these societies, which
are known as chiefdoms, a single person, acting either alone or in conjunction
with the advisory council, holds political power. Chiefdoms are a type of
transitional society that are frequently viewed as a stage in the social evolution
(Service 1962).
➢ A chief plans and executes raids and military expeditions, resolves

internal disputes, and controls production and distribution.
➢ Assumed qualities (being born into a mainly family or being the first son
or daughter of the chief), individual leadership abilities, charisma, and
acquired money are requirements for becoming a chief.
➢ Chiefdoms are highly centralized and socially complex, with populations

that frequently reach the thousands.
➢ There are social distinctions between the chiefly lineage or lineages and
non-chiefly groups in many chiefdoms due to hereditary systems of
social ranking and economic stratification.
➢ Commoners are inferior to chiefs and their offspring, and inter-

stratigraphic marriage is prohibited.
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➢ Anthropologists are interested in the political ramifications of chiefdom

systems' evolution as a bridge between tribes and states as well as how
and why it happened.
➢ The increase in chiefdom power is supported by a number of political

tactics:
1) Controlling more internal and external wealth.
2) Giving feasts and gift exchanges that create debt ties
3) Improving local production systems
4) Applying force internally
5) Forging stronger and wider external ties
6) Controlling ideological legitimacy
● Chiefdom Examples:
➢ In North America and Hawaii in the late 1700s.
➢ The Algonquins, who ruled modern-day Virginia and Maryland, the

Cherokee of Tennessee, and the Iroquois League of Five Nations, which
spanned over New York State.
D.) State: According to Sigmund Fried (1967:230), having a "monopoly of

force" is relevant to the nature of state; other characteristics of state-level polity
include the fact that the state develops in circumstances where the importance of
kinship ties is diminished and the kinship ties serve to prevent the rise of coercive
power. Elman Service (1971: 163) argues that the state's defining characteristic,
the thing that sets it apart from the chiefdom, is "the presence of that specific
type of control, the persistent threat of force by a body of men properly
constituted to employ it."
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➢ The most formal and intricate type of political structure is a state

society.
➢ It has a big bureaucracy and a variety of permanent institutions with

legislative, executive, and judicial powers.
➢ A state is a hierarchical political entity that manages numerous

communities across a broad geographic area.
➢ Within a state, there are a wide variety of individual and class interests.
Pressures and conflicts lead to some type of impersonal law, which is
supported by physical sanctions, for the proper management of the
system.
● Power of the State (Barbara D. Miller, 2002):
1) The rights and obligations of citizenship are set forth by the state.
2) States retain permanent armed forces and law enforcement (as opposed
to part-time forces).
3) Using frequently updated census systems, states are able to keep track of
the quantity, age, gender, location, and wealth of their residents.
4) States have the authority to tax citizens in order to extract resources.
5) States influence / regulate the information.
State Formation Theories:
1) Early State Formation Theories- eg: Japan and Korea (in 400-800 BC)
2) Modern State Formation Theories

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A.) Early State Formation Theories: As soon as it became feasible to

permanently consolidate power, the first states began to arise. States have been
said to arise only in environments where agriculture and an established
population exist.
1. Voluntary theories: According to voluntary theories, different groups of

individuals came together to form states because they had a common,
rational interest. The theories generally center on the growth of
agriculture, the demographic pressure that followed, and the
organizational pressure that led to state formation. This hypothesis was
created by Karl Wittfogel.
2. Conflict theories: Conflict and the supremacy of one population over

another are significant factors in state creation, according to conflict
theorists. These views contend that, contrary to voluntary theories,
people do not willingly decide to establish states in order to maximize
advantages, but rather, governments develop as a result of some type of
oppression by one group against another.
A. Economic Stratification Theory: According to Friedrich Engels, the

need to safeguard private property led to the emergence of the state.
The thesis argued that as agriculture developed, excess production led
to a division and specialization of labor, resulting in classes who
cultivated the land and those who had free time to engage in other
activities. The state was founded as a result of class rivalry and the
necessity to protect the private property of individuals who relied on
agriculturalists' surplus output to support their lifestyles.
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B. Conquest Theory: According to the argument, a single city creates a

state in order to rule over other tribes or fortified communities that
it has defeated. This idea was developed by Franz Oppenheimer.
C. Circumscription Theory: The theory was created by Robert Carneiro.

He claims that numerous variables (surplus agriculture, conflict,
irrigation, conquest, etc.) did not always result in states. He came to
the conclusion that, although population pressure and warfare were
state formation mechanisms, they only produced states in
geographical regions that were walled off from their surroundings.
B.) Modern State Formation Theories:
1. Warfare Theories: Theories are founded on military innovation and

conflict, as well as the part that these forces played in the creation of
states. Charles Tilly made the case that "state-makers" who wanted to
raise taxes from the people under their authority in order to fund wars
in the future were largely responsible for the state's development. Tilly
holds that states create war, and war creates states. While Michael
Roberts and Geoffrey Parker concur with Tilly that combat was a
significant role, they disagree that "state-makers" themselves were the
primary causal cause. Instead, they argue that it was merely military
technological advancements that allowed for the growth of larger armies.
2. Feudal Crisis Theories: According to Marxist theory, the economic collapse

of feudalism compelled the aristocracy to adopt various centralized
organizational structures in order to maintain their economic dominance,
which led to the creation of the modern state.
105
3. Cultural Theories: In line with broader anthropological discussions, there

has been an increase in emphasis on the state as a fundamentally cultural
artifact and a focus on how symbolism is crucial to state creation.
4. Emulation and Institution Theories: Emulation and learning have been

highlighted by academics as key factors in the spread of state-like
organizations. According to Philip Gorski, the Reformation facilitated the
spread of organizational structures resembling states (e.g. communal
surveillance, incarceration, bureaucracies).
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● Concepts of power, authority, and legitimacy
❖ Power : The term "power" was coined by Max Weber to refer to the
"probability that one actor within a social interaction will be in a position to
carry out his own will, regardless of the basis on which this likelihood
depends." He defined power as the capacity of a person or an organization to
achieve goals, either with or without the assistance of subordinates.
According to Cline (2012), it is "the capacity, whether social or personal, to
enforce one's own will or the collective will of some group over others. Power,
according to Herbert and Edward Shills, is the capacity to sway another
person's actions to further one's own objectives. Nye defined power as the
“ability to affect others to get the outcomes one wants” and command or
hard power as coercive power wielded through inducements or threats
(2009).
➢ Types and their sources : John French and Bertram Raven have classed
power into the following categories:
107
A. Legitimate Power: The stature of a person has an impact on this

kind of power. People respect him and view him as having the final
say in all decisions. Eg: President, P.M.
B. Reward Power: In this case, a person has the authority to reward
labor by giving money, acknowledging work, or praising
subordinates.
C. Expert Power: It entails some level of deference to a superior's
abilities. An individual gains this level of power based on his or her
subject-matter competence.
D. Referent Power: It entails some form of deference to a superior's
knowledge. Based on his or her level of subject-matter competence,
a person can achieve this class of authority.
E. Coercive Power: The term "coercive" implies that this kind of
authority is acquired through force. History has generally recorded
it as having a bad disposition. People are coerced by a monarch or
leader to bow to his ideas and will.
❖ Authority : According to Max Weber, authority refers to "the likelihood that
an order with a certain content would be obeyed by a given set of persons."
He continues by referring to power as legitimate authority. Domination and
the imposition of the ruler's will are the core traits of authority. If a leader is
successful in persuading his subjects to follow his orders, then only that
person can exert authority.
➢ Types: By Marx Weber :
108
A. Legal Authority: This form of authority must abide by a state's laws

and regulations, which are then applied administratively and
legally. Administrative offices have examples of it.
B. Traditional Authority: Tradition is a word that speaks for itself, and
the fact that it has always existed in society gives it legitimacy. The
monarchy system is a good example of it. Individuals in this form of
authority like their position because it is what they were born into.
C. Charismatic Authority: In this category of leadership, a leader's
ability to intimidate followers is innate. Two viewpoints can be
distinguished historically in this category: one is religious, and the
other is political.
❖ Power vs Authority :
Power Authority
1) Power however is individual and 1) Authority is legally enforced and

independent and originates from is derived from the level of
charisma and social positioning. position in an organization.
2) Power is informal and is based 2) Authority is formal based upon
upon individual understanding. superior and subordinate
3) Power is linked with an relationships.
individual and transcends 3) Since authority is related with
boundaries. position in an organization, it has
4) Power may be used limited scope and is confined to
indiscriminately. organizational structure
5) The institution does not grant 4) Authority is just and applied

power in this way. The capacity equally
to influence other people's 5) Authority is institutional and is
decisions is something that given by organization to a
people acquire. position. Anybody who is offered
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6) Yet, the organization chart does that position, enjoys the authority
not have any power centers, and attached to that position.
it cannot be found elsewhere. 6) Authority relationships can be
7) Power has no relation with the found out by anybody by looking
position. A person even at low up the organization chart. There
level may enjoy the power of are authority centers
influencing the decision making 7) Every position carries some level
or even highly placed official of authority. In the organizational
having a lot of authority, may structure, higher positions have
be proved powerless greater authority.
8) Element of politics is inherent in 8) Being detached from a person,
power. authority is unconcerned with
politics. A person is endowed with
power.
❖ Legitimacy : Legitimacy is the right and acceptance of a power, typically a

legal or political system. According to Seymour Martin Lipset, legitimacy
"involves a political system's capacity to foster and sustain the perception
that current political institutions are the most suitable and correct ones for
the community. According to Robert A. Dahl, political stability is maintained
as long as legitimacy is at a certain level; but, if it drops below the necessary
level, political legitimacy is in jeopardy.
➢ Types: ( As per Max Weber)
A. Traditional legitimacy: derives from social norms and practices that
place an emphasis on the tradition's historical authority. Eg:
Monarchy
B. Charismatic Legitimacy: derives from the ideologies and personal
charisma of the leader, a person whose charismatic presence
seduces and psychologically sways the populace into accepting the
regime and control of the government.
110
C. Rational-legal legitimacy: a framework of institutional procedure

that allows for the establishment and enforcement of law and order
by government institutions in the public interest.

111
● Political Organization: Social control, law, and justice in simple societies.
Social Control: In his renowned book "Social Control" which was published in
1901, E.A. Ross proposed the idea of social control.. He has defined Social Control
as a “system of devices whereby society brings its members into conformity with
the accepted standards of behavior”. According to Ogburn and Nimkoff , It refers
to “the patterns of pressure which society exerts to maintain order and
established rules”.
❖ Social Control Types: Depending on the period and the social context, society
employs a variety of social control mechanisms to achieve its goals-
1. Informal Control
2. Formal Control
Informal Control:
1. Public Opinion: Fear of scorn, rejection, humiliation, sarcasm, etc.Eg- Chota
Nagpur region Tribes with respect to the neglect.
2. Religion: Code of Conduct, moral behavior. Eg- Judaism’s 10
Commandments, Fear of Supernatural.
3. Custom: Long Established habits. Eg- Women’s Status( Pious), Fasting,
Offerings to Supernatural.
4. Art and Literature: Eg- Religious Texts, Dances.
5. Magic and Witchcraft: Eg- R.Firth in his study in Tikopia (Melanesian island)
6. Folkways and Mores: Folkways are informal rules and norms that, while not
offensive to violate, are expected to be followed. Mores are also informal rules
that are not written, but, when violated, result in severe punishments and
social sanctions upon the individuals. Eg- Caste and Marriage.
112
7. Revenge: Eg- Tiv of Nigeria- murder for murder.

8. Fine: They impose some kind of fines.
Formal Control:
1) Law, Legislation, and Courts:
Eg- SC has declared the concept of Khap-Panchayats as Kangaroo-Courts

which does not have a proper ligitimacy.
2) Military Force: Eg- AFSPA.
3) Administrative Devices
4) Educational: Eg- Sense of Anti-INDIA in Pakistan’s Academic books.
5) Economics.
Social Control Types:
1. Internalized Social Control

2. Externalized Social Control (Sanctions)
❖ Social Sanction: A social force called a sanction can either support or oppose
a particular behavior pattern. According to Radcliffe Brown, It is a reaction
on the part of a society or of a considerable number of its members to a
mode of behavior which is thereby approved or disapproved.
➢ Social Sanction: Categorization-
113
OR
114
Social Sanction Types: Social sanction can be broadly divided into two categories
1) Primary Social Sanctions: these are the immediate sanctions that are
obtained by an individual in his society / Direct Community involvement.
2) Secondary Social Sanctions: directed at a person( or group of people) by
another person/group, backed by the support of the community.
❖ Primary Social Sanctions are of two types:
A. Positive sanction ( approved behavior )
B. Negative sanction (disapproved behavior)
✓ Positive sanction ( approved behavior ): It denotes respect for
particular behaviors. A person who complies with social norms is
appreciated, and his social standing is elevated. Positive penalties
are enjoyable, and we can use them to encourage compliance and
predictable, routine behavior from others.
✓ Negative sanction (disapproved behavior): There are vast numbers of
negative sanctions that we can use in our society ranging from not
talking to people if they annoy us, by beating them up to putting
them in prison. The ultimate negative sanction perhaps is to kill
someone. Negative sanction is concerned with the destructive and
disintegrating factors prevailing in the society
➢ Both the positive and negative sanctions can again be divided into two
groups:
1) Diffused: Society will occasionally show its acceptance or
condemnation of certain acts fairly impulsively.
2) Organized: Whether they are favorable or bad, some social
punishments are applied in accordance with a recognised and
historic process.
❖ Formal Sanction: A formal sanction is a clearly specified reward or
punishment that can only be administered by certain individuals.
115
❖ Informal Sanction: Individuals' social values are the result of implicit social
control performed by a society through certain traditions, standards, and
mores.
Law: "Law" refers to the entire procedure by which rules that are acknowledged
to be enforceable are upheld and enforced, including the motivations and values
that shape judges' decisions as well as the myriad societal forces that shield most
people from ever having to go before a judge.
❖ Primitive Law: According to Malinowski, “Primitive Law” is not a
homogenous, perfectly unified body of rules, based upon one principle
developed into a consistent system. As per Majumdar and Madan, Primitive
law consists of a set of principles that permit the use of force to maintain
political and social organization within a territory. According to Radcliffe
Brown, “Some simple societies have no law, although all have customs which
are supported by sanctions”. He was thinking of a specific way of enforcing
rules, and also by implications of defining laws and rules enforced in this
way. Further, Evans- Pritchard looked into the Nuer Tribe. There is law, he
claims. He made the implication that there is law where individuals agree
that some actions violate the rights of others and also agree that damages
can be made up, and that conflicts are formally resolved and the parties are
made whole by the payment of compensation. According to Hoebel, A social
norm is legitimate if its neglect or infringement is routinely met, in threat or
in fact, by the application of physical force by a person or group with the
socially recognised privilege of acting, according to the Social Contract Law.
1. Conceived largely on the basis of kinship.
2. Belief in supernatural
3. Punishment is predominantly eye for eye and murder for murder.
4. Nature is predominantly on criminal law, not civil law
116
5. At primitive law, rights are not based on an orderly and logical system of
legal principles
6. Clan elders possess the right to punish the offenders and settle disputes.
❖ Sources:
1. Customs
2. Public opinion
3. Social organization
4. Religion
5. Panchayats.
Primitive/Customary Law vs Modern Law:
Primitive/Customary Law Modern Law
1) The growth of law is slow, 1) Modern law is a result of

gradual and spontaneous with deliberate planning and
the usages, custom, sanctions legislation.
and force. We do not find 2) Modern law is based on
legislation in primitive territorial ties.
societies. 3) Modern law includes criminal
2) Primitive law is based more on law, civil law and their several
kinship bonds than on branches.
territorial ties. 4) Modern law does not
3) Primitive law is predominantly necessarily depend on ethical
a criminal law. norms and public opinion.
4) Primitive law is based on 5) Modern law differentiates
ethical norms and public between public and private
opinion. wrongs.
5) Primitive law does not 6) Modern law does not give
distinguish between crimes in
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public and private wrongs. importance for sin and

6) Sin and supernatural supernatural punishment.
punishments are associated 7) In modern law, the state looks
with primitive law. Intention after law and therefore there
is not recognized in primitive is no scope for collective
law. responsibility.
7) As primitive law is based on 8) Modern law recognizes
kinship bonds. So, collective whether a particular act was
responsibility is associated committed with an intention
with it. or not.
8) Intention is not recognised in 9) In modern law there are
primitive law. grades of punishments
9) In primitive law, there are no 10) Imprisonment is frequent in
grades of punishments modern law
10) Imprisonment is rare in 11) Modern law is associated with
primitive law. legislative, executive and
11) Primitive law is not associated judicial processes.
with legislative, executive and 12) In modern law we find police
judicial processes force, courts and lawyers.
12) There are no police force and
law courts in primitive law.

118
● Political Organization: Social control, law, and justice in simple societies.
Justice: A judgment essentially comprises two parts-
1) Evidence
2) Punishment
A.) Evidence: Evidence refers to the method used to determine a person's guilt
or innocence. There are no judges or prosecutors who are skilled at cross-
examining witnesses in prehistoric societies. People must therefore rely on divine
assistance in order to obtain accurate data.However, the two main ways of
getting the evidence are oath and ordeal.
1. Oath: It is a promise in the name of God not to tell a lie. Eg: Among the
Oraons and Mundas of Chota Nagpur, an individual before producing his
evidence is asked to take an oath sitting on a tiger’s skin or tiger’s jaw.
2. Ordeal: It is a process of determining guilt or innocence by submitting the

accused to a dangerous or painful test under supernatural control. Eg:
Oraons, a piece of burning charcoal is placed on the palm of two boys
who are suspected of theft.
B.) Punishment: If anyone violates the general rule of the tribe, he is punished by
the leaders of the community. Punishment corresponds to the organized negative
sanction of society. Eg: the punishment of death is for murder but this
punishment may not be awarded to him who has murdered. In his place some
other members of his family group or clan may be killed, since the group is
collectively responsible for the criminal act of each other.
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Trial: Generally speaking, some minimal kind of trial occurs prior to the
imposition of punishment. The chief and the council of elders attentively listen to
both the petitioner's and the defendant's arguments before interrogating them.
❖ Example:
1) Oraons clan where exogamy exists, the member must choose his mate
2) from other clans. In violating these rules, the man is brought before the
village council for trial.
3) Outcasting is a usual punishment.
4) Compensation System
Settlement of Disputes:
1. Peaceful Means
2. Violent Means
A.) Peaceful Settlement of Disputes:
1. Avoidance: If the parties to a quarrel choose to stay apart or avoid each

other until their emotions have subsided, violence can frequently be
averted. It is more likely that foragers will employ this method. Avoidance
is undoubtedly simpler in nomadic or semi-nomadic civilizations, such as
band societies, where people live in transient accommodations. When
people are self-sufficient and live independently, avoidance is more
realistic.
2. Community Action: Common when there is a lack of powerful

authoritarian leadership. Eg: the Inuit, disputes are frequently resolved
through community action. Principles act as guides to the community in
settling trouble cases. An individual’s failure to heed a taboo or to follow
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the suggestions of a shaman leads to expulsion from the group because

the community cannot accept a risk to its livelihood.
3. Negotiation and Mediation: The disputing parties frequently negotiate

their own resolutions to disagreements. An outsider or third party may
occasionally be utilized to mediate a dispute between the parties. When a
third party attempts to assist in bringing about a resolution but lacks the
legal right to do so, we refer to this as mediation. Among the Nuer of
East Africa, a pastoral and horticultural people, disputes within the
community are settled with the help of an informal mediator called the
leopard-skin chief. The man is not a political chief, but a mediator. His
position is hereditary.
4. Ritual Reconciliation-Apology: An apology is based on deference- the

guilty party shows obeisance and asks for forgiveness. Eg: Among the
Fijians of the South Pacific, there is a strong ethic of harmony and
mutual assistance, particularly within a village.
5. Oaths and Ordeals: An oath is the act of calling upon a deity to bear
witness to the truth of what one says. An ordeal is a means used to
determine guilt or innocence by submitting the accused to dangerous or
painful tests believed to be supernatural control
B.) Violent Settlement of Disputes: Some societies consider violence between

individuals to be appropriate under certain circumstances; which we generally do
not consider, and call it crime. When violence occurs between political entities
such as communities, districts, or nations, we call it warfare.
1. Individual Violence: Although it may seem paradoxical, violent behavior

itself is often used to control behavior. In some societies, it is considered
necessary for parents to beat children who misbehave. They consider this
punishment and not criminal behavior or child abuse.
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2. Raiding: Raids are the short-term, organized, and premeditated use of

force to accomplish certain goals. This goal is typically the acquisition of
assets belonging to another society, sometimes a neighboring one, such as
products, livestock, or other types of riches. In pastoral civilizations,
where cattle, horses, camels, or other animals are revered and theft can
be used to increase a person's own herd, robbing is common. Raids are
frequently planned and executed by temporary coordinators or
commanders, whose power may not persist beyond these phases. Raids
can also be planned with the intention of capturing people to marry,
keep as concubines, or sell as slaves.
3. Large-scale Confrontations or Warfare: Both feuding and raiding typically

involve comparatively few people and virtually always contain a surprise
component. Contrarily, large-scale conflicts entail a lot of people and
pre-planned attack and defence methods on both sides. Typically, nations
with extensive agriculture or industrialisation engage in large-scale
conflict. Only these societies have sufficiently developed technology to
support specialised armies, military commanders, military strategy, etc.
Miscellaneous:
1. Egalitarian Societies: Egalitarian societies are those in which little or no

formal structure exists that places authority and power into the hands of
certain individuals or groups on the basis of hereditary or positions of
authority. Indeed, in egalitarian societies, there are no positions of authority.
Every man, and in some societies woman, has an equal say in matters
concerning the group and participates fully in decision-making. No person
can exert authority over another, and there are no avenues for individuals to
acquire privileged positions that might provide them with unequal power
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over others. The food-gathering bands of the Kalahari Desert and Australia
are classic examples of this kind of egalitarian society.
2. Age Set System: Societies with age sets have a group of people of the same
sex and similar age who move through some or all of their life stages
together. Age sets are a type of sodality (nonresidential groups that cut
across kinship ties and thus promote broader social solidarity) of young men
who usually cooperate in secret ritual or craft performances together;
individuals generally remain closely associated with their age set throughout
their life. They are initiated into maturity and pass through age grades, the
more general term denoting recognized stages of maturation that entail
distinct rights and duties. Age grades may be marked by changes in biological
state, such as puberty, or by socially recognized status changes such as
marriage and the birth of a child. Persons of junior grade may defer to those
of more senior grade who in turn teach, test, or lead their juniors. Eg: The
Masai have an age-graded society.
3. Segmentary Lineage: A segmentary lineage society has equivalent parts

("segments") held together by shared values. A society with such a system is
composed of segments, or parts, each similar to the others in structure and
function. Every local segment belongs to a hierarchy of lineages stretching
farther and farther back genealogically. The hierarchy of lineages, then,
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unites the segments into larger and larger genealogical groups. The closer two
groups are genealogically, the greater their general closeness. In the event of
a dispute among members of different segments, people related more closely
to one contestant than to another take the side of their nearest kinsman.
❖ Segmentary Lineage:
OR
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❖ Complementary Opposition:
OR
Eg- Paul Bohannan's study of Tiv of Nigeria.
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Religion -01
❖ Religion: Anthropological approaches to the study of religion (evolutionary,

psychological, and functional)
About Religion : The basic word "religio," which means "to join together," is where the
word "religion" has its origin. Archaeologists have found evidence of religious activities and
beliefs that were practiced by archaic Homo sapiens, or Neanderthals, 60,000 years ago.
Despite significant cultural differences between societies, religion is a universal cultural
concept.
Anthropologist's view in Religion :
❖ Émile Durkheim(1912), defined religion as "a projection of the social values of
society", "a means of making symbolic statements about society", "a symbolic
language that makes statements about the social order".
❖ Clifford Geertz, religion is (1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish
powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by (3)
formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these
conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem
uniquely realistic."
❖ E B Tylor in Primitive Culture (1871) defined religion as "the belief in spiritual
beings"
❖ Ember and Ember, Any set of attitudes, convictions, and rituals relating to forces,
gods, spirits, ghosts, or demonic entities are considered to be religious.
❖ F C Wallace defines religion as: “the beliefs and practices concerned with
supernatural beings, powers, and forces”

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Note Keyword :
1. Animism: E. B. Tylor (1871) invented the phrase to define the conviction that both
organic and inanimate objects, as well as people, possess a soul or vital force.
2. Animatism: According to R. R. Marett (1866–1943), people believed in impersonal

forces at work in the world and certain things. People, animals, plants, and
inanimate objects, according to Marett, "were endowed with certain abilities, which
were both impersonal and supernatural."
3. While animatism is more encompassing because it is the concept that force, which is
impersonal, is present everywhere, animism is precisely defined as the belief that
natural objects are inhabited by spirits.
Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion
A. Evolutionary :
1. E.B. Tylor: He explains that animism is the earliest and most primitive kind of
religion in his book Primitive Culture (1871). This led to the development of
fetishism, demon worship, polytheism, and ultimately, monotheism. He defines
religion as "the belief in Spiritual Beings," which encompasses all varieties of it.
The belief in spirits was first an unthinking but nonetheless rational attempt to
explain such perplexing factual phenomena as possessions, nightmares, and death.
➢ Representation: Animism → Belief Demon → Polytheism → Monotheism.
2. Herbert Spencer: He supported animism, which is a belief system akin to Tylor's.

Venerating ancestors is a widespread custom in Asia, Africa, and other regions of
the world where it is thought that the ancestors still have influence over their
descendants and shape society. This makes sense if you assume that a person's
spirit lives on after they pass away.
3. R.R. Marett (1909): He put out the idea of animatism, a belief in impersonal,
supernatural forces that individuals can in some way influence that existed before
the development of spirits. On the other side, they saw animatism as the genesis
of all religion. He used the Melanesian word mana, which refers to a concentrated
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kind of power and an impersonal supernatural energy believed to inhabit

particular individuals or objects and bestow strength, power, and success. Mana
can be thought of as people, places, or things like a spear that has killed a lot of
animals, a knife used to cut wood carvings, or even an object.
➢ Representation: Animatism → mana → Animism
4. Sir James Frazer: In The Golden Bough, a two-volume work that was published in
1890, he made an effort to provide a general philosophy of magic, religion, and
science. The earliest manifestation of human thought was magic. He also contends
that magic, which saw nature as "a succession of occurrences unfolding in an
invariable order without the participation of personal agency," predominated
early human thought. Frazer claimed that these magicians had created fictitious
laws and believed in natural laws, which are obviously untrue. The more educated
people in the society eventually came to believe that there were supernatural
creatures with superior abilities to man who could be persuaded by propitiation
to change the path of nature in his favour. He considered this to be the stage of
religion. Later, this was discovered to be an illusion, and men advanced to the
last stage of development—science. According to Frazer, in more developed
communities, magic is eventually replaced by religion, which is then supplanted
by science.
➢ Representation: Magic → Religion → Science.

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Religion - 02

❖ Religion : Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion. (evolutionary,
psychological, and functional)
Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion:

B. Functionalist : Functionalism places more emphasis on how different components of a
social system interact with one another and pays less attention to evolutionary
origins and the idea of "survivals," which refers to the persistence of rudimentary
features in a civilization.
➢ Utility/Function.
1. Malinowski: The strong connection between myth and ritual is emphasized in

his writings about the Trobriand Islanders. He advances the notion of
psychological functionalism, according to which religious practices satisfy and
fulfill psychological needs. For instance, a funeral ritual aims to free the spirit
and keep it from coming back to harm the living.
✓ False —> Myths —> Truth.
✓ Basis : Utility Aspect.
2. Radcliffe-Brown: He gives a description of Andamanese religious practices and

rituals. He claims that the ghosts of the deceased, which are connected to the
sky, forest, and sea, and nature spirits, which are viewed as personifications
of natural occurrences, are the principal supernatural beings among the
people of the Andaman Islands. Religion combines rituals and society to
strengthen group cohesion.
3. M.N. Srinivas: His research on Coorg society and religion makes a significant
functionalist contribution to the study of religion. He shows how distinct
rituals carried out at the household, patrilineal joint family (okka), and village
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levels foster camaraderie and harmony among various socio economic

groupings.
C. Structuralist :
1. Levi-Strauss’: He looked into "structuralism'' as an all-encompassing logical

framework for the human intellect. He has attempted to elucidate a mental
grammar by drawing inspiration from structural linguistics, particularly the work
of Ferdinand Saussure. With language, he explains, myth can be known and told;
it is a component of human discourse. He goes on to add that we must be able to
demonstrate that it is both the same as language and something different from it
in order to offer its individuality. Myths highlight recurring themes that can be
used to comprehend the finite number of worldviews held by people. A
groundbreaking contribution to anthropology by Levi-Strauss is the structural
analysis of myth. According to Levi-Strauss, all symbolic systems, including those
used in early religious systems, are ultimately communication systems.
2. Dumont: He adopts a structuralist view of religion as it appears in the veneration

of local deities. In religious ideas, he discovers the contradiction between "purity"
and "impurity," as well as the interdependence of the two values. The Sanskritic
gods are firmly identified with vegetarian cuisine, whereas non-Sanskritic gods
and other spiritual beings who accept the offering of non-vegetarian foods are
strongly associated with impurity. The caste system is built on the fundamental
principle that cleanliness is preferable to impurity.
D. Marxist: Karl Marx was a well-known theorist who was extremely critical of religion.
According to his theory, religion and religious belief are fabrications that preserve
social stratification and the status quo. Religion is the spirit of a spiritless condition,
the heart of a heartless world, and the sigh of the suffering creature. It serves as the
populace's opium. Godelier disagrees with Marx asserted that religion is a reflection of
reality in the mind.
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E. Symbolic: Evans-Pritchard (1956) first recognized the symbolic aspect of religion,

and this has inspired several anthropologists to approach religion through symbols,
the meanings given by the participants to the elements of religion and rituals, and
interpretations that anthropologists can offer. Victor Turner (1967), Mary Douglas
(1970), and Clifford Geertz (1973) are important anthropologists that have
contributed to our understanding of religion from a symbolic perspective.
➢ Symbol : Religion.
1. Victor Turner: Victor Turner's study of the Ndembu (Ghana) rituals offers a
thorough and extensive account of Ndembu religious life, which comprises of
rituals falling into these two categories: the ritual of affliction and the ritual
of life cycle crisis (rituals to help them deal with these dangers). His work
demonstrates how various rites that are rich with symbolic meanings in
every deed and performance are a significant part of Ndembu society.
2. Mary Douglas: The sacred can leave multiple imprints on the worshippers'
thoughts and hearts. It is divine order, and what alters it is unclean and
poisonous. It depicts society as it has been experienced. The human body is
the most suitable representation of society; the operation of bodily
components stands for both social order and disorder. She put a lot of effort
into learning symbols. According to her, a symbol derives its meaning from
how it interacts with other symbols in a pattern; the pattern itself provides
the meaning. No component of the pattern can, therefore, stand alone and
convey meaning without the others.
3. Geertz: Geertz suggests including religion in the cultural system. Any item,
act, event, quality, or relation that acts as a carrier for an idea is considered
a symbol in his eyes. His understanding of religion is based on the idea that
individuals primarily behave in accordance with the meaning systems they
possess, and that the anthropologist's role is to interpret these meanings and
provide for their description.
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F. Psychological:
1. Sigmund Freud: He contends that the rise of religion is the result of a significant
subliminal psychological conflict inside social groups. He argues that the
psychological battle between the son and father, the son's loathing of the father,
the son's desire to kill the father, and the son's sense of guilt are what led to the
birth of the totem. Projections are one of the psychological defense mechanisms
used to avoid conflict and lessen discomfort.

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Religion -03
❖ Monotheism and polytheism;
❖ Magico-religious functionaries (priest, shaman, medicine man, sorcerer, and witch).
Monotheism: Contrary to faiths that have several gods, monotheism is the belief in one
supremely powerful god. Eg: Islam, Christianity, Sikhism
❖ Types:
1. Pluriform Monotheism
2. Inclusive Monotheism
3. Exclusive Monotheism
4. Religious Dualism
1. Inclusive Monotheism: Although inclusive monotheism recognises a vast variety of
deities, it contends that they are all essentially one and the same. Examples:
Hellenistic Religions
2. Exclusive Monotheism: Exclusive monotheism holds that there is only one real God,
and all others are either false gods, demons, or just nonexistent. Examples: Judaism,
Christianity, Islam
3. Pluriform Monotheism: When one studies pluriform monotheism, in which the
numerous gods are simultaneously thought of as representations of one and the same
divine substance while maintaining their independence, it becomes evident how
convoluted the relationships between monotheism and polytheism are. One attempt
to address the issue of the conflict between divine unity and divine plurality is
pluralistic monotheism (multiplicity of forms). Example: Religion among the Nuers

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4. Religious Dualism: They believe that there are two fundamental, frequently
antagonistic principles that make up the universe, such as good and evil or spirit and
matter. This type of religion can be regarded as another form of monotheism insofar
as the concept of a god and an anti deity rather than that of two gods is
encountered. Example: Zoroastrianism- in which Ahura Mazdā (the “Wise Lord,” or
the good, supreme god) and Ahriman (Angra Manyu, the destructive spirit) are each
other’s opposite and implacable enemy.
Polytheism: The belief in or worship of more than one god. Eg: Hinduism, Taoism,
Shintoism
❖ Types:
1. Henotheism
2. Unlimited polytheism
1. Henotheism: The worship of one god, though the existence of other gods is granted.
Example: Religions at the time Babylonian Civilization
2. Unlimited polytheism: worship of various deities, each with distinctive names and
appearances that are unique to them and cannot be substituted for those of any
other deities. Example: classical religions of Greece and Rome.
Magico-religious functionaries: They are qualified to carry out specific religious
activities because they have received unique training or understanding. Also, they might
possess unique personality features that enable them to carry out such tasks. These
individuals are thought to be qualified to find religious solutions because they possess
ceremonial authority, expertise, or spiritual skills. They have the authority to interpret
societal standards, spiritual laws, and even religious laws and ordinances.
❖ Types:
1. Priest
2. Shaman
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3. Sorcerer
4. Witch
5. Medicine man/Witch Doctor
A. Priest: According to Weber, a priest is a functionary who carries out routine, ongoing,
and planned tasks that have to do with the divine. He typically accomplishes this
through worship, either on behalf of a specific person or society at large. According to
anthropologists, civilizations with full-time religious professionals (priests) are more
likely to depend on food production than food gathering. They are also likely to have
class stratification, monetary interchange, and high degrees of political integration.
All of these traits point to cultural complexity.
➢ Characteristics:
✓ A religious leader who is authorized to be part of an organized religion is
considered to be a priest or priestess.
✓ Different religions have different terms for these individuals. They may be
known as Rabbis, Mullahs, Lamas, Imams, or something else.
✓ These individuals are the keepers of the sacred law and tradition.
✓ Their main habitats are large-scale societies.
✓ Priests are officially welcomed as full-time specialists and launched as

members of a recognised religious organization.
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✓ Priests can occasionally be differentiated from others by their attire, etc.
✓ A priest must undergo a hard and protracted training regimen that involves
not only prayer, fasting, and physical work but also instruction in the
doctrine and customs of his religion.
✓ Priests are qualified to carry out religious rites that have the intent of
influencing the paranormal realm and directing believers in their religious
practices.
✓ Although they do not directly possess any supernatural abilities, the rituals
they perform are thought to be powerful.
✓ In cultures where there is a hierarchy of spirits and gods, the priest should
always be consulted before approaching the principal gods.
✓ Priests also carry out the rites of passage related to birth, puberty, marriage,
and death. The community interacts with deities or deities through the priest
who serves as a community representative.
✓ They serve as guardians of the community's ethics and morals and establish
high standards for the entire community. They also serve to legitimize the
authority of the society through ceremonies, such as crowning.
✓ Example:
1) In Aztec society, the priesthood was very complex and the priests were
arranged in a hierarchical order.
2) Priesthood is not open for everyone as in the case of Hinduism where it is

restricted to Brahmin castes. The priest in traditional India may assist in
the performance of a ritual-at home, or in a temple.
3) In Catholicism, the role of priest is to officiate or organize baptism (the

first sacrament of Christian initiation), penance (confession and
reconciliation), confirmation (the second sacrament of Christian
initiation), marriage, unction (anointing of the sick) and sacrament, etc.
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B. Shaman: The term "shaman" is derived from the Tungusic word "saman," which
means "one who is stirred, moved, or raised," and has its roots in North-East Asia.
He is connected to the supernatural, which gives him special abilities. It is also
thought that a medium or a spirit helps him achieve his goals. Very frequently, a
shaman's ability to work with the supernatural requires that his state of mind be
altered, causing him to either go into a trance or an uncontrollable level of
excitement.
❖ Types:
1. Siberian Shamanism: The shaman is a master or mistress of spirits in Arctic
shamanism. She or he performs dance, plays hand-held drums, dons
extravagant costumes, and participates in rites that are dramatically enhanced
by the shaman's employment of diverse theatrical techniques. The goal of the
ritual is to connect with and build a connection with a supernatural being, and
a shaman's success is determined less by their ability to memorize prayers or
perform rituals than by their skill at doing so.
2. Tapirape Shamanism: The unseen world of the Tapirape Indians of Central

Brazil is made up of ghosts, inawera, the souls of the dead that have dissipated,
and evil entities of many kinds and classes. These spirits are collectively referred
to as ancunga. The soul, or iunga, separates from the body while we sleep and
flows freely in time and space, giving the Tapirape shaman his power and
allowing him to visit the world of the spirits. The shaman's power is based on
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the quantity and power of his demonic familiars, and he also asks the spirits for
assistance when his spirits are under attack by those of other shamans.
3. Korean Shamanism: The spirits that bother people and make them ill are
believed to be real in Korean culture. Even though Buddhism, which excludes
pre-Buddhist ideas, has converted the Koreans, traditional beliefs have not yet
been replaced by Buddhist beliefs. Public rituals are organized for the benefit of
customers who want to appease regional or village gods or exercize lost spirits
that cling to individuals in order to cure ailments. These services are also held to
help the departed person's spirit travel to heaven.
4. Neo-Shamanism: Urbanites of the United States of America and Europe started

showing interest in shamanism in the 1970s. Its popularity is drawn largely
from Native American traditions. The drug culture of 1960, interest in non-
Western religions, environmentalism, the New Age, self-help, self realization
movement, etc., have contributed to this development.
C. Sorcerer: The use of magic for evil is known as sorcery. In many religions, healers use
black magic, but a sorcerer is inherently evil and works for illegal and antisocial
objectives. The sorcerer is a magician, an evil figure. It includes summoning
supernatural power to hurt individuals using specific material items or medications.
The body parts on which spells are cast are the materials. Pure Black Magic is what it
is. Sometimes they use a man's shadow or sleeping spirit rather than tangible
artifacts like hair and nails. Such behavior is not socially acceptable and is frequently
viewed as a crime against society in prehistoric communities. Eg- Azande
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D. Witchcraft: Witchcraft is a term used to describe the malicious use of magic or other
supernatural abilities. A practitioner is a witch. Witchcraft is an evil activity made
possible by the spirits. Here, just mind and emotion are used to carry out evil. There
is absolutely no use of tangible items. So, when magic or spells on the bewitched cause
them to suffer, there is no sign of witchcraft left behind. Witchcraft abilities were
thought to be obtained by initiation or heredity.
➢ Witches use:
1. Spell Casting: a set of words, a formula or verse, a ritual, or a combination of
these, employed to do magic.
2. Necromancy(Conjuring the dead)
➢ Examples:
1. Traditional Navajo mythology holds that a witch must wear the skin of a
dead animal while traveling at night in order to transform into that animal.
2. Members of some Afro-Brazilian cults, for instance, believe that job loss is
caused by witchcraft rather than poor performance or economic situations,
and they partake in a rite called the "consultation" to combat evil.
❖ Sorcerer Vs Witchcraft:
➢ Most anthropologists recognise the difference between sorcery and witchcraft.
Sorcery is a learned magical practise requiring words, objects, and rituals,
whereas witchcraft is an innate power that develops within some adults and
operates mystically and occasionally without its bearer's knowledge (1937's
Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande is credited with clarifying this
distinction).
➢ The same distinction had been noted earlier in Melanesia by Reo Fortune in his
Sorcerers of Dobu (1932), with the difference that on Dobu, mystical witchcraft
is women’s unique capacity; sorcery is men’s.
E. Medicine man/Witch Doctor: Originally, a witch doctor (sometimes called witch-
doctor) was a type of healer who dealt with illnesses that were thought to be brought
on by witchcraft. The witch doctor typically served as a priest, a magician, and a
doctor. These obligations evolved from the prehistoric conviction that divine forces
were responsible for all physical processes. Even today, primitive cultures still hold
these ideas. Many medicine people go through a combination of these procedures.
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Some medicine people go through a difficult initiation to acquire supernormal powers,

while others become experts through apprenticeships. The medicine person frequently
carries a kit of healing-related items, such as hallucinogenic or therapeutic herbs,
pollen, special bird feathers, suggestively shaped or marked stones, and other items.
These substances are sometimes thought to have been extracted from the
practitioner's body during the practitioner's initiation into the healing arts. Achieving
mental and spiritual wellness is the main goal of the healing ritual.
➢ Eg- Medicine man/Witch Doctor:
1. Witch Doctor in Zimbabwe
2. Witch Doctor in Nigeria

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Religion - 04

❖ Sacred and profane;
❖ Myths and rituals;
SACRED AND PROFANE :

The concepts of sacred and profane are central to Durkheim's theory of religion which he
expounds in his book ‘The Elementary Forms of Religious Life’(1912). He mentions that
these concepts have universal validity.
❖ Sacred : Taken from the Latin term 'sacrare', from the Greek word 'sacer', 'sacr'-
meaning 'holy', and the Old French word 'sacre', which means 'holy'. Anything that is
revered, held in high regard, reviled and shunned is referred to as sacred. When
compared to profane things, the sacred is typically regarded higher and its identity
and power are safeguarded by societal conventions. Sacred figures like priests and
kings, sacred locations like temples and statues, and sacred natural phenomena like
rivers, the sun, mountains, and trees are all examples of how something is sacred. It
is a transcendental ideal that has nothing to do with reality. It is in line with the
group's requirements and welfare.
1) Rites - rituals which acknowledge the separation of the sacred from everyday
existence
2) Totems - symbols which represent the Sacred e.g. a Cross, a logo etc.
3) Taboo - implicit prohibition on activities which contradict rites or beliefs of the
sacred
➢ Characteristics:
1. it is separated from the common (profane) world;
2. It expresses the ultimate overall value and purpose of life; it is the
everlasting reality, which is acknowledged to have existed before it was
known and to be understood in a manner distinct from that by which
ordinary things are understood.
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❖ Profane: The word profane comes from the old Latin "profanes," which means "before
(outside) the temple" and refers to a temple or sanctuary. It alludes to the
commonplace, everyday elements of life. The term "profane" refers to concepts,
people, behaviors, and objects that are seen with an attitude of commonality,
usefulness, and familiarity. It is also thought that the profane or the unclean
contaminates the sacred or holy. It involves the holy being denied or somehow
subordinated.
❖ Criticism:
➢ The assertion made by Durkheim that this dichotomy applies to all faiths and
cults has come under fire. In addition, Jack Goody pointed out that "many
countries do not have words that translate as sacred or profane and that,
ultimately, it was very much a creation of European religious thought rather than
a standard that could be used everywhere.
➢ Durkheim’s strict classification that religion’s must exhibit this concept may have
caused some sociological phenomena to not be studied as religion.
➢ The delineation between the sacred and profane is not analogous to good and evil.
The sacred can be evil and the profane good, as evidenced by many cults and
socially-regressive religious doctrines throughout history.
MYTH : It can be characterized as a traditional tale, generally including supernatural
entities or occurrences, explaining a natural or social phenomenon or relating to the
early history of a people. Myth is a symbolic tale that typically has an unidentified origin
and is at least partially traditional, purporting to connect true occurrences and being
particularly linked to religious belief. A myth is a well-known tale that was made up in
the past to explain historical occurrences, to support religious convictions, or to uphold
social norms.
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❖ Anthropologist’s view on Myth :
1. Lauri Honko ( Finnish ): Myth, a tale of the gods, a religious account of the
world's origin, key moments, and the gods' illustrious actions as a consequence of
which the world, nature, and civilization were created together with all of its
components and given their order, which still holds today. It gives a model of
behavior that may be copied, attests to the effectiveness of ritual with its
practical purposes, and establishes the holiness of the cult. Myths represent and
affirm society's religious beliefs and standards.
2. José Manuel Losada : Myth is defined as "a functional, symbolic, and thematic
narrative of one or more extraordinary events with a transcendent, sacred, and
supernatural referent; that, in general, lacks historical testimony; and that refers
to an individual or collective, but always absolute, cosmogony or eschatology"
❖ Mythology: The term "mythology" typically refers to a group of people's collective

myths. For instance, the body of myths that were passed down within various
cultures is described by Greek mythology, Roman mythology, Celtic mythology, and
Hittite mythology.
❖ Example:
1. Anthropologist Alan Dundes (1962): In earth-diver tales, a creator deity sends

an agent into the depths to locate a small amount of mud that it would use to
construct dry land and, subsequently, mankind. The agent is typically an animal.
2. Furer Haimendorf(1953): The Apa Tani have the belief that all people who pass
away naturally go to Neli (the place of the dead), which resembles an Apa Tani
town with numerous rows of buildings. In Neli, every woman goes back to her
first husband; those who passed away single can be married and have kids there.
❖ Type:
1. Historical myths: Re-tells a story of the past but gives it more meaning than
what the event was about i.e. if the event even did take place. Eg: Siege of Troy
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2. Etiological myths: Etiological myths, from the Greek for "reason," describe how
something came to be or why it is the way it is. Often, an origin narrative is
what is meant by this kind of myth. For instance, Etiological myths might
provide justifications for why the world is the way it is. For instance, the Greek
myth of Pandora's Box explains how evil and suffering entered the world.
3. Psychological myths: These myths are stories of the journey from the known
world to the unknown world. Eg: A prediction that Prince Oedipus would grow
up and kill his father leads him to flee the home of his adoptive parents. He leaves
for a different location and eventually kills his true father, who abandoned him
when he was a baby. This would have demonstrated to the audience of the
ancient Greeks the futility of altering one's destiny, which was under the
authority of the gods, and would have caused them to respect, fear, and be in
awe of the gods.
❖ Theories:
1. Rational Myth Theory: According to the rational myth theory, myths were
created to help people understand natural forces and events that affected their
daily lives. This hypothesis also explains how the gods and goddesses were in
charge of these natural occurrences. Examples of this type of myth are creation
myths from different cultures.
2. Functional Myth Theory: The functional myth hypothesis discusses how morality
and social behavior were taught through myths. It claims that falsehoods are
spread regarding the kinds of behaviors that are appropriate and inappropriate,
as well as the repercussions of doing so. According to the functional myth theory,
myths were developed for social control and to maintain social stability. A notable
illustration of a practical myth is the tale of the tribe who rebelled against the
enormous serpent Degei. The tribe in this tale became the mighty snake god
Degei's employees and servants after learning several trades from him. Two of the
tribe's leaders attempted to overthrow him because they were tired of serving
him, but Degei was stronger than them. Instead of achieving freedom, they
perished in a massive flood Degei brought about. This myth tries to convince you
that being lazy is a mistake you'll come to regret.
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3. Structural Myth Theory: According to certain definitions, structural myths are

founded on human emotion. These kinds of myths illustrate the positive and
negative aspects of the human psyche. They demonstrate the duality of human
nature and the divided ego. Eg: Both good and bad things were done by
Hercules. He stole a broach pin from the Talos god's treasure room, which was
one of his terrible deeds. His friend was killed as a result of this sin. Hercules
vowed to remain on the island until his friend was located because he was aware
that his sin was the reason his friend was killed.
4. Psychological Myth Theory: According to the psychological myth theory, myths

are derived from people's subconscious minds and are based on human emotion.
Across the world, there were unanswerable worries, questions, and hopes shared
by various cultures. Because of this, psychological mythologies were created, and
various civilizations share certain archetypes. Many cultures utilize archetypes,
which are universal forms and personalities. Eg: Having a sky god (Zeus and
Oleron), a sea god (Poseidon and Olokun), and an agricultural god are some
archetypes shared by various cultures (Orisha-Oko and Demeter). These
archetypes serve as illustrations of how individuals approach topics that arouse
their anxieties and mysteries.
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Religion - 05
❖ Religion: Myths and rituals;
MYTH :
1. Natural Phenomenon: A myth is a story that is, or was considered, a true
explanation of the natural world (something in nature) and how it came to be.
2. Characters: are often non-human and are typically gods, goddesses,
supernatural beings or mystical “first people.”
3. Setting: is typically ancient and set in a world very similar to our own, but with
supernatural monsters or areas.
4. Theme is emphasized by the Setting: may take place in a supernatural world
AND our present-day world. Myths do this to emphasize the basic human
behaviors (character traits) that are important in any setting.
5. The Supernatural: Myths possess events that bend or break natural laws.
6. Cultural Values: Promotes “Social Action”—myths try to tell people how to act
and live according to the core values and beliefs of the culture. The heroes often
possess these values.
7. Mystery: Myths have a sense of mystery or the unknown.
8. Dualities: (or complete opposites such as night/day, good/evil) often play
important roles in the plot of a myth.
9. Language: Myths often have an emphasis on language. Mythical heroes are often
sophisticated storytellers.
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❖ Views:
1. Malinowski: He argued that myth is a powerful social force for the native which
is relevant to their pragmatic interests. It expresses and codifies beliefs and
works towards the efficacy of ritual and provides a practical guide.
2. Levi-Strauss: Myth is a cultural artifact and a logical model. The structure and
content of reality are imposed by the human mind. He claimed that myth is a
medium through which the human mind may express itself freely and without
limitations. People consider several plausible solutions to the serious issues they
encounter. The intellectual framework for social order is thus provided by myth,
but this framework need not match the ethnographic reality of social
organization. Levi-Strauss developed a technique for myth structural analysis.
BELIEF : Belief is a concept or component that has been accepted and ingrained by an
individual or group in any society. It is made up of trust and confidence. Belief might be
the truth, a modified version of the truth, or a justification for the truth. It is the
foundational element of conscious cognition that one accepts and absorbs..
❖ Example:
1. The primary goal of the Jain faith is to perfect the soul via adherence to the
Jinas' teachings, which disclose the fundamental truth of the cosmos and offer
direction for achieving freedom through the cycle of reincarnation. Jains adhere
to and live by the teachings of Mahavira, the most recent Jina. Jain has faith in
knowledge, karma, and the soul. To perceive the world's illusions, one must have
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knowledge. This, the highest form of knowledge, reveals the nature of the
cosmos.
2. The most fundamental value of Jainism is nonviolence.
➢ Belief of a person or a people forms the basis of the behavior of an individual or
group or community.
➢ It shapes human life and the surrounding environment.
➢ Belief is fundamentally an inner condition, a psychological state.
➢ Belief sometimes is the key determinant of the status or position of what it is
and where it stands in society and in an individual’s life.
➢ Belief brings distinctiveness between two or more groups.
➢ Belief is flexible, structured or anti-structured
➢ Belief is central to all religions
RITUAL : Set of formalized actions performed with symbolic value in a socially relevant
context or worshiping a deity or cult. Rituals vary in form and in content within a
particular religion and across religions.
❖ Anthropologist’s view on Rituals :
➢ Victor Turner: He defines ritual as “prescribed formal behavior for occasions not
given over to technical routine, having reference to beliefs in mystical (or non-
empirical) beings or powers regarded as the first and final causes of all effects”.
❖ Concept: The term Ritual is used to denote two separate sets of activities:
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1. Strictly in the sphere of religious practice and refers to a wide range of religious
activities like prayers, worship, chanting, sacred objects, etc.
2. Those associated with individual life cycles as they move from one social setting
to another.
❖ Characteristics :
1. Formalism: Anthropologists refer to ritual as using a "restricted code"—a set of

terms that are arranged and used in specific ways. Formalism is observed,
resulting in community approval and conformity. For instance, while repeating
words, prayers, or mantras; or while reading a sacred text like the Bible, Quran,
or Bhagvad Gita.
2. Traditionalism: Rituals often recapitulate previous activities and customs and

follow tradition. For instance, Thanksgiving dinner in the USA. Rituals
demonstrate how humans have adjusted, adapted, and absorbed these rituals
while reflecting tradition and history.
3. Invariance: Rituals are invariants distinguished by physical restraint. For

instance, men who practice the Islamic religion congregate there and pray
collectively while maintaining physical restraint, or during festivals like Shivratri,
Janmashtami, or Jagran, people perform rituals in temples either in groups or
individually.
4. Rule-governance: Rituals are occasionally governed by laws that impose laws and
norms on behavior that establish the boundaries of what is acceptable. Customs
that have been endorsed by the community as a whole invoke a genuine
collective authority. Eg: rules during yagnas.
5. Sacral symbolism: Symbols, signs, and objects become sacred through a process.
Eg: Religious symbols
6. Performance: it creates a frame around the activities, symbols and events which
shape the order/pattern.
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❖ Types of Rituals:
1. Contingent rituals: It can be further broken down into life-crisis ceremonies that
are held at birth, puberty, marriage, and death to mark the transition from
one stage of the person's or group's life cycle to the next. These rituals are
carried out to appease or exercise preternatural forces (preternatural talents or
attributes are extremely uncommon in a way that would lead one to believe
that unknown forces are involved) for meaningful protection, safety, and
security.
2. Seasonal rituals: Depending on the crops, the availability of food, water,

pastures, and resources, rituals may be seasonal or climatic. These people carry
out rites by paying attention to the direction of the wind, sun, moon, lunar or
solar eclipse, etc. culturally defined moment of change in the climatic cycle or
the beginning of an activity like planting, harvesting, setting up a new hut for
shelter or transitioning from winter to summer or at a time of crisis.
3. Divination rituals: Ceremonies, customs, and invitations to priesthoods with

specific responsibilities, religious organizations, or secret societies where daily
food and libations are offered to gods or ancestral spirits are performed by
political authorities to ensure the wellbeing and fertility of people, animals, and
crops in their region or territories.
❖ Different genres of Rituals:
1. Calendrical and commemorative Rites: These rituals have a set schedule and take
place at specific times of the year. The passage of time, which is periodically
created in weeks, months, or yearly cycles, is given a significant social value by
calendrical rites. The lunar or solar calendars are used for some rites.
Purnamasi, Shivratri, Holi, Janmashtami, Holi, and Diwali, for instance, all fall
on various dates every year in India.
2. Rites of exchange and communion: It consists of sacrifice and offering ceremonies

that are intended to honor, appease, or appease divine beings. For instance,
Muslims sacrifice goats during the Bakrid festival. People in various Hindu
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cultures sacrifice fruits, gold, and money to god in order to appease the deity
and improve their own quality of life.
3. Rites of solidarity: It relates to communal improvement or wellbeing.

Ceremonies are held to promote social integration between various groups of
people. For instance, the Sisala people of northern Ghana consider the ghosts of
their ancestors to be a guardian who watches over them. Since they are in
charge of looking after the group's cohesion and interests, all of the elders in this
lineage respect and defer to their authority.
4. Rites of Affliction: It consists of exercises that lessen the effects of evil spirits on
people. Rites of affliction include various types of spirit divination, which is the
art or practice of predicting the future through supernatural methods in order
to determine causes and rituals that heal, purify, and protect. For instance, this
ceremony of sorrow is used to treat infertility in childless women as part of the
Isoma ritual performed by the Ndembu in north-western Zambia.
5. Rites of feasting, fasting and festivals: These rites are publicly expressed which
reflect religious values.
6. Political rituals: Power of political actors depends upon their ability to construct
a framework of rituals within the social structure of society.
7. Rites of passage: Rites of passage are celebrations of a person's advancement

from one social level to another. It encompasses ritual activities that indicate an
individual's shift from one status to another such as birth, aging, marriage,
death, and initiation of becoming parents. Rites of passage, according to Arnold
van Gennep, move through three stages: separation, transition/liminality, and
assimilation.
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Religion -06
❖ Rituals;
❖ Religion, magic, and science distinguished;
RITUAL :
❖ Functions of Rituals:
1) Rituals give social control
2) Satisfy psychological needs
3) Maintains past-historical essence
4) Medium of rebellion
5) Gives a form of communication
6) Serve a disciplinary program
7) Provides methodological measure of religiosity
8) Enhances with ritualization
9) Performs with religion
MAGIC :
Magic is the practice of using gestures, rituals, symbols, actions, and language in an effort
to allegedly tap into supernatural energies. Since the earliest human cultures, magic has
been believed in and used, and it still plays a significant spiritual, religious, and therapeutic
role in many cultures today. The general public frequently has a negative opinion of magic,
and it is occasionally practiced in solitude and secrecy. The imagined magical attack is
occasionally used to explain individual or communal catastrophe in non-scientific societies.

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❖ Anthropologist’s view :
1) Malinowski: Magic is “the ritual act performed to bring about a practical result
unachievable by man's unaided force”.
2) Frazer: “magical practices imply that man has the confidence of controlling nature
directly”. As a result of his belief that certain varieties of magic are founded on the
Principle of Sympathy between cause and effect, Frazer labels some magic as
sympathetic. According to Frazer, savages understood the "Law of Sympathy" and
saw similarities between objects. According to Frazer, the law of sympathy has two
different variants.
1. Law of Contact/Contagion: It states that things that are once in contact will continue
to be in contact. It is considered that a person's relationship with any portion of his or
her body is eternal. So, believers must exercise extra caution when handling their hair,
fingernails, teeth, clothing, and feces. Eg: Your fingernail scraps could be used in a
magical ritual by someone else to make you fall in love with them or become unwell
and pass away.

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2. Law of Similarity: It is based on the principle that "like produces like”. For instance,
whatever happens to an image of someone will also happen to them. Eg: Voodoo dolls
are used in Haitian folklore. The person the doll is meant to resemble will be anticipated
to feel stomach pain in response to someone poking a pin into the doll's stomach. Eg:
The Azande: root of fruit w/ milky sap given to women who have troubles lactating
❖ Frazer in The Golden Bough: Magic is a false science and an unsuccessful art; it is a
false system of natural law and a false code of conduct. Theoretical magic is defined
as a collection of principles that humans follow in order to achieve their goals,
whereas practical magic is defined as a system of natural law, i.e., a description of
the rules that determine the sequences of events throughout the world. Keep in
mind that the primitive magician only understands magic from a practical
standpoint; he never considers the mental mechanism underneath his method of
practice or the overarching principle that underpins it.
❖ Example: Several indigenous communities in Chota Nagpur think that rain is directly
caused by thunder because of its rumbling sound. As a result, when they need rain,
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they walk to a hilltop, sacrifice a hen or a pig, and then begin throwing stones, pebbles,
and boulders down the hill in the hope that rain will eventually fall as it does after
thunder.
❖ Other Views - Malinowski: Malinowski describes magic as a range of practical acts,
which are carried out to achieve a desired result.
➢ Types:
✓ Black Magic and Love Magic:
1) In Black Magic -The rite expresses all the hatred and fury against that
person.
2) In Love Magic - is the reverse of black magic. One can say that all such
magical acts, be they black or love or terror, are basically expressions of
emotion. Objects and actions used in these rites are linked through
emotions.
✓ Imitating: magic the ceremonies imitate the desired result. For example, If
killing someone is the goal, the ritual performer will gradually lose vocal
strength, utter the death rattle, and slump to the ground to mimic the agony
of death.
✓ Simple Magic: There are straightforward magic tricks that aim to produce
results right away. In most cases, a magician transfers a magic spell to an object
that can then be used on the target individual.

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❖ MAGIC AND RELIGION:
❖ Similarities:
➢ Magic and religion both fall under the category of the holy and are created and
operate in a stressful environment.
➢ Due to the limited range of rational knowledge available to the primitive humans,
both phenomena offer an escape from emotional tension.
➢ Magic and religion are both deeply rooted in mythological traditions. The two are
distinguished from the realm of the profane by taboos and customs.
❖ MAGIC AND SCIENCE :
❖ Similarities:
➢ Magic has a precise goal relating to human needs and instincts, just like science.
Both are governed by a set of laws that specify the proper ways to carry out various
actions.
➢ Science and magic both provide methods for performing specific tasks.
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❖ Differences:
❖ RELIGION AND SCIENCE :
❖ Differences:
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Religion - 07
❖ Religion: Forms of religion in tribal and peasant Societies (animism, animatism,
fetishism, naturism, and totemism);
FORMS OF RELIGION :
1. Animism
2. Animatism
3. Fetishism
4. Naturism
5. Totemism
A. ANIMISM : E. B. Tylor (1871) invented the phrase to define the conviction that both
organic and inanimate objects, as well as people, possess a soul or vital force. Such
ideas are present in some indigenous faiths. It is a conviction that every thing,
location, and creature has a unique spiritual essence. All things, including people's
creations, animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather patterns, and even some words, are
seen as dynamic and living in animism.
➢ Explanation of Tylor: Animism, in the words of SIR EDWARD B. TYLOR, is the
belief in spirits. E.B. TAYLOR in his classic book "Primitive Culture" articulated
"the concept of animism" and subsequently he developed the separation between
"magic, religion and science". He promoted the notion that "ANIMA" is the same
as "SPIRIT" in his animism thesis. According to Tylor, Animism is “A GIVEN
FORM OF RELIGION IN WHICH MAN FINDS THE PRESENCE OF SPIRIT IN EVERY
OBJECT THAT SURROUNDS HIM”. He asserted that man's notions of spirits
originated mostly in dreams. A man first encountered his twin in his nightmares.
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He came to understand that his duplicate or double is MORE DYNAMIC AND
ELASTIC than he is. He also believed that even though his double looked like him,
it was better in every way. According to the "Primitive Mind", a person's "anima
or soul" momentarily leaves their body when they sleep, and it permanently
departs when they die. Man therefore concluded that "EVERY EMBODIMENT,
WHICH IS SUBJECT TO BIRTH, GROWTH, AND DECAY, IS OBVIOUSLY
ASSOCIATED WITH ANIMA OR SPIRIT." "MAN BEGAN WORSHIPING ALL THESE
EMBODIMENTS AND THAT IS HOW ANIMISM AS A SPECIFIC FORM OF
RELIGIONS CAME INTO BEING". According to Taylor, ancestor worship is the
most traditional manifestation of animistic practice. AFTER THEIR DEATH, THEY
CONVERT INTO SPIRITS OR SOULS WHO MAY BE "BENEVOLENT" OR
"MALEVOLENT". Understanding this, man created "periodic offerings" for these
"spirits or souls" in an attempt to transform them into "protective spirits". In
tribal societies, this is regarded as ancestor worship and ghost worship. TAYLOR
SAID THAT THE PRIMITIVE MAN WAS UNABLE TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN
ANIMATE AND INANIMATE OBJECTS. He therefore thought that they should be
connected to every item, both living and nonliving, just as "life and soul" are
connected to the human body. In the majority of animistic belief systems, the
spirit lives on after PHYSICAL DEATH. The soul may return to exact revenge for
its own death by aiding in the capture of the murderer.
➢ Examples:
1. The Canary Islands' native Guanches were animism practitioners (Spain).
2. Shinto is a very animistic form of traditional religion in Japan.
3. Certain Hindu organizations could be described as animist. Making offerings to
ghosts is a tradition in the coastal region of Karnataka.

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B. ANIMATISM : According to R. R. Marett (1866–1943), people believed in impersonal
forces at work in the world and certain things. People have developed religious
sensations of awe, dread, amazement, respect, admiration, and other mental
reactions as a result of this type of belief. He thought that a caveman was incapable
of telling the difference between the normal and supernatural, as well as between the
living and the dead. Animatism is the name for the state that existed prior to the
conception of the soul. He used the Melanesian word mana, which refers to a
concentrated kind of power and an impersonal supernatural energy believed to
inhabit particular individuals or objects and bestow strength, power, and success.
Mana can refer to a person, a place, an item such as a spear that has killed
numerous animals, a knife used to cut wood sculptures, etc. According to Marett,
Mana and Animatism came first before animism.
C. NATURISM : Max Muller believed that the worship of natural objects must have been
the earliest form of religion. Archaeological excavations carried out in Egypt and
other places have provided evidence in support of this theory. According to him, the
deep impact that nature had on early man's psyche in all of its various
manifestations should be looked for as the source of religious inspiration. He idolized
nature in fact. It is the conviction that supernatural power exists inside natural
forces. The forces of nature were once seen by man with a variety of emotions,
including amazement, fear, and respect. The characteristics or symbols were
personified as gods (Indra Devta – for rain, Agni Devta – for fire, and so on). Early
humans were unable to comprehend or explain the natural world. They eventually
began to worship it out of respect, dependency, and feelings of awe and dread.
➢ Origin of the Concept of Naturism : According to Max Muller, a "diseased"
mentality that gave life and all the power associated with existence to inanimate
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objects gave birth to an attitude of awe or love and regard for natural objects.
This was caused once more by the ignorance of early man, this time by his
linguistic illiteracy. Language mistakes like the sun rising and setting, thunder
causing rain, and trees producing fruit and flowers led people to believe that
these natural phenomena possess a special power. Max Muller contended that
since the gods in various societies were originally from natural phenomena, such
as the sun, thunder, trees, animals, mountains, forests, lakes, rivers, oceans, and
so on, the human perception of nature must have had very powerful agencies for
the origin of religion.
➢ Example: Dongria Kondh’s case in Odisha - Like many tribal tribes across the
nation, the Kondhs revere nature. Protecting the trees and wildlife that surround
their homes is a shared responsibility among community members.
➢ Case Study/ Information:
✓ India’s Tribes Seek Official Religion Status for Belief System : Maranda and
others in Guduta, a remote tribal village in India’s eastern Odisha state, are
“Adivasis,” or Indigenous tribespeople, who adhere to Sarna Dharma, a belief
system that shares common threads with many ancient nature-worshiping
religions.
D. FETISHISM : A fetish is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in
particular, a human-made object that has power over others.The term "fetish" was
initially used by the Portuguese to describe the things that indigenous of West Africa
utilized in their religious rituals. The contemporary Portuguese feitiço may relate to
more neutral terminology such as charm, enchantment, or more potentially
unpleasant terms such as witchcraft, witchery, conjuration, or bewitchment. In his
theory of the development of religion, Auguste Comte used the idea to place fetishism
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as the earliest (most primitive) stage, followed by polytheism and monotheism.The
theory of fetishism was articulated at the end of the eighteenth century by G. W. F.
Hegel in ‘Lectures on the Philosophy of History.’ According to Hegel, Africans were
incapable of abstract thought, their ideas and actions were governed by impulse, and
therefore a fetish object could be anything that then was arbitrarily imbued with
imaginary powers.
➢ Example: Voodoo dolls, Japan- A sword at Atsuta Shrine was originally an
offering and later became a sacred object, as an example of Fetishism.
E. TOTEMISM : It is a system of belief in which certain objects, plants, or animals have
kinship relationships with social groups. Such animate and inanimate objects stand as
emblems giving identity to the groups and form representations of the groups. They
create religious feelings among the members and form objects of worship, reverence,
and sacredness. According to Durkheim, totemism is the earliest form of religion and
it is quite prominently found among the Australian tribes, and such phenomena are
also noted among the American tribes as well.
➢ Definition: Frazer defined totemism as the relation between a group of people
and a species of natural or artificial objects. The objects are known as the totems
of groups of people.
✓ Durkheim’s View on Totemism : According to Durkheim's analysis of religion,
totemism is the earliest known religion. He too sees a strong connection
between religion and culture. He thinks that the totemic principles are like
mana or a supernatural power. According to Durkheim, one must first
comprehend the simpler kinds of religion in order to comprehend the more
complicated ones. Totemism, in his opinion, is the most basic type of religion.
He decided to research totemism as it was used by Central Australian

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aborigines. The members of the clan believe themselves to have descended
from some common ancestor — an animal, a plant or even some non-living
object. The “common ancestor” is the “totemic object”. It is the totemic
object that gives the clan its name and identity. But it is more than just a
name, it is an emblem. It is frequently carved, etched, or decorated on other
clan-owned items as well as on clan members' bodies. By virtue of this,
ordinary or common objects become unique. The totemic object carries with it
a lot of taboos. It must be revered because it cannot be killed or consumed.
Clan members revere the totemic object they believe to be their ancestor.
They acquire their identity from this thing. But in Durkheim's view, the clan
itself is being venerated, not the object itself.
✓ Representation:
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Anthropological Theories - 01
❖ Anthropological theories : Classical evolutionism (Tylor, Morgan and Frazer)
EVOLUTION :
About Evolution : In terms of doctrine, evolutionism is a collection of ideas of evolution. It
is an ongoing process that is sequential, directional, and gradually occurring. It is an
organized transition process. Evolutionists investigate how human civilization has changed
gradually and structurally in cultural and social anthropology. The theory of evolution
was first discovered by Charles Darwin in his book “Origin of Species". Darwin defined
evolution as "descent with modification", the idea that species change over time, give rise
to new species and share a common ancestor.
❖ In 1833 Sir Charles Lyell (1794-1875) published the last volume of ―Principles of
Geology (which influenced Darwin). Lyell gave the Principle of Uniformitarianism i.e.
Geological processes which are occurring / happening now, were also occurring
earlier ( long ago ) but not necessarily at the same pace.
❖ Herbert Spencer in his book "Principles of Sociology". He defines evolution as a change
from an indefinite, incoherent homogeneity to a definite and coherent homogeneity
through continuous differentiation and integration. The phrase “survival of the
fittest” owes its origin in the writings of Spencer, who emphasized the process of
social selection by which only those individuals who have merit come up in society.
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❖ Evolutionary Thinkers-Chart :
CLASSICAL EVOLUTIONISM
❖ Characteristics :
1. Evolution has a universal nature and is governed by established principles.
2. Unilinearity: Evolution is a linear process since all cultures go through the same
stages of development. The stages of a single line of development occur repeatedly
at different points in time and location everywhere in the globe, and culture
evolves in the same order.
3. Rectilinearity: It suggests that evolution has been moving forward and upward in
a constant, straight line.
4. The trend of evolution is always upward, unilinear, from homogeneity to
heterogeneity, from simpler to complex, and from definite to indefinite, i.e., from
Savagery through Barbarism to Civilization.
➢ Savagery → Barbarism → Civilization.
5. Skipping the stages.

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6. Usage of Historical Approaches and Comparative Techniques.
7. In the unilinear evolutionary scheme, cultural diversity does not play a

substantial role.
8. The remnants of earlier stages of culture are known as SURVIVALS and serve as
a reminder of those earlier stages by appearing in higher phases of culture.
9. The trend of evolution is always upward, unilinear, from homogeneity to

heterogeneity, from simpler to complex, and from definite to indefinite, i.e.,
from Savagery through Barbarism to Civilization.
Summary : (*for your understanding only)
They also developed a historical sequence of various institutions like marriage, family, and
kinship:
i. Sexual promiscuity – polyandry – monogamy
ii. Matrilineal – Patrilineal
iii. Kinship Terminology – Classificatory to Descriptive
iv. Status to Contract
v. Civil Law to Criminal Law
vi. Kinship Organization to Territorial Organization
vii. Animism – Polytheism – Monotheism
viii. Frazer – Magic – Religion – Science

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❖ Anthropological theories : Classical evolutionism (Tylor, Morgan and Frazer)
Summary : (*for your understanding only)
❖ They also developed a historical sequence of various institutions like marriage, family,
and kinship:
A. Sexual promiscuity – polygamy – monogamy
B. Matrilineal – Patrilineal
C. Kinship Terminology – Classificatory to Descriptive (Homogeneity à
Heterogeneity )
D. Status to Contract
E. Kinship Organization to Territorial Organization
F. Animism – Polytheism – Monotheism
G. Frazer – Magic – Religion – Science
CLASSICAL EVOLUTIONISTS :
A. E.B. TYLOR : Tylor was born in Camberwell, London, in 1832.
In 1855, he embarked on a journey to the Americas from
England. Tylor encountered fellow Quaker, ethnologist, and
archaeologist Henry Christy while on the road. Tylor's friendship
with Christy significantly sparked his rekindled interest in
anthropology and aided in extending his research to cover prehistoric topics. He is
frequently referred to as the "Father of Modern Anthropology" because of the

167
contributions he made to the concept of culture. He put up the idea of universal
unilinear evolution.
➢ Popular Book/Works:
1. Primitive Culture (1871)
2. Researches into the Early History of Mankind and the Development of

Civilization (1865)
3. Anahuac (also known as Mexico and the Mexicans, Ancient and Modern)
(1861)
➢ Contributions:
✓ Used Principle of Cultural parallels: refers to the independently developing

cultural traits of two geographically distinct cultures. For instance, it is believed
that people that practiced sun worship in different geographical locations never
spoke to one another.
✓ Used Principle of Survivals.
✓ Used Comparative Method.
✓ Used Principle of Psychic Unity of Mankind: the belief that the human mind
was everywhere essentially similar. “Some form of psychic unity is …implied
whenever there is an emphasis on parallel evolution, for if the different peoples
of the world advanced through similar sequences, it must be assumed that they
all began with essentially similar psychological potentials” (Harris 1968)
✓ Concept of Culture/Civilization: In his book Primitive Culture(1871), he defined

Culture as “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals,
law, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a
member of the society.” ( KBC-MLA )
✓ Theory's Main Postulates : Concept of Cultural progression from simple to

complex and that all societies passed through the three basic stages of
development suggested by Montesquieu i.e. from savagery through barbarism to
civilization.
168
✓ Concept of Evolutionary Stage and Development of Technology:
✓ Concept of Animism and evolution of Religion:
• Concept of Animism : The idea that not only HUMANS but also non-
human creatures are spiritual beings, or at least embody some sort of life-
principle, is known as animism.
• Evolution of Religion: Animism → Polytheism → Monotheism.
✓ Concept of Evolution of Matri/Patrilineality: Couvade as survival ( According

to Tylor, movement was from Matrilineality to Patrilineality ).
➢ Criticism:
✓ He defined the phrase but gave insufficient justification for why survivals
persist.
✓ Concept of Evolution (ie Savagery → Barbarism → Civilization ) is very crude.
✓ In Evolution of Religion (ie Animism → Polytheism → Monotheism ), other

Variations have been ignored.
✓ Over emphasized the Concept of Psychic Unity of Mankind.

169
v Anthropological theories : Classical evolutionism (Tylor, Morgan and Frazer)
B. L. H. MORGAN : Lewis Henry Morgan was an influential
American anthropologist and social theorist who also practiced

law (November 21, 1818 – December 17, 1881). His work on
kinship and social structure, his views of social evolution, and his
ethnography of the Iroquois people are what he is most famous
for.
v Popular Book/Works:
1. Ancient Society: Researches in the Lines of Human Progress from Savagery
through Barbarism to Civilization (1877).
2. System of Consanguinity and affinity of Human Family (1870).
3. The League of the Iroquois (1851).
v Contribution:
1. Used Comparative methodology.
2. Identification of different stages.

170
3. Theories of Social-Evolutions : (Technology)
Cultural - Period Technology
Lower Savagery The invention of speech: Fruit and Nut Collection.
Middle Savagery Fish subsistence and use of Fire
Upper Savagery Bow and Arrow
Lower Barbarism Pottery
Middle Barbarism Domestication and Irrigation.
Upper Barbarism Iron-smelting and Iron Tools
Civilization Phonetic alphabet and Writing
4. Theories of Social-Evolutions : ( Marriage_Family_Kinship)
v Cultural - Period 1. Marriage 2. Family 3. Kinship
Lower Savagery Promiscuity Consanguineal Malayan K. S ( ~Hawaii )
Middle Savagery Group Marriage Punalan Malayan K. S ( ~Hawaii )
Upper Savagery Group Marriage Punalan Malayan K. S ( ~Hawaii )
Lower Barbarism Pairing Pairing Turanian-Ganowanian

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(syndyasmian) ( ~Iroquois system )
Middle Barbarism Pairing Pairing Turanian-Ganowanian
( syndyasmian ) ( ~Iroquois system )
Upper Barbarism Polygamy Patriarchal Turanian-Ganowanian
( ~Iroquois system )
Civilization Monogamy Monogamian Aryan-Semitic system
Family ( ~Sudanese )
5. Theories of Social-Evolutions : (Political system)
v Cultural - Period Political system
Lower Savagery Band
Middle Savagery Sections
Upper Savagery Matri-Clans
Lower Barbarism Phratry
Middle Barbarism Tribes
Upper Barbarism Confederancies / Chiefdoms
Civilization State
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v L. H. MORGAN
● Merits: ● Demerits:
v Use of Fieldwork (~Iroquois system) Ø Western-centric Point of view
v Detailed Explanation / Analysis ( Ø Universal ( Cultural Progression )
Political, Economic, Kinship etc ) Ø Ethnocentric
v Stages → more comprehensive ( Ø Fieldwork → Limited.

Subdivided further ) —> 7 fold
Ø Rigid Criteria
classification ( 3 - Savagery, 3 -
Ø Application → Limited in
Barbarism, 1 -Civilisation )
Contemporary times.
v Use of Comparative methodology.
C. JAMES FRAZER : Sir James George Frazer was a Scottish
social anthropologist who lived from 1 January 1854 to 7 May
1941. Ancient histories and surveys sent to missionaries and
imperial officials around the world served as his main sources of
information.
v Popular Books /Works:
1. The Belief in Immortality and worship of the Dead.
2. Folklore in the old testament.
3. The Golden Bough.
4. Psyche’s task.
5. Totemism and Exogamy.
v Contribution:
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1. The Golden Bough ( 12 Volumes ) : In 1890, The Golden Bough was first
released in two volumes. Frazer discussed fertility rituals, human sacrifice, the
dying deity, and several other symbols and activities in an effort to establish
the commonalities between religious belief and scientific theory. He contends
that prehistoric religions were fertility cults centred on the veneration and
recurring sacrifice of a holy ruler.
2. Religion: Magic → Religion → Science.
3. Magic:
4. Views on Totems and Taboo:
1. Totemism and Taboo(1888) :
2. Totemism and Exogamy(1910)- He studied the Arunta Tribe of Australia.

174
★ CLASSICAL EVOLUTIONISM :
● Positives ● Negatives:
v E.B. Tylor founded anthropology as v There is a problem with the idea of human
a distinct academic field and as a psychological unity.
science of culture in 1884 at v The traditional evolutionists didn't try to

Oxford University. evaluate novelties. Simply put, it held that
v The idea of culture was created by despite total isolation from one another,
them. communities continued to mirror one
v They developed the values of another.
continuity and systematic cultural v They identified survivals as important
development. landmarks for identifying previous stages
v They recognised survivals as crucial of civilization.
markers for locating earlier phases v Cultural evolutionists are not uniform in
of civilisation. defining the characteristics of stages of
evolution.
v Theory of Cultural Diffusionism →
neglected.
mmmm
175
Anthropological Theories -04
● Anthropological theories :
1. Historical particularism (Boas)
2. Diffusionism (British, German and American)
Theory -02 : HISTORICAL PARTICULARISM ( FRANZ BOAS )
❖ FRANZ BOAS : Franz Uri Boas, known as the "Father of American Anthropology,"
was a German-American anthropologist and contemporary anthropology pioneer
who lived from July 9, 1858, to December 21, 1942. Boas received his degree in
physics in 1881 while pursuing his studies in geography in Germany. Later, he took
part in a geological trip to northern Canada, where he developed a fascination for
the Baffin Island Inuit people and their way of life. The Pacific
Northwest's indigenous cultures and languages became the
focus of his subsequent field research. He immigrated to the
United States in 1887, working at the Smithsonian
Institution as a museum curator before joining Columbia
University in 1899 as a professor of anthropology, where he
remained for the remainder of his career.Boas profoundly
influenced the development of American anthropology. Among his many significant
students were A. L. Kroeber, Ruth Benedict, Edward Sapir, Margaret Mead etc.
❖ Books/Works:
A. Anthropology (1908)
B. Mind of Primitive Man(1911)
C. Race, Language and Culture(1910)
D. The History of American Race(1912)

176
❖ Contributions :
1. Background: Mervin Harris(1968) mentions the word ‘Historical Particularism’

in his book “Rise of Anthropological Theory” (1968). He rejects the psychic unity
and generalizations of classical evolutionists ( S→B→C ). But, the Concept of
Historical Particularism was given by Franz Boas.
2. Concepts ( given by Franz Boas ) :
✓ An approach to comprehending the nature of culture and cultural shifts in

certain populations of people is known as historical particularism.
✓ According to Boas, understanding a culture's history requires examining how

its distinctive characteristics
developed within a certain
geographical area.
✓ The history of certain

civilizations can be recreated
once several diverse cultures
within an area have been
examined in the same way. a
key component of piecing
together the past of a given civilization.
✓ Cultural traits of a region based on heavily detailed, specific, and intimate

observations to collect data. Based on distinct circumstances, such as
location, climate, environment, resources, and specific cultural borrowing,
each of which was uniquely developed. Capital C, and many small c.
✓ Cultures that differ from one another do not always flourish and evolve in
the same way.
✓ Emphasized the significance of accumulating as much information as possible

on specific cultures before drawing conclusions or interpreting data
pertaining to a culture or a change in a culture.
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✓ For the study of cultural change and the development, not only of what
happened and where, but also of why and how, a historical particularism
approach was required.
✓ Fieldwork and Salvage Ethnography. Eg. Kwakiutl tribe study, British

Columbia.
✓ Cultural Relativism: is the theory that different cultures each have their own
ethical and social standards that reflect their individual culture's beliefs. In
other words, what is right, wrong, or common practice in one culture may
not be right, wrong, or common practice in another culture. Eg: In Thailand
resides the Kayan
people, a tribe that
lives in northern
Thailand on the
border of
Myanmar. The
women of the tribe
have been
nicknamed 'giraffe
women' by tourists.
It speaks of a shift from a nomothetic approach (generalized and broad-
based), to an ‘idiographic’ (dealing with particular/ specific, cases) approach,
especially because it recognizes a dearth of (holistic) cultural data as well as
the need to document vanishing cultures.
3. Culture: Boas produced no definition of culture. He established that culture is

learned, shared, meaning-centered and integrated. Each culture must be seen as
‘sui generis, offering a satisfying way of life, however repugnant or outlandish
particular aspects of it may seem to outsiders.
178
4. Holism and 4 field Approach.
❖ Historical Particularism :
Merits: Demerits:
I. Boas and his students are I. Over-emphasis on data collection.

responsible for taking II. Boas believed that theories would
anthropology away from grand arise spontaneously once enough
theories of evolution. data was collected.
II. The emphasis on the importance III. It is only apt to study primitive
of data collection has paid societies rather than complex ones
dividends for modern scholars.
IV. The theory largely ignores the
III. Boas set forth his ideas on concept of society and emphasizes
participant observation. only culture.
IV. Boas envisioned cultural traits as V. It failed to define general laws at
being part of two historical the level of histories of specific
processes, diffusion, and cultures
modification (Hatch 1973)
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Theory -03 : DIFFUSIONISM (British, German and American)
❖ Diffusion: The spread of a cultural element from its point of origin to other locations
can be summed up as Diffusion. The process through which distinct cultural traits are
conveyed from one group to another by migration, trade, conflict, or other
encounters is described in a description that is more comprehensive.
Diffusionism: As a school of thought in anthropology, diffusionism made an effort to

comprehend how cultures are distributed in terms of where cultural features originated
and how they move from one community to another. The belief that all cultures
originated from one culture center (known as heliocentric diffusion), the more reasonable
theory that cultures originated from a small number of culture centers (known as culture
circles), and finally the idea that while each society is influenced by others, the process of
diffusion is contingent and arbitrary are all examples of diffusionist thought. The goal of
Diffusionist research was to comprehend the nature of how human cultural features were
distributed around the world in the middle of the nineteenth century. At that point,
academics had started looking into less-developed cultures as well as advanced ones.
Understanding these extremely varied cultures sparked an interest in figuring out how
humans developed from "primitive" to "superior" states. One of the key problems
surrounding this topic was whether human culture had evolved similarly to biological
evolution or if it had expanded via diffusion processes from innovation hubs. When they
investigated the regional distribution and movement of cultural traits and refuted the
theory of unilinear evolution, diffusionists came to the conclusion that cultures are a
patchwork of qualities intertwined with various origins and histories. Diffusionists contend
that diverse cultural complexes emerge throughout time in various regions of the world
and eventually spread to other regions, primarily as a result of migration. Hence, they
asserted that culture has developed over time not as a result of evolution but rather as a
result of cultural transmission brought about by migration and intercultural contact.

180
❖ Anthropological theories : Diffusionism (British, German and American)
❖ Diffusion: The spread of a cultural element from its point of origin to other locations
can be summed up as Diffusion. The process through which distinct cultural traits are
conveyed from one group to another by migration, trade, conflict, or other
encounters is described in a description that is more comprehensive.
❖ Diffusionism: As a school of thought in anthropology, diffusionism made an effort to
comprehend how cultures are distributed in terms of where cultural features
originated and how they move from one community to another. The belief that all
cultures originated from one culture center (known as heliocentric diffusion), the
more reasonable theory that cultures originated from a small number of culture
centers (known as culture circles), and finally the idea that while each society is
influenced by others, the process of diffusion is contingent and arbitrary are all
examples of diffusionist thought. The goal of Diffusionist research was to comprehend
the nature of how human cultural features were distributed around the world in the
middle of the nineteenth century. At that point, academics had started looking into
less-developed cultures as well as advanced ones. Understanding these extremely

181
varied cultures sparked an interest in figuring out how humans developed from
"primitive" to "superior" states. One of the key problems surrounding this topic was
whether human culture had evolved similarly to biological evolution or if it had
expanded via diffusion processes from innovation hubs. When they investigated the
regional distribution and movement of cultural traits and refuted the theory of
unilinear evolution, diffusionists came to the conclusion that cultures are a patchwork
of qualities intertwined with various origins and histories. Diffusionists contend that
diverse cultural complexes emerge throughout time in various regions of the world
and eventually spread to other regions, primarily as a result of migration. Hence,
they asserted that culture has developed over time not as a result of evolution but
rather as a result of cultural transmission brought about by migration and
intercultural contact.
➢ Diffusionism-Important Terms:
1. Culture Trait: The simplest fundamental unit that can be used to analyze a
civilization. Such a characteristic is a distinct cultural element. A complex culture is
a collection of traits. A characteristic can spread on its own and freely combine
with other traits. Eg : Costumes
2. Culture Complex: A cluster of cultural characteristics in a culture area that are
organically related, such as the cattle complex in East African societies (describe
the system of values that governed native cattle ownership in a large part of East
Africa). The characteristics of a culture complex will presumably continue to be
linked during diffusion. The characteristics are frequently logically connected to one
another. Such a characteristic is a distinct cultural element. A combination of
traits is a culture complex.

182
➢ Diffusionism-Various Schools of Thought :
A. British Diffusionist School : The British Diffusionist School primarily referred to
ancient Egypt as the world's cultural cradle. The hypothesis, also known as
heliocentric diffusion, was founded on the idea that each culture descended from a
single cultural core. The most prominent British “diffusionists” were Grafton Elliot
Smith, W.H.R. Rivers, and William James. Perry. ( British → Extreme form of
Diffusionism )
➢ British Diffusionist School:

183
❖ Grafton Elliot Smith:
➢ Grafton Elliot Smith (1871–1937), a founder of the British School, promoted

the idea that civilisation originated in Egypt and diffused around the globe
starting around 4000 B.C.
➢ He and Perry thought that about 6000 years ago was when cultural progress
started. According to Smith (1928:22), "Natural Man", who were nomads and
lacked agriculture, domesticated animals, housing, clothing, and other modern
conveniences, once lived on the planet.
➢ The Nile Valley's inhabitants "recognised the good chance offered them by a
"natural crop" of barley and embraced a settled way of life" around 4000 B.C.
According to Smith, the Egyptians developed pottery, basketry, and house-
building techniques, began domesticating animals, created communities, learned
how to bury their dead in cemeteries, and started practicing deity worship.
After establishing their own civilisation, the Egyptians set out to discover the
rest of the globe. By colonization and diffusion, they quickly spread throughout
it.
➢ According to Smith, the megaliths of England, such as stone hedges, and the
complex of massive stone structures associated with sun worship in Egypt. So,
after coming to the conclusion that England's megalithic monuments were
shoddy copies of the Egyptian pyramids and mastabas, he first shared his
opinions in an article in 1911.
➢ Subsequently, he researched American burial mounds, Maya pyramids, Japanese
pagodas, temples in Cambodia and Bali, and temples in Bali. Smith wrote about
the Pan-Egyptian idea of diffusion in his 1928 book "Origin of Civilization."

184
❖ W.J. Perry :
➢ W.J. Perry (1887-1949) was an adherent follower of the theory postulated by
Smith, he strengthened the hands of Smith in formulating the school though
there was no specific theoretical contribution on his part.
➢ His books ‘The Children of the Sun’ (1923) and ‘Gods and the Men’ (1927) were
the major contributions to the British school of diffusionism which firmly
established Egypt as the center of civilization.
❖ W.H.R. Rivers: W.H.R. Rivers (1864-1922) The History of the Melanesian Society
published in 1914 leaned heavily on the theory of degeneration.
➢ Melanesian and Canoe ( small boat ) → He explained that some of the Melanesian
islands people had no canoes, but they once must have known these items like
any small island population, because without them they could never even think of
home and reach their present habitat. The canoe craft guilds had died out, but
this was a clear example that culture traits frequently disappeared.
➢ Australia and Burial → In Australia, he noted the presence of five different burial
rituals in an otherwise homogeneous population within a fairly small geographical
region. These simple and uninventive aboriginals could not have developed so
many variations just by themselves. Thus, he arrived at conclusions that small
successive migrations had occurred among them. Physical similarities between the
people were explained by the conjecture that only males arrived in the canoes,
and since then they married local women, their offsprings soon lost the racial
characteristics of their forefathers. Forced to learn the language of their wives so
that originally lanared without a trace, the men became, thus, almost common
culture. Now, they had no objections to abandoning all their original habits,
except one, namely, burial rites.

185
➢ Other Books/Works:
1. Kinship and Social Organization (1914)
2. Conflict and dream(1923)
3. History and Ethnology (1922)
➢ Criticism:
1. The biggest fault that caused other anthropologists to label this school as
extreme diffusionists was the idea that Egypt was the sole locus of all
creation.
2. The later anthropologists did not believe the hypothetical idea that humans
are not inventive, which would explain why Egypt was the lone hub of
invention.
3. Only a straightforward kind of diffusion—the dissemination of cultural
traits—was considered; the diffusion of cultural complexity was underplayed.
4. Non-material facets of culture were not considered as material culture was
primarily explained.
B. German Diffusionist School : According to the researchers of the German Diffusionist
School, cultural features and complexes independently originated in numerous
locations before spreading to other parts of the world. The "Kulturkreis" school of
thinking, also known as the Culture-Circle school of thought, varies from the British
School of Diffusionism in its fundamental conception of the origin of culture. The
Kulturkreis School believed that multiple locations and numerous times contributed to
the development of cultures rather than one specific location. It was often thought
that cultural features and complexes evolved independently in various parts of the
world before being copied and dispersed via migration to other locations. Hence, each
cultural characteristic or cultural complex, according to the German Diffusionist
School, has a circle or district leading. Friedrich Ratzel, the father of anthropo-
186
geography, is the source of the Kulturkreis School. The German Diffusionist School
adopted the same approach as those who promoted the theory of evolution,
highlighting the distinctiveness of each cultural legacy. Denouncing Tylor's mental
unity of mankind, he also contended that cultural evolution was not unilinear,
demonstrating that technological advancement alone cannot assess the complexity of
a given society. The goal of the diffusionist was to conduct a thorough examination of
how cultural characteristics had changed over time. It is Also called as –
A. Culture District School
B. Cultural-Historical School

187
❖ Anthropological theories : Diffusionism (British, German and American)
B. German Diffusionist School : According to the researchers of the German Diffusionist
School, cultural features and complexes independently originated in numerous
locations before spreading to other parts of the world. The "Kulturkreis" school of
thinking, also known as the Culture-Circle school of thought, varies from the British
School of Diffusionism in its fundamental conception of the origin of culture. The
Kulturkreis School believed that multiple locations and numerous times contributed to
the development of cultures rather than one specific location. It was often thought
that cultural features and complexes evolved independently in various parts of the
world before being copied and dispersed via migration to other locations. Hence, each
cultural characteristic or cultural complex, according to the German Diffusionist
School, has a circle or district leading. Friedrich Ratzel, the father of anthropo-
geography, is the source of the Kulturkreis School. The German Diffusionist School
adopted the same approach as those who promoted the theory of evolution,
highlighting the distinctiveness of each cultural legacy. Denouncing Tylor's mental
unity of mankind, he also contended that cultural evolution was not unilinear,
demonstrating that technological advancement alone cannot assess the complexity of
a given society. The goal of the diffusionist was to conduct a thorough examination of
how cultural characteristics had changed over time. It is Also called as -
A. Culture District School
B. Cultural-Historical School
C. Vienna School of Diffusion

188
★ German Diffusionist School:
1. Friedrich Ratzel : Friedrich Ratzel (August 30, 1844 – August 9, 1904) was a
German geographer and ethnographer. He led the German Diffusionist School.
➢ Books:
1. ANTHROPOGEOGRAPHY (1882).
2. HISTORY OF MANKIND (1895).
❖ ANTHROPOGEOGRAPHY (1882) :
➢ Emphasized on the relationship between Anthropology and Geography.
➢ Clear demarcation between Social ( Nation→Cultural ) and Territorial
Geography.
➢ Role of Environment.
❖ HISTORY OF MANKIND (1895) / VOLKUR KUNDA ( a German Word ) :
➢ Not anti or pro Psychic Unity of Mankind.
➢ He studied the similarities in the cross-section of the bow shaft, the material and
fastening of the bowstring and the feathering of the arrow of different societies.
Based on the study Ratzel concluded that the bow and arrow of Indonesia and
West Africa were related.
➢ PRINCIPLE OF ‘FORMENDEDANKE’ or ‘CRITERIA OF FORM’ : ‘The similarities
between the two cultures does not arise automatically in Nature and thus is a
result of Diffusion ( or / and Migration )’.
➢ He was not an extreme Degenerationalist.

189
2. Leo Frobenius: He observed that historical connections usually implied much more
than the transmission of a single cultural trait because often the whole cultural
complexes are involved.
➢ He gave :
A. Criterion: Geographical Statistics → i.e. counting the number of similarities.
B. Criterion: Biological and Developmental Criterion → We need to take into

consideration the local factors of Particular culture also. Eg - Before the
Iranian Revolution, Cultural Diffusion of the USA was to a high extent there.
But after the Revolution, the local factors played an important role in
stopping Western diffusion in their country / Culture.
➢ Studied Mythology: Indonesia and Africa → Similarities in African Myths with

respect to Indonesian Myths. Indonesian myths were Comprehensive stories
explained in detail while African myths were in Crude form or shorter version.
3. Fritz Graebner : Fritz Graebner who was a museum curator in Germany worked on
the culture circle and culture strata in Oceania and Africa and further developed the
idea and tried to give it a global perspective. In his famous book ‘Methodder
Ethnology’(1911), he tried to explain the criteria for identifying affinities and
chronologies or similarities and historical relationships. Based on the reconstruction of
chronology Graebner could identify as many as six historically similar cultural
developments which had counterparts in other parts of the world -
1. Tasmanian culture → Primary ( Earliest ).
2. Australian boomerang culture → Secondary.
3. Totemic Hunter culture → Secondary.
4. Two-class horticulturist culture → Secondary.
5. Melanesian bow culture and → Secondary.
6. Polynesian Patrilineal culture → Secondary ( Latest ).
➢ He gave two rules:

190
1. Criteria of Form : ‘The similarities between the two cultures does not arise
automatically in Nature and thus is a result of Diffusion ( or / and
Migration)’.
2. Criteria of Quantity : States that probability of Historical relationships

between two items increases as the number of additional items showing
similarities increases.
4. Father William Schmidt: Father Wilhelm Schmidt born in Australia was a self
proclaimed follower of Graebner.
➢ He gave:
I. Criteria of Quality (~ Criteria of Form)
II. Criteria of Quantity: stated that the probability of historical relationship

between two items increases as the number of additional
articles/items/artifacts showing similarities increases.
➢ Schmidt distinguished four major grades of culture circles which are till date
referred to:
1. Primitive culture circle
2. Primary culture circle
3. Secondary culture circle
4. Tertiary culture circle
1. Primitive culture circle :
1. Central or exogamous Kreise (like pygmy people of Africa and Asia, having
exogamous hordes and monogamous families)
2. Arctic Kreise (like Eskimo etc)
3. Antarctic Kreise (like Bushmen, Tasmanian, etc)
2. Primary culture circle: (divided into three Kreise) :
1. Patriarchal cattle-rearing nomads.

191
2. Exogamous patrilineal totemic higher hunters.
3. Exogamous matrilineal village-dwelling horticulturists
3. Secondary culture circle/ grade : ( subdivided into 2)
A. A Free Patrilineal System( like India, Sudan , Western Asia etc.)
B. A Free Matrilineal System( like Melanesia, N-E South America)
4. Tertiary culture circle :
➢ Placed higher civilizations of Europe, America, and Asia.
❖ Criticism:
1. Diffusionist school focused on what is diffusion but never explained the causes of
diffusion and how it takes place.
2. Nothing concrete in culture circles could be established.
3. Diffusionist schools also relied heavily on museum methodologies. The main
component of this school was thus, the typology of cultural traits rather than the
explanation of the causes of the spread of diffusion.
4. The methodology did not take into account the dynamics of culture change.

192
● Anthropological theories : Diffusionism (British, German and American)
C) American Diffusionist School : This school stressed on the geographical barriers.
1. Clark Wissler: Clark David Wissler (September 18, 1870 – August 25, 1947)
was an American anthropologist, ethnologist, and archaeologist. He was a
student of Boas and like him believed that no two groups of people were
identical.
➔ Important works:
1. The American Indian(1922)
2. Man and Culture(1923)
3. An Introduction to Social Anthropology(1929)
➔ Concept of Cultural Area: A geographic region and time sequence is

characterized by a substantially uniform culture. O.T.Mason was the first
who employed this term but it was Wissler who used the concept
systematically. Wissler opined that based on cultural traits, we can divide
areas/regions into food areas, textile areas etc.
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➢ Wissler identified ( in Americas) –
✓ 10 in North America
✓ 4 in South America
✓ 1 In Caribbean
✓ Later, reduced them to a total of 8 areas.
➢ Wissler 8 Food Areas :
CULTURAL-AREA SUBSISTENCE
1. ESKIMO Caribon
2. GREAT PLAINS Bison
3. NORTH PACIFIC COAST Salmon
4. CALIFORNIA Wild seeds
5. SOUTH EAST and EASTERN WOODLAND Eastern Maize
6. SOUTH WEST, MEXICO, PERU Intensive Agriculture
7. AMAZON Region, CARIBBEAN Maniac ( root crop )
8. GUANACO Guanaco
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➔ Concept of Cultural Centre: Place from where traits diffused.
➔ Distance decay : i.e. Culture intensity decreases when distance Increases.
➔ Age area Principle: It is an approach or method for inferring the relative

age of a cultural trait from their geographical distribution. Widely
distributed traits are older than those more narrowly distributed.
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➔ In Culture-area, Diffusion is of 2 types:
1) Natural( ~trial and error) → it's Time-taking.
2) Organized → Spontaneous. Eg - War / Invasion.
2. Alfred L Kroeber: Alfred Louis Kroeber (June 11, 1876 – October 5, 1960)
was an American cultural anthropologist. He received his Ph.D. under Franz
Boas at Columbia University in 1901.
➢ Important Books:
1) Anthropology(1923)
2) Configuration of Cultural Growth(1944)
3) The Nature of Culture(1952)
➢ His Contribution to Cultural Area Concept:
➔ Cultural Climax : It is the core-center where the culture reaches its climax.
It is a dynamic equivalent of Culture-Center, But it is not necessarily
Geographically constrained.
➔ Cultural Intensity : the degree to which members of a unit accept norms,

values, or other cultural content associated with the unit. It is a relative
term.
➔ Sensitive Indicators / Parameters : Eg- Clothes, Languages etc.
➔ Taking various factors into consideration, he gave 6 Cultural Areas of

North America:
1. Arctic Coast
2. N.W. Coast
3. S.W.Coast
4. Intermediate and Inter-Mountain Area
5. East and North Area
6. Mexico-Central America Area

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➔ Concept of Cultural Configuration: i.e. ‘Patterns /arrangements of culture’.

Configurations of Culture Growth (1945), sought to trace the growth and
decline of all of civilized man's thought and art. Kroeber was concerned
with culture as a universal human characteristic and believed that a
complete understanding of culture must contain explanations not only of
specific cultures but also of cultural elements and patternings that
transcend specific cultures.
➔ Culture as Super-Organic : The term “superorganic” was probably first

used by the early sociologist Herbert Spencer in the late 19th century,
human society is superorganic in that it exists at a higher level of
complexity than physical things or biological organisms. Kroeber, as did all
Boasians, rejected the notion that culture was biological, or something that
humans inherited. A culture has a “life of its own” which is symbolic
rather than genetic. In this way it is a “living” thing. It operates at a
higher level of complexity than organic. It is superorganic.
➢ Organic and Non-Organic are the parts of the Culture and they cannot
completely explain the culture, because Culture itself is a very big
concept i.e. Super-Organic. → Thus, Complexity is very high.
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➔ Culture as Super-Individual : Culture will continue ( in one form or

another ). → i.e. ‘Continuity of Culture’, which is not possible in the case of
an Individual. → Thus, Culture is “Super-Individual”.
❖ American Diffusionist School : Criticism -
1) It is argued that the cultural trait which constitutes the very core of the
culture area concept is itself not a clearly understood one. Critics have
expressed concern over what constitutes cultural traits. Consider the
example of a ship. Should a ship be considered as a simple unit or as a
combination of traits such as nature and design of the seating space,
decorations in it etc.
2) Equal importance was assigned to each cultural trait was ignored
3) In order to determine culture areas, a large number of criteria were

identified. Based on these criteria several culture areas were noted. There
was, however, no agreement among the diffusionists about the culture
areas.
4) Symbiotic interaction between cultural areas was largely ignored.
5) Geographical conditions harboring different cultures in different periods of

time were not taken into account.
6) Free diffusion within culture areas is assumed ignoring forces of resistance

and difficulties of acceptance of cultural traits in different culture areas.
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❖ British and German Diffusionist School :
Similarities: Differences:
1. Not in favor of the 1. The British adopted an extreme approach but

psychic unity of the Germans did not.
mankind. 2. Germans talk of Criteria of Form and
2. Abolishing universal quantity; British do not.
stages. 3. The British emphasize more on Cultural traits
3. Try to reconstruct ; Germans on Cultural complexes.
the past. 4. The British stressed more on material culture
4. Belief in than non-material(ignored); Germans took
degeneration theory. both into consideration.
5. The British do not talk of ‘the significance of

Evolutionary sequence’ ; Germans do.
6. The British emphasized on Egypt as a cultural

cradle, Germans did not.
7. The British did not mention typologies,

Germans did not.
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❖ German and American Diffusionist School :
Similarities : Differences:
1. Not in support of 1. German stressed degeneration theory,

the evolutionary Americans did not.
school. 2. German emphasized too much migration
2. Not in favor of the for transmission of C.T. and C.C.
psychic unity of Americans emphasized the process of
mankind. diffusion from the culture center.
3. Inspired by 3. Germans→ Culture Circles;

museum Americans→Culture Areas
methodology 4. Germans→ Culture Circles→Dynamic in
nature ; Americans→Culture Areas→
Static( could not explain properly the
changes over time)
5. Germans→Explained evolutionary
significance; Americans did not.
6. Germans→ C.O.F and C.O.Q ; Americans

do not

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❖ Anthropological theories : : Functionalism (Malinowski).
Theory -04 : FUNCTIONALISM
FUNCTIONALISM : One of the leading schools of thought for comprehending numerous facets of ‘culture and
society’ has been functionalism. Functionalism arose as a reaction to evolutionism and diffusionism in the early
twentieth century.
➢ Functionalism looks for the function or part played by several aspects of culture to maintain a social system.
It is a framework that considers society as a system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and
stability. It describes the inter-relationship between several parts of any society.
➢ Functionalism was mainly led by Bronislaw Malinowski and A.R. Radcliffe Brown. Both were purely
functionalists but their approaches slightly differ as Malinowski is known as a functionalist but Radcliffe -
Brown is mainly known as Structural Functionalist.
❖ Anthropologist’s View :
➢ Auguste Comte: The thesis of functionalism lies in the ‘philosophy of positivism’. (Auguste Comte
invented the concept of positivism, which he used to relay his belief that knowledge should be obtained
and interpreted using systematic, scientific, and objective methods.)
➢ Herbert Spencer: He used an analogy between ‘society and organisms’. He also focused on the
functional requirements that are common to all societies. It also inspired Malinowski in interpreting the
theory of Functionalism.
➢ Emile Durkheim: According to Durkheim functionalism emphasizes a societal equilibrium. In case of
any disturbance in the social structure, the various interrelated parts of the system tend to maintain the
social structure and solidarity. These parts make up the whole of society.
❖ Concept of FUNCTION :
❖ Satisfaction of human needs ❖ Interdependence of cultural elements

❖ Modification of human needs ❖ Relationship between elements of Culture
❖ Elaboration of human needs ❖ Principle of Operation of Partial System
❖ Integration of the group of human needs ❖ Maintenance of Status Quo
❖ Moulding and Training of human needs ❖ Synchronic cause and effect within a culture
❖ Diachronic cause and effect within a culture.
❖ Concept of FUNCTIONALISM : Functionalism is a theory that explains the existence and persistence of
social practices in terms of the benefits these practices have for the system in which they are embedded in.
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➢ Basic Premise :
A. Functionalists seek to describe the different parts of a society and their relationship by me ans of
an organic analogy.
B. Each part of culture is INTERRELATED.
C. Every part of culture is INTERDEPENDENT.
D. Functionalist analysis, examine the social significance of phenomena.
➢ Schools:
❖ B. K. MALINOWSKI : Polish-British anthropologist and ethnologist Bronislaw

Kasper Malinowski was born on 7 April 1884 and died on 16 May 1942. His studies
on ethnography, social theory, and fieldwork have had a significant impact on the
subject of anthropology.
➢ His theory of functionalism is also known as ‘Bio-cultural Functionalism’, as
he was very much inspired by Herbert Spencer who used an analogy between
‘society and organisms’.
★ Concept of Culture:
1. Kula(1920)
2. Argonauts of the Western Pacific (1922)
3. Sex and Repression in Savage Society(1927)
4. A Scientific Theory of Culture(1944)
★ Theory of Functionalism:
1. Culture is a means for the satisfaction of human needs.
2. Each trait or element or aspect of culture performs a certain function.
3. Though different elements or parts of culture perform different functions, all aspects of culture are
interdependent and interrelated.
4. Man has different kinds of needs such as social, economic, religious etc.
5. Malinowski defines functionalism as a theory of transformation i.e. of individual needs into derived
cultural necessities.
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6. Malinowski regarded his ‘Functionalism’ as different from other social theories in its emphasis on
the bodily needs.
★ Malinowski’s functional scheme of the Charter of an institution: Charter represents the Aim of any
particular Institution.
A. Charter of the institution: as a system of values for the pursuit of which human beings organize or
enter into an organization already existing.
B. Personnel of the institution: is the group organized on different principles of authority, division of
functions, and distribution of privileges and duties.
C. Norms/Rules of the institution: habits, rules, legal norms, ethical commands which are accepted by
its members (personnel).
➢ Thus in order to fulfill his various needs, man established various institutions/ organizations,
found in every culture.

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❖ Anthropological theories : Functionalism (Malinowski); Structural—Functionalism (Radcliffe Brown).
Theory -04 : FUNCTIONALISM
MALINOWSKI : Contributions -
A. Theory of Functionalism:
B. Malinowski’s functional scheme of the Charter of an institution:
C. Theory of Need: In his book, “ SCIENTIFIC THEORY OF CULTURE AND OTHER ESSAYS “ –
(1944) , he gave this theory. In his book he distinguishes, three levels of needs as:
1. Primary/ basic/biological Need
2. Instrumental or Derived Need
3. Integrative Need
1. Primary/ basic/biological Need- (~Survival) :
Basic Needs Cultural Responses
● Metabolism ● Commissariat (food supplies)
● Reproduction ● Kinship
● Bodily comforts ● Shelter
● Safety ● Protection
● Movement ● Activities
● Growth ● Training
● Health ● Hygiene
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2. Derived Need: for the satisfaction of basic needs culture creates its own needs Also called instrumental/
imperative.
Need Response
• Requirements of maintenance of cultural • Economics

apparatus
• Regulation of human behavior • Social control
• Socialization • Education
• Exercise of authority • Political organization
3. Integrative Need: (~symbolic needs -) The phenomena such as tradition, normative standards or values,
religion, art, language, and other forms of symbolism belong, according to Malinowski, to the sphere of
integrative imperatives. In other words, we find that for Malinowski the essence of human culture is
contained in symbolism or in values.
Integrative Need Response
1. Feeling of Collectiveness Magico-Religious system
2. Aesthetic Satisfaction Ceremonial Activities Eg - Dance.

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D. Bio-cultural Functionalism: Malinowski looked at the culture, needs of people and thought that the role of
culture is to satisfy the needs of people. Malinowski identified seven biological needs of individuals. Due to
the emphasis on biological needs in Malinowski‟s approach, his functionalism is also known as Bio-cultural
Functionalism.
E. Psychological Functionalism: Malinowski said, ‘culture is a surveying system’. Culture is a system that
satisfies needs such as food, reproduction, security, health, protection, etc. As Malinowski gave importance
to individual needs so his functionalism is also known as Psychological Functionalism’.
MALINOWSKI-OTHER ASPECTS/VIEWS :
1. Definition of Culture: In ‘A Scientific Study of Culture’, Malinowski defines culture as an "integral whole
made up of tools and consumer goods, as well as constitutional charters for various social groups of human
ideas, crafts, beliefs, and customs. ‘.
2. Cultural Lag: The Concept of cultural lag was first used by W.F. Ogburn in his famous book “Social
Change”.
➢ The Material Aspects of Cultural Change with more speed to the Non-material aspects of Culture. →
Thus, it creates a ‘Gap’ → “Cultural Gap”.
3. Magic, Science, and Religion :

➢ MAGIC : It relieves anxiety about the uncontrollable elements out of traditional mythology, taboos, etc
conducted by magicians good /bad.
➢ RELIGION:
1. Utilitarian, sustains the social structure
2. The distinction between sacred and profane
3. Common to all moralistic
➢ SCIENCE:
1. Rational questions existing social structure uses and norms.
2. No mythology, stress, or crises
3. Value neutral and objective
4. Economic : Malinowski tries to highlight two important aspects: the social and economic activities of
primitive people and the importance of the economic aspect on the cultural type of people. Eg- Kula, a
specific system of trade, is carried among the islands of a given place. The trade is controlled by traditional
norms and regulations.
5. Kinship :
1. Kinship Algebra
2. ~Reproductive needs
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6. Law :
➢ He equated ‘laws to social norms’.
➢ He gave three classes of norms:
1. Religious rules or norms
2. Customary rules or norms
3. Legal Rules or norms
➢ In his book- ‘Crime and Customs in Savage Societies’(1926) : According to Malinowski,
➢ MALINOWSKI - Criticism :
1. Malinowski linked each aspect of culture with its other aspects. The question comes up, if everything
is linked to everything else, where does one stop?
2. Malinowski’s functionalism is akin to a crude utilitarianism, where everything has to exist to serve a
purpose.
3. He admitted not including in his writings the European influence on the Trobriands in his book,
Coral Gardens and their Magic. He considered this to be ‘the most serious shortcoming’ of his
research in Melanesia.
4. Overemphasis on function.
Theory -05 : STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM

STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM : Structural Functionalism is a sociological theory that attempts to explain
why society functions the way it does by focusing on the relationships between the various social institutions that
make up society (e.g., government, law, education, religion etc.)
❖ Structural Functionalism is a theoretical understanding of society that puts social systems as the collective
means to fill society’s needs.
207
❖ Understanding :
❖ School of Thought ❖ Core Idea ❖ Advocate
1. Functionalism ● Individual Need

● Biological Need Malinowski
● Function / Utility
2. Structural Functionalism ● Society’s Need

● Socio-Structure + Radcliffe Brown
Function
❖ In order for social life to survive and develop in society there are a number of activities that need to be
carried out to ensure that certain needs are fulfilled.
❖ In the structural functionalist model, individuals produce necessary goods and services in various institutions
and roles that correlate with the norms of the society
❖ British School of ❖ American school of ❖ French school of

Structural Functionalism Structuralism Structuralism
1. R. Radcliffe Brown 1. Talcott Parsons 1. Emile Durkheim

2. S. F. Nadel 2. Merton 2. Levi Strauss
3. E. R. Leach 3. R. H. Lowie
4. R. Firth 4. M. Kluckhohn
5. Mayer Fortes 5. G. P. Murdock
6. E. Evans Pritchard

208
❖ Anthropological theories : Structural—Functionalism (Radcliffe Brown).
Theory -05 : STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM
STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM : Structural Functionalism is a sociological theory that attempts to
explain why society functions the way it does by focusing on the relationships between the various social
institutions that make up society (e.g., government, law, education, religion etc.)
❖ Structural Functionalism is a theoretical understanding of society that puts social systems as the collective
means to fill society’s needs.
❖ Understanding :
❖ School of Thought ❖ Core Idea ❖ Advocate
1. Functionalism ● Individual Need

● Biological Need Malinowski
● Function / Utility
2. Structural Functionalism ● Society’s Need

● Socio-Structure + Radcliffe Brown
Function
❖ In order for social life to survive and develop in society there are a number of activities that need to be
carried out to ensure that certain needs are fulfilled.
❖ In the structural functionalist model, individuals produce necessary goods and services in various institutions
and roles that correlate with the norms of the society.
❖ British School of Structural ❖ American School ❖ French School of Structuralism

Functionalism of Structuralism
1. R. Radcliffe Brown 1. Talcott Parsons 1. Emile Durkheim

2. S. F. Nadel 2. Merton 2. Levi Strauss
3. E. R. Leach 3. R. H. Lowie
4. R. Firth 4. M. Kluckhohn
5. Mayer Fortes 5. G. P. Murdock
6. E. Evans Pritchard
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❖ Social Structure: According to Talcott Parsons, “Social Structure is a term applied to a particular
arrangement of interrelated institutions, agencies, and social patterns as well as status and roles which each
person assumes in the group”.
★ ALFRED REGINALD RADCLIFFE-BROWN : Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown( 17 January 1881 – 24
October 1955) was an English social anthropologist who helped further
develop the theory of structural functionalism.
❖ Books/Works:
1. The Andaman Islanders(1922)
2. Structure and Function in Primitive Society(1935)
3. African Systems of Kinship and Marriage(1950)
❖ Social Structure: Radcliffe-Brown in his book “Structure and
Function in Primitive Society” (1952) mentions the word ‘Social
Structure’.
➢ According to him the concept of structure refers to an arrangement of parts related to one another in
some sort of larger unity. For instance, the structure of a house reveals the arrangement of walls, roofs,
rooms, passage, windows, etc.
➢ In social structure, the ultimate components are the arrangements of persons in relation to each other.
For instance, in a village arrangements of persons into families are found, which is again a structural
feature.
❖ Structure and Function (Theory of Structural Functionalism): Radcliffe-Brown He again uses
biology to show how the connections between the structures and function work. The role of a part is to
interrelate the structure of an organism, and the structure of an organism is composed of organised
arrangements of its parts. Similarly, SOCIAL STRUCTURE is an ordered arrangement of persons and
groups. SOCIAL FUNCTION is the interconnections between social structure and social life.
➢ Radcliffe-Brown used the term ‘functional unity’ (Social order) . By this, he means a condition in
which all the parts of the social system work together in a harmonious, consistent fashion. Thus,
structure and function are logically linked and structure and function support each other and are
necessary for each other’s continuity.
➢ He gave two types of models of studying social structure :
1. Actual social structure
2. General social structure
● Actual social structure: the relationship between persons and groups changes from time to
time. New members come into being through immigration or by birth, while others go out of it by
death and migration.
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● General social structure: it remains relatively constant for a long time.

➢ Structural Features of Social Life: According to A.R. Radcliffe-Brown, the structural features of
social life are as follows:
1. Existence of social group: social structure consists of all kinds of social groups like family, clan,
moieties, social sanction, totemic group, social classes, caste groups, kinship systems, etc. The
interrelations among these groups constitute the core of the social structural phenomenon.
2. Internal structure of the group: these groups have specific internal structures. For example, a
family consists of the relations of the father, mother, and children.
3. Arrangement into social classes: these groups are arranged into social classes and categories. For
example, the economic classes in Western societies and the castes in Indian societies.
4. Social Distinctions: there is a social distinction between different classes which is based on sex,
economic distinctions, and authority and caste distinctions. For example, in India, there is a social
distinction between the Brahmins and Shudras.
5. Arrangement of persons in a dyadic relationship: an example of a dyadic relationship is a
person-to-person relationship like master and servant.
6. Interaction between groups and persons: interaction between persons can be seen in social
processes involving cooperation, conflict, accommodations, etc. while the interaction between
groups can be seen while a nation goes to war with another nation
❖ Merits and Demerits of the Structural-Functional Approach of Brown:
● Merits ● Demerits
1. This approach provides a foundation of 1. According to some critics, it is wrong to look at

knowledge and law by which social society as a living organism because the structure
behavior can be controlled. of the living organism does not change, but the
2. The structural functionalist approach of society does?
Radcliffe-Brown gives a conceptual 2. There is an error arising from the assumption that
framework through which the observations one’s abstraction of a social situation reflects
and explanations of social events are social reality in all details.
scientifically possible. 3. According to this approach, the functions of units
3. This approach builds some theories and of society are determined. The analysis is done on
principles by which social facts can easily the basis of imagination, in the absence of any
be explained. concrete cases.
4. Structural functionalism believes in static in place
211
of dynamic, but it does not deal with the changes.

5. This approach treat social order as an integrated
whole; a situation sometimes arises where society
can be seen in state of imbalance and
disequilibrium
❖ CASE STUDY- Ceremonial Weeping in the Andaman Islands : Andamanese ceremonies are
marked by formal weeping. When friends and family are reunited after a long separation, after a death, at
marriage and initiation rites, peace-making ceremonies, etc., Andamanese mourn in a ceremonial
manner. Radcliffe-Brown holds that the purpose underlying all ceremonials is the expression and
transmission of sentiments, which help to regulate individual, behavior in conformity with the needs of
society. Radcliffe-Brown concludes, weeping takes place in situations in which social relations which
have been disturbed or interrupted are about to resume. For instance, when long-lost friends reunite,
ceremonial crying signifies that the friendship will resume once the long gap is over. The ceremonial
crying that occurs during funerals denotes the final departure of the departed. Life will soon have to
resume as usual; normal interactions and activities will take place in this way, and ceremonial weeping
will serve a specific purpose or part in that society's daily operations.
OTHER STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISTS :

1. S.F. Nadel: Nadel developed the theory of social structure in his book “The Theory of Social Structure”
(1957). According to Nadel “We arrive at the structure of society through abstracting from the concrete
population and its behavior that pattern or network or system of relationships obtains between actors in their
capacity of playing roles relative to one another”.
➢ According to him, there are three elements of society:
1. A group of people
2. Institutionalized rules according to which the members of the group interact
3. An institutionalized pattern or expression of these interactions
2. E.R. Leach: He was a British Social Anthropologist who dealt with the change without abandoning the
useful notions of structure and function. Leach, in his book entitled “Political System of Highland Burma”
(1954), proposed a creative solution by considering conflict itself as a form of structure.
➢ Inconsistencies in the systems of values that people used to manage their lives are presented to them in
the social system of the Highland Burma region. They must therefore choose a different course of
action. Functionalism takes on life for him.
3. Talcott Parson: In his book named “The Social System” (1951). In this book he described four principle
types of social structure:
212
A. Universalistic social values: are found almost in every society and which is applicable to everybody.
B. Particularistic social values: are made on the basis of state, religion, caste and so on.
C. Achieved social status: the status is achieved on the basis of efforts.
D. Ascribed social status: is achieved through hereditary
4. Robert Merton: Fundamentally, Robert K. Merton concurred with Parsons' idea. Any social system,
according to Merton, likely serves a variety of purposes, some of which may be more visible than others.
Functional unity was questioned by Merton because not all components of contemporary comp lex societies
contribute to that unity.
➢ According to Merton, there are two types of functions as follows:
1. Manifest functions → deliberate and known.
2. Latent functions → unintended.
Theory -05 : STRUCTURALISM

STRUCTURALISM : Structuralism is the name given to a method of analyzing social relations and cultural
products, which came into existence in the 1950s. Although it had its origin in linguistics, particularly from the
work of Ferdinand de Saussure, it acquired popularity in anthropology, from where it impacted the other
disciplines in social sciences and humanities. It gives PRIMACY TO PATTERN OVER SUBSTANCE. A
characteristic that structuralism and structural-functional approach share in common is that BOTH ARE
CONCERNED WITH RELATIONS BETWEEN THINGS.

213
❖ Anthropological theories : Structuralism (Levi-Strauss and E. Leach).
STRUCTURALISM : Structuralism is the name given to a method of analyzing social relations and cultural
products, which came into existence in the 1950s. Although it had its origin in linguistics, particularly from the
work of Ferdinand de Saussure , it acquired popularity in anthropology, from where it impacted the other
disciplines in social sciences and humanities.
❖ It gives PRIMACY TO PATTERN OVER SUBSTANCE. A characteristic that structuralism and
structural-functional approach share in common is that BOTH ARE CONCERNED WITH RELATIONS
BETWEEN THINGS.
❖ Cultures, viewed as systems, are analyzed in terms of the structural relations among their elements.
❖ Claude Levi-Strauss, considered the founder of Structuralism, expanded upon Durkheim's basic concepts
to generate the main ideas behind Structuralism. In his definition, there are 3 fundamental properties of the
human mind:
➢ People follow rules,
➢ Reciprocity is the simplest way to create social relationships, and
➢ A gift binds both the giver and recipient in a continuing social relationship
❖ Such social structures, according to Levi-Strauss, mirrors cognitive structures, the way in which mankind
thinks and understands.
➢ Structuralism is the approach that seeks to isolate and decode deep structures of meaning, organized
through systems of signs inherent in human behavior (language, ritual, dress, and so on).
➢ Understanding :
❖ School of Thought ❖ Approach / Idea / Focus ❖ Thinker
★ Structural Functionalism 1. Inductive approach ( Particular →

Generalization ) ● Radcliffe Brown
2. Function and Structure (Social
function and Social structure )
★ Structuralism 1. Deductive approach ( G → P )

2. Structure ( Mental understanding ie ● Levi Strauss
Cognition )
214
❖ Inspired From:
1. Durkheim’s View
2. Structural Linguistics
3. Phenomenology.
4. Gestalt psychology: maintained that all human conscious experience is patterned
➢ Phenomenology : Phenomenology is a subfield of philosophy that seeks to justify and scientificize
philosophy. Phenomenology tries to close the gap between what people think about and what they
actually are by accurately articulating what people are aware of. Like Strauss, who used folk stories,
religious tales, and fairy tales to understand how people think about their world.
A. CLAUDE LÉVI-STRAUSS : Strauss was born November 28, 1908, in Brussels, Belgium, and lived to see
an entire century, passing on October 30th, 2009. He was a French anthropologist and ethnologist whose
work was key in the development of the theories of structuralism and structural anthropology.
➢ Books/Works:
1. The Elementary Structures of Kinship(1949)
2. Structural Anthropology(1958)
3. The Savage Mind(1962)
4. Structuralism and Ecology(1972)
5. Anthropology and Myth(1987)
➢ Premises/Tenets: Structuralism focuses on the
effects of universal patterns in human thought
on cultural phenomena. Although not attempting to explain these cultural patterns, it presents them as a
result of subconscious, universal human knowledge.
✓ Psychic Unity: The link between societal norms and the mind's thought process is ingrained so
deeply within individual cultures , it becomes logical thought, taking specific actions, thoughts
and activities and conceptualizing them. Despite differences in race and culture, the human species
share the same basic psychological makeup.
✓ Levi-Strauss presented the idea of binary oppositions. This concept coordinates certain ways of
thinking. Eg: Day/Night, Good/Evil, etc.
✓ Unity of opposites: Each idea has an opposite idea on which it depends. This is known as the unity
of opposites. As neither of these concepts can exist without the other, this is referred to as the unity
of opposites.
✓ Social structures, according to Levi-Strauss, mirrors cognitive structures, the way in which
mankind thinks and understands.
215
❖ Concept of Culture: Strauss believed that a society's CULTURE was merely an outward manifestation of
the mental frameworks created by its members. These structures specify how a system's components interact.
He held that ALL CULTURES ARE STRUCTURALLY SIMILAR and that an examination of the
connections between cultural elements could provide light on the fundamental, innate, and universal
foundations of human mind.
➢ All myths, folktales, stories, even ritualistic behaviors and religious beliefs that make up the
fundamental fabric of what we recognise as culture served as means of meaning transmission.

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A. CLAUDE LÉVI-STRAUSS :
➢ Concept of Culture: Strauss believed that a society's CULTURE was merely an outward manifestation
of the mental frameworks created by its members. These structures specify how a system's components
interact. He held that ALL CULTURES ARE STRUCTURALLY SIMILAR and that an examination of
the connections between cultural elements could provide light on the fundamental, innate, and universal
foundations of human mind.
✓ All myths, folktales, stories, even ritualistic behaviors and religious beliefs that make up the
fundamental fabric of what we recognise as culture served as means of meaning transmission.
➢ Structuralism in Kinship: Systematic patterns of human cognition based on logical oppositions of
contrastive categories are used in investigations of the structure of kinship. For example , a contrasting
category of kinship could be the relationship within different cultures of immediate family members and
marriage.
✓ Universally, studies have shown that in almost all cultures there is an incest taboo, marrying a
direct family member is not allowed. The taboo demonstrates a universal logical opposition
between kin versus non-kin categories. The universal formation of ideas is the very basis of
structuralism.
➢ Primitive Thinking' and 'Civilized Mind': Levi-Strauss suggests the elimination of stark contrasts
between the idea of primitive and civilized society. There is a similarity of minds between all kinds of
people, and we should treat primitive cosmologies as rational, coherent, and logical.
➢ The Structural Analysis Of Myths: According to Levi-Strauss (1963) the purpose of a myth is to
provide a logical model capable of overcoming a (real) contradiction. To understand a myth it must be
broken down into its constituent elements and understood as binary opposites. This breakdown is the
structure, as the constituent elements are always organized in a particular way (the underlying structure)
that needs to be analyzed.
✓ The structure is the form and the details of the story are content. But when analyzing the
structure of the myth, it is the form and not the content that is taken into account (ie Primacy of
Pattern over Substance ).
✓ According to Levi-Strauss, when whittled down to their most basic forms, the variety of myths
begins to look similar. Thus the most basic pattern of a story is the formula (its structure )
‘situation-complication-resolution-rider or twist' and the last term is the precursor of another
situation where it is resolved and followed by another rider. The story can end when there is no
need for further resolution.
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• FORMULA: Situation → Complication → Resolution / Twist → Situation(new).

✓ In his "The Structural Study of Myth" anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss argues that myth is
like language. One might suppose that myth is a subdivision of language (a specific form of using
language) but according to Levi-Strauss myth has its own characteristics which distinguish it from
its language and which make myth a language in itself.
✓ This special attribute of myth is revealed according to Levi-Strauss in the attempt to translate a
mythical narrative from one language to another. Unlike other forms of language, and especially
poetry, which lose a lot in translation, myth retains its capacities even when poorly translated.
✓ According to Levi-Strauss, this is due to the nature of the structural components which make up a
myth. These structural components of myths, which Levi-Strauss terms "mythemes" are not
important in themselves and have no intrinsic value but rather, much like the nature of the
linguistic, depend on their structural alignment in order to gain meaning. Every mytheme receives
its meaning from its position in the myth and its relations with other mythemes.
✓ Levi-Strauss analyzed a large number of myths At every instance, the myth is broken down into
opposed categories and these are then subjected to transformations to see their similarity to other
myths. Thus the core of Levi-Strauss’s analysis is pivoted around the proposition that the human
mind is capable of recognizing only a limited number of structural patterns, because of its innate
limitation to cognition.
✓ Thus opposition is a key process of comprehension and homology (similarity) is another. So we
can understand something either by likeness or by contrast. The patterns of these limited sets are
related to each other by a series of, what he refers to as ‘TRANSFORMATION RULES’.
✓ Caroll (1977) has simplified the more complex rules of transformation given by Levi-Strauss, into
the following two rules.
1. Transformation Rule One: is that starting with two roles, X and Y which are related to each
other in a particular way.
I. Negate the outcome associated with each role.
II. Move the actor originally in one of the roles, say X into the role Y and move a new actor in
role X.
2. Transformation Rule Two : Given a sequence of events, negate the outcome of each event and
reverse the ordering of the events.
✓ The Structural Analysis Of Myths: Example -Asdiwal myth: The Story of Asdiwal was told by
Tsimshian Indians , natives of the Northwest Pacific coast of Canada. The story provides the
reader with a detailed overview of the lives of indigenous people, as well as Indian symbolism and
traditions.
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✓ Location Characteristics : The lack of agriculture in the area affects the local economy, although
hunting for wild fruit and vegetables in the summer makes up for it. The Tsimshian people must
rely largely on hunting bears and goats as well as catching cod and halibut in order to avoid the
wintertime food shortage (Levi-Strauss). These native people became a migrant community as a
result of the extreme conditions.
✓ Asdiwal, the main character, regrettably lost his grandfather in the catastrophe and now must battle
it on his own. Even though it is only feasible with the aid of his supernatural gift, rather than with
the help of his skills or training, he consistently shows an incredible capacity to subsist by hunting
and fishing.
✓ The creature called Hatsenas , or “the bird of good omen”, saved the lives of Asdiwal’s family
and eventually married his mother. It might be assumed that Hatsenas hoped that his son would use
the gift to become a savior for the Tsimshian people, the only human able to fight against the
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ruthless forces of nature. Just like any legendary character, Asdiwal is expected to serve as a
universal hero, a positive image of a person who would overcome obstacles on his way to justice
and prosperity. However, overwhelmed with power, the young man uses his abilities only to
impress others and earn their respect.
✓ As he moves from town to hamlet, he consistently has fresh interactions and possible love interests.
He succeeds in getting married to every woman he desires and succeeds in every competition.
Asdiwal even has an opportunity to ascend the heavenly ladder at one point in the narrative. There,
he encounters the Sun, who challenges him to accomplish several impossible tasks and offers his
daughter, Evening Star, as a reward (Levi-Strauss). Hatsenas assists his son in trouble whenever
there is a challenge or issue, which makes Asdiwal overconfident and arrogant of himself and his
magical abilities.
✓ Despite his fame and fortune, Asdiwal always misses and longs for his hometown. He is unable to
find fulfillment and happiness despite his numerous marriages and wives. He is constantly seeking
out new adventures and, occasionally, new trouble because he never feels complete. It may be said
that the character is looking for his calling, but he ignores or doesn't get it. The narrative ends here
without informing the reader of what happens next.
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✓ The Tale of Asdiwal is not only a fun old fable, but it's also a lesson on diligence and modesty that
I've learned from. While Asdiwal stands for confidence in those who misuse their gifts, the
indigenous Tsimshian people may have much in common with hard-working individuals today.
The most important lesson we can take away from the tale is that it is important to use one's
specific talents for the greater good, for the benefit of others, and in order to advance personally.

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A. CLAUDE LÉVI-STRAUSS :
➢ Totemism: In “Totemism” (1962), Levi-Strauss shows that animals and natural objects are chosen as
symbols of clans or families because they are useful as linguistic and classificatory devices to
conceptualize and organize social relationships and groups.
✓ Levi-Strauss pointed out that a strong tradition connects totemic institutions with the strict rule of
exogamy while an anthropologist, when asked to define the concept of caste, would almost
certainly begin by mentioning the rule of endogamy.
➢ Structuralism and Language : He opined that the more affinity a subject has with linguistics, the more
closely it should seek to collaborate with it.
➢ Social structure as a model: Levi Strauss opines that Social structure is not actually found but what we
see is a model. What is actually found is a social relation, a model image is formed after those same
social relations. He gave two sets of models-
✓ Set A:
1. Conscious or House-made model
2. Unconscious or scientific model
✓ Set B:
1. Mechanical model
2. Statistical model
❖ Conscious or House-made model: A house-made model is one that a society's members have created about
their own society. For example , The Jaunsari tribe creates a model of their community. Such a model is
flawed because it is probably biased.
❖ Unconscious or scientific model: A scientific model is one that is created by a scientist or another outsider
and is intended to represent society. It is biased the least.
❖ Mechanical model: If the unit to be studied and the model formed in conclusion is of or equal to a scale,
then such a model is called a mechanical model.
❖ Statistical model: if the size is not equal, but it is in ratio or proportion.
Eg: This model will be a statistical model if we analyse the marriage laws in one state of India and create a model
that describes the Indian marriage system as a whole. And if the model is likewise about India and we are
studying the Indian marriage system, then the model will be mechanical.
★ Criticism: The paradigm of structuralism is primarily concerned with the structure of the human psyche, and
it does not address historical change in culture (Lett 1987, Rubel and Rosman 1996).
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➢ This synchronic approach, which advocates a “psychic unity” of all human minds, has been criticized
because it does not account for individual human action historically.
➢ He mainly focused on Universal Structuralism and did not take into account the Local aspects.
➢ He did not consider the Historical aspects in his structuralism theories.
➢ In his Binary concepts, he had not taken into account the Intermediate stages as studied by the Edmund
leach in Structuralism.
B. EDMUND LEACH : Sir Edmund Ronald Leach (7 November 1910 –

6 January 1989) was a British social anthropologist and academic. He
served as provost of King's College, Cambridge from 1966 to 1979. He
was also president of the Royal Anthropological Institute from 1971 to
1975.
➢ Regarded as a structuralist he is known for his technical studies in
the fields of kinship, marriage, ritual and myth, moving rapidly
from one topic to another. Began his career as a functionalist, but
After reading Claude Lévi-Strauss's The Elementary Structures of
Kinship, He was strongly drawn to Structuralism but did not
completely forgot Functionalism.
❖ Understanding :
❖ School of thought ❖ Ideas / Focus / Concept ❖ Thinkers
1. Structuralism by ● Focus on Universal Structuralism

Levi-Strauss ● Binary Opposition Levi-Strauss
● Historical aspects not considered
2. Structuralism by ● Focus on Local Structuralism

Edmund Leach ● Intermediate stages also exist. Edmund Leach
● Historical aspects given due importance.
❖ Books:
1. Political Systems of Highland Burma(1954)
2. Pul Eliya, a Village in Ceylon(1961)
3. Lévi-Strauss(1970)
❖ Views :
1. Political Systems of Highland Burma(1954): Leach's military service in Burma during World War II
unintentionally enabled him to break free from the anthropological model of intensive fieldwork in a
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single community, with limited generalization to larger social units, much like Malinowski's unplanned
internship in the Trobriand Islands during World War I.
➢ In this book, he tried to understand the political system of Burma in terms of two opposite poles or
models and an intermediary model between the two, namely –an egalitarian and democratic model
called Gumlao, a hierarchical and autocratic model called Shan and an intermediary model called
Gumsa.
➢ An intermediary model of the political system is included in contrast to Lévi-Strauss' structuralism.
Furthermore, unlike structuralism, these models were founded on empirical facts rather than
rational thought processes..
➢ Leach believed that Burma's political system had been evolving due to structuralism for a while.
Sometimes the egalitarian Gumlao model rules and dominates this political structure, and other
times it was ruled by the hierarchical shan model.
➢ He added that it would be incorrect to view Burma's political system simply in terms of these two
diametrically opposed poles because a third model, which combines the Gumlao and Shan models,
also exists.
➢ Leach claimed that only in the context of empirical field data was this comprehension attainable. In
contrast to Lévi-Strauss's structuralism, he gave history importance. Leach contends that
information from the last 100 to 150 years might be very helpful in constructing models to
comprehend society.
➢ Lévi-Strauss talked about universal structures but Leach used his idea to talk about local structures
as explained in the example of Burmese political system above.
2. Models: He calls mechanical models ‘jural rules’ and statistical models ‘statistical norms’. The
meaning Leach gives to ‘jural rules’ and ‘statistical norms’ is essentially the same which Lévi-Strauss
gives to mechanical and statistical models.
★ DESCENT THEORY ( not a part of Structuralism ) :
❖ Development : Descent theory also known as lineage theory came to the fore in the 1940s with the
publication of books like The Nuer (1940), African Political Systems (1940) etc. It had much influence
over anthropological studies till the mid-60s but with the downfall of the British Empire and its loss of
colonies, the theory also sort of fizzled out.
➢ Social anthropologists explored the ways in which kinship provided a basis for forming the kinds
of groups—discrete, bounded, and linked to a particular territory—that were seen as necessary for a
stable political order. Their explanations of these mechanisms became known as the descent theory
of kinship.
❖ Exponent:
1. Henry S Maine : In his book ‘Ancient Law (1861)’, he develops and examines the patriarchal
thesis, which contends that families headed by the eldest surviving male are the foundation of
civilization. He also discussed the formation of family aggregations. After the father passes away,
the sons remain together, forming expanded ties of kinship and a larger polity that serves as the
foundation for communities. Rivalry between blood relatives was not developed until much later,
when attachment to territory became a topic of social organization study.
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2. McLennan and Morgan : McLennan and Morgan stressed the importance of exogamy in clans or
totemism, which was found to be a common factor in kin groups.
3. R.H. Lowie : He summarized the critique of Morgan by noting that all data showed that family has
been present in all stages of culture. He also noted that there is no fixed succession of maternal and
paternal descent. Both higher and lower civilizations in many cases give importance to the paternal
side of the family. His final postulation was, family (bilateral) and clan, sib, and moiety (unilateral)
are rooted in local and consanguineal factors.
4. W.H.R.Rivers : Rivers talked about ‘descent’ in terms of the way in which membership of a
group is recognised and also for modes of transmission of property, rank etc.
5. Radcliffe Brown : Social organizations needed endurance and finality. Hence societies require
corporations that can be either based on territorial ties or kinship ties. Such kin-based ties are
unilineal descent groups that describe group membership on a descent criterion. Radcliffe-Brown
based his ideas on his work on The Social Organization of Australian Tribes (1931).
6. A.L. Kroeber : He criticized Radcliffe Brown's descent theory in particular, disagreeing with his
assertion that descent groups were at the center of Australian society. In many communities,
according to Kroeber, moiety, clan, and any other unilateral descent groupings have supporting
roles rather than taking center stage. There was no historical character to a family or clan regarding
who followed whom.
7. Meyer Fortes : In Fortes’s “The Structure of Unilineal Descent Groups” (American
Anthropologist, 1953) he submitted the segmentary lineage model as an important offering of
British Anthropology of his times. His formulation suggested that the structure of the unilineal
descent group could be generalized and its position in the complete social system can be viewed.
8. Meyer Fortes : For instance, he spoke specifically about the continual nature of such lineages in
Africa and their political relevance, especially in regions with weak political centralization. As a
result, the social structure would show how territory and descent relate to one another. (imp)
❖ Criticism: Considering that so much effort and time was used for creating the perfect descent theories, it
nevertheless faded out in the 1960s because of the many complications and misunderstandings created by
the ideas postulated by the thinkers.
➢ In the 1960s in fact it faced the main challenge from a model which was designed by Levi-Strauss
based on the primitive social structure.
➢ This theory was criticized as it became evident that kinship was not always organized through
unilineal descent in various societies.
➢ Descent theory also minimized the significance of marriage and affinal relations in structuring the
Kinship.

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❖ Anthropological theories :
1. Structuralism (Levi-Strauss and E. Leach).
2. Culture and personality (Benedict, Mead, Linton, Kardiner, and Cora-du Bois)
★ ALLIANCE THEORY :
❖ Development: The alliance theory in the study of kinship is also known as the general theory of
exchange. It bears its roots in the French structuralist Claude Lévi-Strauss and hence is also known as
the structural way of studying kinship ties. The alliance theory was first discussed in Lévi-Strauss’
monumental book named Elementary Structures of Kinship.
➢ Alliance theory was quite popular during the 1960s and went on to be discussed and deliberated till
the 1980s when the issue of incest taboo was taken up by not only anthropologists but also by
psychologists, political philosophers, etc.
❖ THE IDEA OF ALLIANCE AND THEORY :
A. Alliance is the concept of joining people together into an activity. In human societies, people are
joined together by means of marriage. Marriage between two groups can be accomplished by
means of the exchange of women.
B. Different societies have different rules of marriage which are to be followed by their members.
There are several ways of marriage exchanges that differ from society to society. This theory is
known as the alliance theory which has its origins in Claude Levi-Strauss's Elementary
Structures of Kinship (1949).
C. According to Levi-Strauss alliance theory is based on the incest taboo and the prohibition of incest
is recognized universally. It is viewed as a fundamental condition of human social life. Incest taboo
is one reason that has given rise to exogamy. This process of incest taboo where a daughter or sister
is sent to a different family commences a circle of exchange of women. Strauss views marriage as
primarily a process of exchange.
D. The main notion of alliance theory is then a reciprocal exchange that creates affinity. It is the
positive marriage rules which regulate this exchange and thus give rise to what Strauss calls
‘elementary’ structures.
E. Levi-Strauss talked of mainly two models of marriage exchange:
a. Elementary Structure.
b. Complex Structure.
1. Elementary Structure : It talks about the positive marriage rules(cross-cousin marriage) that account
for whom a person should marry. The elementary structure talks mainly about two exchanges -
1. Restricted Exchange
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2. Generalized Exchange
➢ Restricted Exchange: This exchange takes place between two groups for example one group
is wife giver; the other is a wife-taker. The exchange of women takes place between these two
groups only.
✓ A rule which specifies that bilateral cross cousins must marry, will establish a permanent
marriage exchange between descent groups that take their ancestry from the original
couples, in this case patrilineages A and B. The lineages are paired into moieties which in
principle form a narrowly closed intermarrying social system, which Levi-Strauss terms
"restricted".
➢ Generalized Exchange: In this case men and women marry without any regard to mutual
obligations to provide wives for each other. Integration of the system is provided by the
application of a matrilateral cross cousin rule, in which a man marries his mother's brother's
daughter.
✓ This arrangement generates a system in which the groupings (patrilineages in this case)
that form according to descent from the original couples always exchange women in the
same manner as their founders.
✓ The resulting system assumes the form of a circle of intermarrying groups that unlike the
bilateral system can involve any number of units. Because of the openness of this pattern
it is considered to constitute "generalized" rather than "restricted" exchange.
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2. Complex Structure : It talks about the negative marriage rules. Here the choice of marriage partner is
based on non-kin criteria.
➢ The positive and negative rules of marriage can be understood in the Indian context.
1. In Northern India, the Marriage rules can be called negative rules, as there is a prohibition on
marrying a cousin up to several degrees. One cannot marry a person up to seven degrees on the
father’s side and up to five degrees on the mother’s side. Clan exogamy and hypergamy is
practiced. One has to avoid his own gotra also while marrying.
2. While in Southern India, the rules of marriage are positive as one can marry his elder sister’s
daughter, he can also marry his father’s sister’s daughter. Here the family which takes a daughter
returns back a daughter to the former.
➢ Thus, Exogamy strengthens inter-group relationships and thus promotes social relationships.
Theory -06 : CULTURE PERSONALITY SCHOOL

❖ Personality : The term ‘personality’ is derived from the Latin word ‘persona’ meaning a mask. Personality
is a patterned body of an individual's habits, traits, attitudes and ideas as these are organized externally into
roles and statuses, and they relate internally to motivation, goals, and various aspects of selfhood.
❖ Anthropologist’s view on Personality :
➢ Funder (1997) defined personality as “an individual’s characteristic pattern of thought, emotion, and
behavior, together with the psychological mechanisms—hidden or not-behind those patterns”.
➢ Ralph Linton (1945) defines personality as the individual’s mental qualities the sum total of his
rational faculties, perceptions, ideas, habits, and conditional emotional responses. He states a close
relationship exists between the personality and culture of the society to which the individual belongs.
✓ The personality of every individual within the society develops and functions in constant
association with its culture
★ There are four main factors or determinants , which affect personality formation:
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1. Heredity : Eg - Suicides ( case study ), case study of Criminals in USA jails, Depressions and
Anxiety in modern life style.
2. Environment : Eg - A Tribal having long exposure to big cities has a different personality than
other Tribes.
3. Culture.
4. Peculiar experiences.
★ Culture Personality School of Thought : In the 1930s, the culture personality school of thought mostly
emerged in the United States. The aforementioned school outlined the connections between human behaviors
and child care practices in various countries.
➢ The culture personality theory combined elements of psychology, anthropology, and sociology, but
principally theory involved the application of psychoanalytic principles to ethnographic data. The
school emphasized the cultural molding of the personality and focused on the development of the
individual.
➢ Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was one of the first psychologists to break the barrier between
anthropology and psychology. The primary aim of the culture and personality school of thought, is to
examine the interrelationships between culture and personality.
➢ The attempts of this school are to study culture as it is embodied in the character of its members, rather
than seeking to analyze culture as it is manifested in material items or social institutions.
★ Views :
THOUGHT / VIEW THINKERS
Impact of Personality on Culture ❖ Ruth Benedict
Impact of Culture on Personality Formation ❖ Margaret Mead
Impact of Culture on Personality and Vice-Versa ❖ Ralph Linton, Abram Kardiner and Core Du Bois.
A. RUTH BENEDICT : Ruth Benedict (1887-1948) a student of Franz Boas , documented in her Ph.D.
dissertation the rapidly deteriorating Native American societies, providing
the impetus to pursue culture and personality studies.
➢ Through her work on the patterning of culture at an individual level,
Benedict opened anthropology into a much larger discussion between
the disciplines of anthropology and psychology.
➢ Idea of “pattern” was already in use before her, but credit goes to her
for providing a methodological model for studying human culture in
terms of “pattern” rather than social content.
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❖ Books/Works:
1. Patterns of Culture (1934)
2. The Chrysanthemum and the Sword (1946)
❖ Concept/Views: Ruth Benedict’s consideration of cultures as integrated wholes where each is

configured to be different from all other cultures; is perhaps one of the most significant.
➢ She also stressed that culture is organized around a basic theme and that all of the various
elements of that culture fit together. Culture according to Benedict is analogous to an individual
in that it is more or less a consistent pattern of thought and action. Hence, she says any analysis of
culture requires a psychological approach.
➢ According to her when traits and complexes become related to each other in functional roles, a
cultural pattern is formed. Many cultural patterns integrate themselves into a functional whole
and form a special design of a whole culture. This special design of the whole culture is called the
CONFIGURATION OF CULTURE.
➢ There are two types of geniuses found in human society i.e. Apollonian and Dionysian.
A. Peace, orderliness, and benevolence are all present in the Apollonian design. The
aggressiveness and propensity for change that define the Dionysian.
B. Members of the group are forced to behave in one way by the Apollonian personality and in
another by the Dionysian personality.
C. This will result in the development of distinctive cultural traits for the group in question,
personality impacting culture.
➢ In her monograph ‘Patterns of Culture (1934)’ she discussed, through literature, contrastive
personality types between Zuni of Southwest America and Kwakiutl of the Northeast Coast of
North America.
1. ZUNI: The Zuni are resource-rich foragers. She characterizes Zunis as being extremely
cooperative and never going above and above. The average Zuni was one who wanted to fit
in and didn't want to come across as superior to the other tribe members. The methods used
to train children were created to stifle uniqueness. The youths were started in a group
environment, and the rites lacked any kind of ordeal.
2. KWAKIUTL: They were driven and aspirational, and they placed a strong emphasis on
individualism in all facets of their lives. The man who always sought to establish his
supremacy was the ideal man in the community.
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✓ Practices for raising children that prioritized individual success over group cooperation
perpetuated this trend. A boy was supposed to walk out by himself and have a close
encounter with the supernatural as part of the initiation rituals.
✓ There was a huge festivity surrounding marriage. A perpetual struggle for dominance
that had to be attained by all means was the hallmark of leadership in this community.
➢ Thus, She describes ZUNI as being apollonian and KWAKIUTL as being dionysian on the basis
of the aforementioned characteristics, which she believes represent the two tribal communities.

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❖ Anthropological theories : Culture and personality (Benedict, Mead, Linton, Kardiner, and Cora-du Bois).

RUTH BENEDICT :
❖ National Character Study: The Chrysanthemum and the Sword (1946) - Japanese national traits needed
to be understood during the Second World War, and some American anthropologists assisted by analyzing
them through Japanese films and literature on the country's history and culture. Ruth Benedict made a
significant contribution in developing and then applying the “content analysis method” to study the culture at
a distance.
➢ When anthropologists could not freely travel to conduct fieldwork among the indigenous societies
during World War II, Benedict devised this content analysis method. She obtained information for her
monograph from historical records, Japanese-themed literature, and conversations with Japanese
immigrants. She carefully examined all of the data, analyzed it, and came to a number of important
conclusions regarding Japanese society.
➢ She describes Japanese culture as having two methods of child rearing.
➢ In Japan, children are given complete affection, independence, care, and cooperation. But once the
child reaches adolescence, severe discipline is put in place. He or she is expected to act in a way that
will be agreeable and appealing to older people. It is not anticipated that she or he will stray from
cultural norms as a teenager.
➢ She makes a comparison between Japanese child rearing practices and the chrysanthemum, the
country's national flower, and the sword. Chrysanthemums represent a child's socialization during
their formative years.
➢ When their children are young, Japanese parents do everything in their power to help them develop
into beautiful chrysanthemum flowers. When youngsters reach their full potential and become
adolescents, they must deal with a difficult existence. They are left by their parents to live independent
lives and earn a living. Children consequently become hostile and violent.
➢ A sword always hangs on their neck, because they do not seek cooperation from the elders.
B) MARGARET MEAD : Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November

15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist. She earned her
bachelor's degree at Barnard College of Columbia University and her M.A.
and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia.
➢ Mead served as president of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science in 1975. She was a student, a lifelong
friend, and a collaborator of Ruth Benedict. She studies ‘IMPACT
OF CULTURE ON PERSONALITY FORMATION’.
❖ Books /Work:
1. Growing up in New Guinea (1930).
2. Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies (1935)
3. Coming of Age in Samoa (1949)
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❖ Views:
1. Coming of Age in Samoa: She compares Samoans with teenage females in America in her book,
Coming of Age in Samoa, which is based on nine months of fieldwork. Her research revealed that
these stressors were mostly experienced by American teenagers, whereas Samoan adolescents
experienced a comparatively smooth transition to sexual maturity.
✓ She argues in her book about Samoas that kids learn early on that they can get their way if they
behave nicely or are submissive and silent. For both males and girls, it is not emphasized to have
arrogance, flippancy, or boldness. The adults are supposed to work hard, and the children are
expected to wake up early, be respectful and happy, play with kids of their own sex, etc.
✓ According to her fieldwork observation, little girls move about together and have antagonistic and
avoidance relationships with boys. However, as they grow up boys and girls begin to interact
during parties and fishing expeditions. As long as a boy and a girl are not committing incest, it is
considered natural and adults pay little attention to such relationships.
✓ She concluded that cultural conditioning, not biological changes associated with adolescence,
makes it stressful or not.
✓ Criticisms notwithstanding, subsequent studies have lent support to her basic theory that
childhood upbringing influences the FORMATION OF ADULT PERSONALITY
2. Growing up in New Guinea (1930): The enculturation methods used by the Manus of New Guinea to
raise their children from infancy through childhood and from childhood to maturity are the subject of
this study.
✓ The book actually discusses how culture can help children at various stages of life, including
infancy, youth, and adulthood, to develop their personalities.
3. Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies (1935): In this study like Benedict, Mead
compared three different cultures, namely ARAPESH, MUNDUGUMOR, AND TCHAMBULI, to
test the range of variation of cultural patterns.
✓ The study was to understand why societies living in the same area differ in their character,
personality, and temperament and why within the same society, the temperaments of male and
females differ.
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A. ARAPESH: From her study she found that in Arapesh, cultural environments are such that
both males and females have a submissive temperament. In their culture, such personality
traits are the matter of great praise and all members in this society follow these cultural
traits with great enthusiasm.
B. MUNDUGUMOR: The cultural environment of Mundugumor is such that every member
is found to be in struggle, conflict, and competition with each other. These cultural
practices have a direct bearing on the personality formation of members of Mundugumor.
Both males and females are aggressive.
• In this society, the personality traits of its members are reflected by such characters
as suspiciousness, competition, quarrelsomeness, ego, jealousy, and unkindness.
C. TCHAMBULI: Males develop a meek disposition according to Tchambuli cultural
customs, whereas females develop an aggressive personality. It is a matrilineal society
where women hold most of the power. The personality qualities of the Tchambuli mirror
the culture's submissive male behavior and aggressive female behavior.
C) RALPH LINTON : Ralph Linton (27 February 1893 – 24 December 1953) was
an American anthropologist of the mid-20th century. Ralph Linton began his
career as an archaeologist, but later turned to cultural anthropology.
➢ His ethnographic fieldwork took him to Polynesia and Madagascar and on
archaeological expeditions in Latin America and the United states. He
worked on: Impact of Culture on Personality and Vice-versa.
❖ Books/Works:
1. The Cultural Background of Personality(1945)
2. The Study of Man(1936)
❖ Views:
1. Concept of Culture: Ralph Linton (1945) stated, ‘ The culture of a society is the way of life of its
members; the collection of ideas and habits which they learn, share and transmit from generation to
generation'.
✓ Types of Culture: Ralph Linton (1945) noted three types of culture:
1. Real culture (actual behavior)
2. Ideal culture (Philosophical and traditional culture)
3. Culture construct (what is written on cultural elements etc.)
• Real culture (actual behavior): Real culture is the sum total of the behavior of the
members of the society, which is learned and shared in particular situations. A real
culture pattern represents a limited range of behavior within which the response of the
members of a society to a particular situation will normally be formed. Thus various
individuals can behave differently but still in accordance with a real culture pattern
• Ideal culture: Ideal culture pattern is formed by philosophical traditions. In this,
some traits of culture are regarded as ideals.
• Culture Construct: Linton stated that there is a difference between the way of life of
people and what we study and write about. Both are different dimensions of culture.
The former is reality and the latter is our understanding of the same. If the former is
called culture the latter can be called CULTURE CONSTRUCT.
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2. Basic Personality Structure Approach: This approach was developed jointly by Abram Kardiner
and Ralph Linton in response to the configurational approach. It looks at individual members within
a society and then compares the traits of these members in order to achieve a basic personality for each
culture.
✓ PERSONALITY: Ralph Linton (1945) defines personality as the individual’s mental qualities
the sum total of his rational faculties, perceptions, ideas, habits and conditional emotional
responses.
3. ROLE AND STATUS: ROLE refers to the rules for behavior appropriate to a given status or social
position. He prescribed some criteria for the characteristics as a person needs to become eligible for a
particular social role. He identified two kinds of status, vis., ascribed and achieved status
✓ ASCRIBED STATUS : Ascribed statuses are “those which are assigned to individuals
without reference to their innate differences or abilities”. The universally used criteria for
ascription of status are age, sex, kinship, and race. Birth of an individual in a particular social
category such as class and caste also become criteria for ascription of statuses in several but not
all societies.
✓ ACHIEVED STATUS : Achieved statuses are those that are “left open to be filled through
competition and individual effort”. These are acquired over an individual’s lifetime.
Occupation and education are thus called achieved statuses. Marital statuses of a wife or a
husband are also achieved statuses.

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1. Culture and personality (Benedict, Mead, Linton, Kardiner, and Cora-du Bois).
2. Neo—evolutionism (Childe, White, Steward, Sahlins and Service)
D. ABRAM KARDINER : Abram Kardiner, a pioneering psychiatrist and
psychoanalyst, made significant contributions to his own fields of study as well as
psychological and psychoanalytic anthropology. New York City is the place of
Kardiner's birth in 1891. His line of work was studying under Sigmund Freud.
❖ Books/Work:
1. The Psychological Frontiers of Society (1945): This book is a joint
effort of Kardiner, Cora du Bois and Ralph Linton.
❖ Views:
1. Basic Personality: In ‘The Psychological Frontiers of Society (1945)’,
he stated The theory of basic personality type is a collection of fundamental personality traits
shared by normal members of a society acquired by adapting to a culture.
➢ Similar to Freud, Kardiner understood that the foundations of personality development were
laid in the early stage of childhood. Further Kardiner argued that since basic child rearing
procedures are common in a society they resulted in some common personality traits among
members of a society.
➢ The shared personality traits across societies are what constitute the basic personality
structure. He said that the basic personality exists in the context of particular cultural
institutions or patterned ways of doing things in society. Such social institutions are of primary
and secondary types.
a. Primary cultural institutions include kinship, child rearing, sexuality and subsistence, which are
widely shared by societies,
b. Secondary cultural institutions , on the other hand, include religion, rituals, folkways, norms etc.
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E. CORA-DU-BOIS : Born in New York City in 1903, Cora Dubois

passed away in 1991. She received her M.A. from Columbia University
and her Ph.D. from the University of Berkeley. Abram Kardiner, a
collaborator of hers, had an impact on her cross-cultural diagnosis and
psychoanalytic study of culture.
❖ Work/Books:
1. The People of Alor (1944)
2. Psychological Frontiers of Society (Cora Dubois, Abram Kardiner and Ralph Linton co-authored the
book)
❖ Views:
1. Modal Personality: The model personality according to Bois is the type of personality that is
statistically the most certain in a society.
➢ She argued that the concept of primary institutions leads to the formation of a basic characteristic.
She did recognize that each person’s own personality is developed and expressed in a unique way
leading to variation in personalities within society.
➢ She modified the idea with her concept of the “modal personality”, which, while based on an
assumption of a “psychic unity of mankind” (1944) allowed for individual variations within a
culture.
➢ Modal personality assumes that a certain personality structure is the most frequently occurring
array of personality traits found within a society, but this does not necessarily mean that the
structure is common to all members of that society.
➢ This approach utilizes projective tests in addition to life histories to create a stronger empirical
basis for the construction of personality types due to the use of statistics to support the
conclusions
2. The People of Alor (1944) : Kardiner did not have the kind of data he needed to prove his theory. To
overcome this handicap, Cora Du Bois went to Alor Island in the Dutch East Indies where she
collected a variety of ethnographic and psychological data. When she returned in 1939 she along with
Kardiner analyzed the data and arrived at the same conclusions about the basic characteristics of
Alorese personality.
➢ On the basis of this work she proposed ‘modal personality’ by which she meant the statistically
most common personality type. Alorese of both sexes are described by Du Bois and her
colleagues as suspicious and antagonistic, prone to violent and emotional outbursts, often of a
jealous nature. They tend to be uninterested in the world around them and lack interest in goals.
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➢ Turning to the possible causative influences, Du Bois and her co-researchers focused on the
experiences of the Alorese during infancy and early childhood, up to the age of six or so. AT
THE ROOT OF MUCH OF ALORESE PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT, THEY
SUGGESTED, IS THE DIVISION OF LABOR IN THAT SOCIETY.
➢ Women are the major food suppliers, working daily in the family gardens, while men occupy
themselves with commercial affairs, usually the trading of pigs, gongs, and kettledrums. Within
about two weeks after giving birth, the mother returns to her outdoor work, leaving the infant
with the father, a grandparent, or an older sibling.
➢ She deprives the newborn child of the comfort of a maternal presence and of breastfeeding for
most of the day. The infant thus experiences oral frustration and resultant anxiety.
➢ At the same time, the baby suffers bewildering switches in attention, from loving and petting to
neglect and bad-tempered rejection. Thus, maternal neglect is viewed as being largely responsible
for Alorese personality.
★ CULTURE PERSONALITY SCHOOL : Criticism : Culture and Personality came under the heavy
scrutiny of Radcliffe-Brown and other British social anthropologists.
➢ They dismissed this view as a ‘vague abstraction’ (Barnard and Spencer 1996).
➢ It was criticized as being unscientific and hard to disprove, and little evidence was given for the
connection between child-rearing practices and adulthood personality traits.
➢ Benedict and Mead were critiqued for not considering individual variation within a culture and
discussing the society as a homologous unit.
Theory -07 : NEO EVOLUTIONISM

★ NEO EVOLUTIONISM : Neo-evolutionism is a social theory that tries to explain the evolution of societies
by drawing on Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and discarding some dogmas of the previous social
evolutionism.
➢ Neo-evolutionism is concerned with long-term and directional evolutionism. Neo-evolutionism stresses
the importance of empirical evidence.
➢ Neo-evolutionary anthropological thought emerged in the 1940s, in the work of the American
anthropologist Leslie A. White and Julian H. Steward and others. White hypothesized that cultures
became more advanced as they became more efficient at harnessing the energy and that technology and
social organization were both influential in instigating such efficiencies.
➢ The main difference between Neo-evolutionism and Nineteenth-century Evolutionism is whether they
are empirical or not. While Nineteenth-century evolutionism used value judgment and assumptions for
interpreting data, the new one relied on measurable information for analyzing the process of cultural
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evolution. Largely through their efforts, evolutionary theory was again generally accepted among
anthropologists by the late 1960s.
❖ Concept:

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● Anthropological theories :
1. Neo—evolutionism (Childe, White, Steward, Sahlins and Service)

2. Cultural materialism (Harris)
Theory -07 : NEO EVOLUTIONISM

❖ NEO EVOLUTIONISM : Neo-evolutionism is a social theory that tries to explain the evolution of
societies by drawing on Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and discarding some dogmas of the previous
social evolutionism.
➢ Neo-evolutionism is concerned with long-term and directional evolutionism. Neo-evolutionism stresses
the importance of empirical evidence.
➢ Neo-evolutionary anthropological thought emerged in the 1940s, in the work of the American
anthropologist Leslie A. White and Julian H. Steward and others. White hypothesized that cultures
became more advanced as they became more efficient at harnessing the energy and that technology and
social organization were both influential in instigating such efficiencies.
➢ The main difference between Neo-evolutionism and Nineteenth-century Evolutionism is whether they
are empirical or not. While Nineteenth-century evolutionism used value judgment and assumptions for
interpreting data, the new one relied on measurable information for analyzing the process of cultural
evolution. Largely through their efforts, evolutionary theory was again generally accepted among
anthropologists by the late 1960s.
❖ Concept:
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❖ Thinkers :
A) GORDAN CHILDE : Gordon Childe (14 April 1892 – 19 October 1957) was
an Australian archaeologist who specialized in the study of European
prehistory. He spent most of his life in the United Kingdom, working as an
academic for the University of Edinburgh and then the Institute of
Archaeology, London.
✓ He wrote twenty-six books during his career. Initially an early proponent
of culture-historical archaeology, he later became the first exponent of
Marxist archaeology in the Western world.
❖ Books/Works:
1. Social Evolution(1951)
2. Man Makes Himself (1951)
3. What is History(1953)
❖ Views:
➢ V. Gorden Childe described evolution in terms of three major events viz. the invention of FOOD
PRODUCTION, URBANIZATION, AND INDUSTRIALIZATION. Thus, analyzing the transitions
that took place under the impact of these- REVOLUTIONS, Childe presented an overall view of the
evolutionary process of delineating its common factors.
➢ V. Gordan Childe classified the stages of cultural development in terms of, thus, archaeological
findings, which are as follows -
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➢ Thus, on the basis of the EXCAVATION of tools, pottery, the invention of agriculture, etc., Childe
established his theory of neo-evolution.
➢ He was of the opinion that even during the pre-historic period, migration took place, and cultural traits
diffused from one place to another. Childe accepted the fact that “Culture Diffusion takes places”.
➢ V. Gorden Childe attempted to apply the Darwinian formula to cultural evolution and said ―variation is
seen as invention, hereditary as learning and diffusion, and adaptation and selection as cultural
adaptation and choice. It was certainly a worthy objective to seek universal laws of culture change, and
it must be stressed, however, that all universal laws do change in the course of history.
➢ Childe, who for the first time talked about technological determinism in the study of cultural evolution.
❖ Weakness:
1) Firstly, he did not differentiate between the old hunters and the hunters and food gatherers of today,
although there is a significant difference between them at least in the possession and application of
hunting tools and implements.
2) Secondly, he relied too much on the archaeological data to explain cultural evolution.
3) Thirdly, he categorically rejected the idea of universal precedence of matriarchy, sexual communism,
etc., as argued by the classical evolutionists, without giving many details.
B) JULIAN STEWARD : Julian Haynes Steward (January 31, 1902 – February 6, 1972) was an American
anthropologist known best for his role in developing "the concept and method" of cultural ecology, as
well as a scientific theory of culture change. Belonged to the American School of Neo-evolutionism. He
was a student of A.L. Kroeber at the University of California.
❖ Books/Work:
1. Theory of Culture Change(1955)
2. Cultural Evolution(1956)
❖ View :
1. He suggested a three-fold classification of the evolutionary approaches -
A. Unilinear
B. Universal(White and Childe)
C. Multilinear
2. Steward’s Multilinear Approach:
✓ Steward views that all the cultures of the world have not passed through the same developmental
stage, rather their stages were different in different areas and sub-areas. Eg: The sequence in desert
areas, forest areas, ice areas, and plain areas are different due to their environmental situation. The
Cultural Evolution of these places can be studied by choosing limited parallels of evolution.
✓ Steward studied the cultures of Mexico, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China cross-culturally and
concluded that cultures have evolved in the same developed stage beginning from the pre-
agriculture stage but in different areas and in the different periods following the multilinear course
of evolution.
✓ It involves historical reconstruction but does not expect that historical data can be classified into
universal stages.
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✓ Concerned with local variations.

✓ WHAT IS LOST IN UNIVERSALITY, WILL BE GAINED IN CONCRETENESS AND
SPECIFICITY.
3. Steward’s Method of Multilinear Evolution : PARALLELISM: Multilinear evolution
methodology works on establishing sequences of parallel development ( LIMITED PARALLEL ) that
could be investigated in empirical reality.
4. Steward’s CULTURAL ECOLOGY: Cultural ecology is the study of human adaptations to social
and physical environments. Human adaptation refers to both biological and cultural processes that
enable a population to survive and reproduce within a given or changing environment.
✓ Anthropologist Julian Steward (1902-1972) coined the term, envisioning cultural ecology as a
methodology for understanding how humans adapt to such a wide variety of environments. In his
Theory of Culture Change: The Methodology of Multilinear Evolution (1955), cultural ecology
represents the "ways in which culture change is induced by adaptation to the environment."
✓ Steward’s evolutionary theory, cultural ecology, is based on the idea that a social system is
determined by its environmental resources. Steward outlined three basic steps for a cultural-
ecological investigation -
1. First, the relationship between subsistence strategies and natural resources must be analyzed.
2. Second, the behavior patterns involved in a particular subsistence strategy must be analyzed.
3. The third step is to determine how these behavior patterns affect other aspects of society. .
✓ This strategy showed that the environment determines the forms of labor in a society, which affects
the entire culture of the group.
✓ The principal concern of cultural ecology is to determine whether cultural adaptations toward the
natural environment initiate social transformations of evolutionary change. Although Steward did
not believe in one universal path of cultural evolution; he argued that different societies can
independently develop parallel features ( i.e. Multilinear Evolution ).
✓ By applying cultural ecology, he identified several common features of cultural evolution which
are seen in different societies in similar environments. He avoided sweeping statements about
culture in general; instead, he dealt with parallels in limited numbers of cultures and gave specific
explanations for the causes of such parallels.
✓ Steward’s evolutionary theory is called multilinear evolution because the theory is based on the
idea that there are several different patterns of progress toward
cultural complexity. In other words, Steward did not assume
universal evolutionary stages that apply to all societies.
C) LESLIE A.WHITE : Leslie Alvin White (January 19, 1900, Salida,

Colorado – March 31, 1975, Lone Pine, California) was an American
anthropologist. He is known for his advocacy of the theories on
cultural evolution, sociocultural evolution, and especially neo-
evolutionism, and for his role in creating the Department of
Anthropology at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor.
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❖ View:
➢ Culture depends upon man for its evidence but can be analyzed as a system in and of itself. Culture is
fundamentally a means for capturing and utilizing energy which is its primary function.
➢ The cultural system can be divided into three sub-systems:
1. Technology, tools, weapons, and knowledge of their use.
2. Social structure
3. Ideological
➢ Technological subsystems control the amount of energy captured and utilized by the cultural system. As
technology becomes more efficient more energy is captured and utilized, which leads to development in
the culture. Culture advances as the amount of energy harnessed per capita per year increases or as the
efficiency or economy of the means of controlling energy increases or both.
E*T=C, where
✓ E= Energy
✓ T=Technology
✓ C=Cultural Development
➢ Throwing light on the social organization, he opined that it is a combination of three processes:
A. Nutrition(N)
B. Protection(P)
C. Reproduction(R)
Thus, N*P*R=S
Where, S is a Social Organization.
❖ Universal Evolution: Julian Steward has pointed out (1955) that universal evolution is presently
represented by V. Gordon Childe and Leslie White. He argues that universal evolution is the heritage of
nineteenth-century evolution.
➢ White and Childe, according to Steward, endeavor to keep the evolutionary concept of cultural stages
alive by relating these stages to the culture of mankind as a whole.
➢ The distinctive cultural traditions and the local variations of the cultural areas and sub-areas which have
developed due to special environments are excluded as irrelevant.
D) SAHLINS AND SERVICE : View : In his Evolution and Culture (1960), Sahlins touched on the areas
of cultural evolution and neo-evolutionism.
➢ Sahlins and Service (1960) proposed a dual scheme of evolution based on the accepted premise that
human society has evolved from simple to more complex states marked by increased population density
and more complex organizational structures without assuming that any of these transformations are
accompanied by any value judgments such as progress or betterment of human life.
➢ Sahlins also redefined the notion of culture to say that we can have a generalized and overall view of
culture as the larger culture of humankind that has transformed through major stages of development
such as agriculture, urbanization, industrialization, literacy, and technology. But cultures in the plural
refer to those specific adaptations to local environments that mark out the functional aspects of
individual cultures and their identity and boundaries.
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➢ Sahlins and Service use the imagery of a tree to describe what he calls GENERAL AND SPECIFIC
EVOLUTION. The main trunk of the tree is analogous to GENERAL EVOLUTION, it grows
outwards and upwards and takes only one direction. SPECIFIC EVOLUTION refers to the specific
adaptations of individual cultures to their environment.
➢ FOR EXAMPLE the advent of agriculture as a global event is part of General Evolution, but the
adaptation of the Eskimo to their local environment is an example of Specific evolution. The main trunk
of the tree is analogous to General Evolution, it grows outwards and upwards and takes only one
direction.
❖ Other Views : Stone Age Economics (1972) collects some of Sahlins's key essays in substantive economic
anthropology.
➢ In 1962, Elman Service published his four classifications of the stages of social evolution and political
organizations: band, tribe, chiefdom, and state.
➢ He main trunk of the tree is analogous to General Evolution, it grows outwards and upwards and takes
only one direction.
❖ Criticism : NEO EVOLUTIONISM :

1. Neo evolutionists were criticized mainly by functionalists for studying cultural traits in isolation, and
not as an integrated whole.
2. They had a lack of interest in the civilizational scheme outside the Middle East and Europe.
3. L A White was criticized by Steward for his vague generalization and ignorance of environmental
influences.
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Theory-08 : CULTURAL MATERIALISM

❖ CULTURAL MATERIALISM :
➢ Cultural : Complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs, and any other
capability acquired by man as a member of the society (Primitive Culture 1871). Thus, if you want to
study / understand Human culture, you must study the Material culture.
➢ Materialism : Using Materialistic conditions or materials in the study of the Evolution of a culture. For
instance - Human remains, jewels, pottery, idols, utensils etc.
❖ Cultural Materialism : Mervin Harris
MERVIN HARRIS : He coined the word In the book "Rise of Anthropological Theories" 1968.
❖ Inspiration
1. Julian Steward : Concept of Cultural Ecology.
2. Malthus : Concepts of Production. ( Resources / Food → in AP and
Population → in GP ).
3. Karl Marx : Concept of Social Structure ( pyramid ).
❖ Assumptions :
1. Inter Relationship among various parts of the society. Change in one
leads to change in another.
2. Environment is the basis of socio-cultural concepts. Eg:Turban (
Cultural-Ecology : Steward )
❖ Theory :
➢ Human social life is a response to practical problems of earthly existence and resource management
(Eg: Siberian Tribes like Chukchi, Ket).
➢ Social change is dependent on three factors of society -
1. Infrastructure:
✓ Modes of production: Consists of behavioural patterns required to satisfy needs for sustenance. (
Production of food + Production of Energy ).
✓ Modes of reproduction : Eg- Population, Mating Pattern, Fertility etc.
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2. Structure: Comprises organised patterns of social life

✓ Political: Political Organisation (military, police, class, caste etc)
✓ Domestic (family structure, community etc)
3. Super Structure: Ideological and Symbolic aspects
✓ Ideological and Symbolic aspects (Religion, Ideology, Myth, Dance, Music)
❖ Case Study
1. Sacred Cow
✓ Infrastructure : ( Modes of Production → Milk, curd, ghee etc, and Mode of Reproduction →
nutritional fulfillment for a child )
✓ Structure : ( In Ancient times, Having more no. of cows → represented more Economic and
Political powers )
✓ Social Structure : ( significance increases along with changed ideology towards the Cow →
Sacred status in society )
2. Pig haters and Pig Lovers :
✓ Infrastructure : ( Modes of Production → a liability in Saudi Arabia Peninsula and Mode of
Reproduction → No benefit )
✓ Structure : ( Less no. of pigs )
✓ Social Structure : ( Dirty animal as social status )
❖ Criticism :
1) Vulgar Materialism: Too simplified
2) Unidirectional
3) Strict use of scientific method
❖ Significance
➢ Problem-Solving
➢ Scientific
➢ Applicable across time and space.

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● Anthropological theories : Symbolic and interpretive theories (Turner, Schneider and Geertz).
Theory -09 : SYMBOLIC ANTHROPOLOGY
SYMBOLIC ANTHROPOLOGY:
❖ Symbols: Symbols are in a very basic and simple way, representations, but not necessarily actually
representing what they stand for. The relationship between what is represented (the signified) and what
represents (the signifier); is highly arbitrary and complex. Semiotics, as the study of symbols is attributed to
the American philosopher, Charles Sanders Peirce (1931-35), defined as the study of ‘Signs’. A sign is
anything that conveys a meaning.
➢ A symbol is not a stand-alone entity, it connects to other symbols and may also have different meanings
in different contexts. It signifies and stands for relationships that have meaning in their social and
cultural context. Culture is not just an interconnected network of symbols, but of the meanings that lie
behind them.
❖ Symbolic anthropology: Symbolic anthropology devotes to the analysis of symbols used by the members
of a society and helps decipher the significance hidden in their behavior and discover the patterns of meaning
within and among cultures. Symbolic anthropology studies the way people understand their surroundings, as
well as the actions and utterances of the other members of their society.
➢ These interpretations form a shared cultural system of meaning–i.e., understandings shared, to varying
degrees, among members of the same society (Des Chene 1996).
➢ Symbolic Anthropology is a term that marks both the intellectual movement of the 1970s and 1980s and
as an anthropological method. Symbolic anthropology studies symbols and the processes, such as myth
and ritual, by which humans assign meanings to these symbols to address fundamental questions about
human social life.
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❖ Approaches: Symbolic include two approaches -
1. Interpretive Approach: According to Clifford Geertz, humans need symbolic “sources of

illumination” to orient themselves with respect to the system of meaning that is any culture. Geertz’s
position illustrates the interpretive approach to symbolic anthropology.
2. Symbolic Approach: Victor Turner, on the other hand, states that symbols initiate social action and are
“determinable influences inclining persons and groups to action”. Turner illustrates the symbolic
approach.
❖ Premises:
➢ Symbolic anthropology views culture as an independent system of meaning deciphered by interpreting
key symbols and rituals
➢ Anthropologists’ interest in symbols and symbolic elements has been started with their observations of
the connection between myth and rituals.
➢ Culture is based on the symbols that guide community behavior.
➢ Symbols obtain meaning from the role which they play in the patterned
behavior of social life.
➢ Symbols are any objects, words, or signs which represent meanings and
serve as ways of communication by members of a particular community.
➢ Methodologically, symbolic anthropology is based on cross-cultural
comparison.
A) CLIFFORD GEERTZ : Clifford James Geertz (August 23, 1926 – October
30, 2006) was an American anthropologist who is remembered mostly for his
strong support for and influence on the practice of symbolic anthropology. He
served until his death as professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study,
Princeton.
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❖ Books/Work:
1. Religion in Modjokuto: A Study of Ritual Belief In A Complex Society(1956)
2. The Interpretation of Cultures(1973)
3. Kinship in Bali (1975)
❖ Views:
1. Concept of Culture: He defined culture as “a historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in
symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which men
communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and their attitudes toward life" (Geertz
1973).
✓ He emphasized studying culture from the perspective of the actors within that culture. This EMIC
PERSPECTIVE means that one must view individuals as attempting to interpret situations in order
to act. ( Outsider’s perspective → Etic and Insider’s perspective → Emic ).
2. Concept of Symbol: For Geertz symbols are “vehicles of culture”, meaning that symbols should not
be studied in and of themselves, but for what they can reveal about culture. Geertz's main interest was
the way in which symbols shape the ways that social actors see, feel, and think about the world.
3. Concept of Thick Description: The term was first introduced by 20th-century philosopher Gilbert
Ryle. However, the predominant sense in which it is used today was developed by anthropologist Clifford
Geertz in his book ‘The Interpretation of Cultures (1973)’ to characterize his own method of doing
ethnography. Thick description is a description of human social action that describes not just physical
behaviors, but their context as interpreted by the actors as well so that it can be better understood by an
outsider.
✓ British philosopher Gilbert Ryle mentions ‘Thin and Thick Description’. ( Thin description →
general overview / what we see per say, Thick description → describing in deeper detail / deeper
meaning of a particular situation holding a symbolic value ).
✓ Diagram:
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✓ To Geertz, to understand a culture, one needs to interpret the symbols, for which one needs a very
deep understanding of the culture, possible only through what he calls ‘thick ethnography’.
✓ The meaning of any behavior is not manifested at the surface but is obtainable by both the subjective
interpretation of the actor and the external contextualization within the broader meaning system of
the culture that has to be ascertained through in-depth qualitative fieldwork. Without reference to the
way the actors understand and interpret their actions, it is not possible to get a realistic understanding
of any culture.
✓ Since meanings are internal to the culture, they can be accessed only through intensive interactions
with the members of that culture. Symbols are not just systems of meanings, but they are also
associated with deep-seated emotions and may stimulate moods and motivations, especially those
that are associated with the sacred realm.
✓ Thus, symbols can stimulate both a state of mind, what Geertz refers to as a mood, and motivation
for actions. The powerful symbols are situated in the realm of the sacred as the sacred stimulates our
innermost emotions and pushes us to cross boundaries
❖ Case Study :
1. Cockfight : The essay “Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight” in the book The Interpretation
of Cultures (Geertz 1973).
✓ Cockfight:- Thick Description
• Express dominance, status, and respect
• Resistance towards governments
• Express existing competition
• Symbol of masculinity
• Fight till death attitude
2. To illustrate a thick description, Geertz uses Ryle’s example which discusses the difference between a
“blink” and a “wink.”
B) VICTOR TURNER : Victor Witter Turner (28 May 1920 – 18 December 1983) was a British cultural
anthropologist best known for his work on symbols, rituals, and rites of
passage. He later pursued graduate studies in anthropology at
Manchester University. Turner was influenced early on by the structural-
functionalist approach of British social anthropology.
❖ Work/Books:
1) The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual (1967)
2) The Drums of Affliction: A Study of Religious Processes Among
the Ndembu of Zambia (1968)
3) The Ritual Process: Structure & Anti-Structure (1969).
251
4) Dramas, Fields, & Metaphors (1974)

5) Revelation & Divination in Ndembu Ritual (1975)
❖ Views: Turner was not interested in symbols as vehicles of “culture”, rather he instead investigated
symbols as “operators in the social process”. Symbols “instigate social action” and exert “determinable
influences inclining persons and groups to action” (Turner 1967)
➢ Turner felt that these “operators,” by their arrangement and context, produce “social transformations”
which tie the people in a society to the society’s norms, resolve conflict, and aid in changing the status
of the actors.
✓ Concept of Social Drama: Victor Turner defines the social drama as "a sequence of social
interactions of a conflictive, competitive, or agonistic type". A social drama is “a spontaneous unit
of social process and a fact of everyone’s experience in every human society”. He delineates its
stages as a breach, crisis, redress, and reintegration or schism.
1. Breach of norm-governed social relations
2. Crisis, during which there is a tendency for the breach to widen and in public forums,
representatives of order are dared to grapple with it;
3. Redressive action, ranging from personal advice and informal mediation or arbitration to
formal juridical and legal machinery, and to resolve certain kinds of crisis or legitimate other
modes of resolution, to the performance of public ritual.
4. Reintegration of the disturbed social group, or of the social recognition and legitimation of
irreparable schism between the contesting parties.
➢ Example: Victor Turner has described a rich system of ritual symbolism among the Ndembu (1967)
and also has contributed important theoretical orientation in the
field (1969;1975). Ritual symbolism among the Ndembu of Zambia
is dominated by the existence of a set of key symbolic objects and
qualities (for example colors).
✓ These colors consistently recur in ritual acts and settings. Each
symbolic object or quality possesses a broad fan of meanings
ranging from physiological and psychological referents to
social and abstract ones.
C) DAVID SCHNEIDER : David Murray Schneider (November 11,
1918, Brooklyn, New York – October 30, 1995, Santa Cruz, California)
was an American cultural anthropologist, best known for his studies of
kinship and as a major proponent of the symbolic anthropology approach
to cultural anthropology.
252
❖ Views:
1. Concept of Culture: David Murray Schneider defined culture as a system of meanings and symbols
and emphatically distinguished culture from the social system.
2. Concept of Symbol: A symbol is “something which stands for something else.
✓ He did not make the complete break from structuralism that had been made by Geertz and Turner,
rather he retained and modified Levi-Strauss’ idea of culture as a set of relationships. Regularity in
behavior is not necessarily “culture,” nor can culture be inferred from a regular pattern of behavior.
Schneider was interested in the connections between cultural symbols and observable events and
strove to identify the symbols and meanings that governed the rules of a society.
✓ Schneider’s most widely cited book is American Kinship: A Cultural Account, in which he
employed kinship to illustrate his approach to studying culture. He attempted to eliminate prior
assumptions, identify the meanings and symbols through which community members define their
own cultural units.
➢ Criticism: Symbolic Anthropology : Symbolic anthropology has come under fire along several
fronts, most notably from Marxists.
✓ In an important critique of Geertz’s views on religion, Talal Asad (1983) attacks the dualism
evident in Geertz’s arguments.
✓ While acknowledging Geertz’s strengths, Asad argues that Geertz’s weakness lies in the
disjunction between external symbols and internal dispositions, corresponding to the gap between
“cultural system” and “social reality”, when attempting to define the concept of religion in
universal terms.
✓ In addition, Marxists charge that symbolic anthropology, while describing social conduct and
symbolic systems, does not attempt to explain these systems, instead focusing too much on the
individual symbols themselves.
✓ symbolic anthropology did not attempt to carry out their research in a manner so that other
researchers could reproduce their results.

EX – 1.1

1. Cognitive theories (Tyler, Conklin)
2. Post-modernism in anthropology.
Theory -10 : POST-MODERNISM in Anthropology.
MODERNISM : When the Enlightenment (a movement in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries)
began, human reason began to take precedence over established institutions, the supernatural, and blind
faith. Since that time, modernity has begun to emerge. The Renaissance brought about modernity.
Science, technology, and human reason have become increasingly significant with great influence over
the centuries.
➢ Modernism was associated with industrial development and a fall in attitudes towards
superstition, religion, and other forms of backwardness that rendered society "less modern" or
traditional in outlook.
➢ Modernism was similar to a philosophy that placed emphasis on a certain way of thinking, a fresh
and forward-thinking perspective on society created by removing the constraints of conventional
wisdom and antiquated customs. This trend was seen to be most characterized by its "self-
consciousness."
➢ The previous systems of social, economic, and political organizations were replaced by a new
form of art, philosophy, architecture, lifestyle, economy, and politics as a result of modernism.
Progress was modernism's primary goal. It helped people adopt a more logical outlook on life.
❖ POST-MODERNISM : The word ‘post’ is a prefix that means ‘after’ or “later”, so the word Post
Modernism refers to a philosophical movement that came after ‘Modernism’. The movement started
in the late decades of the 20th century. It meant breaking barriers with everything that existed before
in human civilization. One of the very important facets of post-modernism is that the post-modernists
do not believe in fixed, identifiable definitions. They do not have strict boundaries for defining
anything as everything is based on one’s personal subjectivity and interpretation. More or less, it’s
like a belief system that is indefinite and confusing in nature.
EX – 1.2
➢ For post-modernist theorists, reality is always incomprehensible, truth is something that is

socially constructed, and it’s ever dynamic in nature. THE term POSTMODERN was coined by
a historian named ARNOLD TOYNBEE in the 40s.
❖ Principal Tenets:
A. One of the very important features of Postmodernism is its disenchantment with Modernism.
B. Globalization is supported by the postmodernist school of thought. They support a free society.
According to postmodernism philosophy, ethics is a personal matter and not a societal one. Each
person has a unique set of moral standards, which may vary from one another.
C. Postmodernism is seen as a fairly liberal intellectual system in which all religions are valued
highly. It is quite liberal and secular in its outlook and does not place emphasis on the
significance of any one religion.
D. As per postmodernism There is no one right way to live. Everyone has the unrestricted liberty to
live their lives as they choose. According to postmodernists, there is no such thing as an
unchanging reality; everything is relative and dependent on how one chooses to perceive the
world.
E. Human subjectivity is valued. The postmodernists hold that every person creates their own reality
based on their culture, surroundings, and experiences.
F. Postmodernism opposes the conventional historical perspective. They see the past as something
hazy that hinders any comprehension of the present. Since postmodernists reject the idea of an
absolute truth, they do not get mired in the categories of "right" and "wrong."
G. The notion of knowledge in the post-modern condition meant to terminate the ‘grand’ theories
and the metanarratives that were prevalent in the modern condition. They believe in
DECONSTRUCTION.
❖ DECONSTRUCTION: Deconstruction forms a very significant aspect of post modernism. This was
found in the work of Jacques Derrida. It says that nothing in the world has one and constant meaning.
Every meaning changes in different contexts. To comprehend them better, all of the meanings must
be broken down.
➢ Derrida claims that structuralism was the first movement to adopt the term deconstruction.
Derrida objected to the term "method" being applied to deconstruction because method is more
akin to a mechanical operation. Deconstruction is neither a critique nor an analysis, according to
Derrida. A single reading of the texts and objective meanings are rejected by postmodernism.
EX – 1.3
➢ Deconstruction is the process of pursuing a meaning of a specific text to the point where all of
its inherent oppositions and contradictions are revealed. This demonstrates that every type of text
has more than one meaning and is therefore a potential source of information about various
hidden truths that can be discovered by deconstruction analysis users.
❖ Criticism:
1. For many, Post Modern school of thought is vague. It adds nothing analytical to the present
system of knowledge.
2. They are not flexible to explain the social, environmental, and psychological aspects of life.
3. Postmodernists do not give any regard to the historical developments of civilizations of the past.
4. It was not ‘objective’ in the pure sense of the term.
Theory -11 : COGNITIVE ANTHROPOLOGY
❖ COGNITIVE Anthropology : Cognitive anthropology is the study of the relation between society
and human thought (Andrade). Cognitive anthropology focuses on the cultural understanding, which
is encased in words, narrative and material culture, and is grasped and shared with others. In the
beginning of the mid-1950 scholars constructed a new methodology ‘Cognitive’ or ‘Ethnoscience’
or ‘New ethnography’, which emerged as a critique of the then-existing traditional ethnography,
questioning basically the methods of it.
➢ Cognitive anthropology is the study of the relation between society and human thought
(Andrade). Cognitive anthropology focuses on the cultural understanding, which is encased in
words, narrative and material culture, and is grasped and shared with others.
➢ In the beginning of the mid-1950 scholars constructed a new methodology ‘Cognitive’ or

‘Ethnoscience’ or ‘New ethnography’, which emerged as a critique of the then-existing
traditional ethnography, questioning basically its methods of it.
➢ Traditional Ethnographic issues : These scholars argued on the basis that there is no one method
that is followed by anthropologists and everyone studied and wrote in his or her own way.
EX – 1.4
➢ As a result, ethnographies varied in their information and could not be compared. In order to
make it more scientific and the descriptions in these ethnographies more accurate they argued for
some new Methodology, which is outlined with an emic perspective.
❖ Concept:
1) This field of anthropology details culture and human perceptions.
2) It aims to understand how people understand their surrounding artifacts and environment.
3) Although Ethnoscientists focused more on making ethnographies more scientific and replicable,
the natives’ point of view was not a new addition to the approach.
❖ Phases:
1) FIRST, where aims of cognitive anthropology were set involving studies on symbolism which
were combined with linguistic understanding. ( ~1950’s )
2) SECOND, was initiated by an in-depth study of cultural wisdom by utilizing methods that have
been already in existence. There were studies that focused on psychological theorizing. This
period extended from the late 1950s to the early 1970’s oriented towards methods utilized,
construction as a subject, and quantification, which mostly occurred in five universities majorly
Yale, Stanford, Irvin, Pennsylvania, and Berkeley.
❖ Here, Existing methods are being used for better understanding of various topics. Eg- folk tales.
3) THE THIRD PHASE started at the beginning of the mid-1970s developed by Eleanor Rosch,
the link between language-based units and of prototypes which were pure psychological units
was formulated. By the early 1980’s a shift to schema theory was observed
4) THE FOURTH PHASE which is comparatively new, has the centrality of schema in connection
with the actions. Emotion, socialization, and concerns on cognitive structure with physical
construct. Connectivism came up.
❖ Terms:
A. Cultural schema theory is a cognitive theory that explains how people organize and process
information about events and objects in their cultural environment. According to the theory,
individuals rely on schemas, or mental frameworks, to understand and make sense of the world
around them.
B. Schemata are organized hierarchical structures in which schemata at the higher levels represent
the most general concepts, and schemata at successively lower levels represent more and more
specific concepts.
EX – 1.5
C. Ethnographic semantics is the description of semantic characteristics that are culturally

revealing. In anthropology, it has come to include a number of different types of analysis which
have so far been used mostly in studies of kinship and folk science. Semantics is the study of
meaning in language. ( Study of Meaning of Language )
D. Ethnosemantics, sometimes called “ethnoscience,” is the scientific study of the ways in which
people label and classify the social, cultural, and environmental phenomena of their world. One
of the best examples of this is the terminology people use for naming colors.
   

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DAILY

MARRIAGE-01 (Unit - 2.3)

Topics covered from the Syllabus-

❖ Laws of marriage (endogamy, exogamy, incest taboo).

MARRIAGE: Definition and Universality

❖ George Peter Murdock :

➢ In Social Structure (1949), he defined marriage as a universal institution that

➢ Exception: Nayar Community

➢ In 'History of Human marriage' (1891) defined, “Marriage is a relation of one or

➢ Exception: Excludes homosexuality eg Azande of Sudan

➢ In her study of the Nayars (1959), she defined marriage as a 'relationship

➢ Exception: Nandi of Kenya.

➢ Exception: Live-in relationship, Nayars

❖ Notes and Queries on Anthropology 1951:

➢ Exception: Homosexuality , Polygamy not considered Eg - Jaunsar community

➢ Exception: Polygamy not considered, Nayar

➢ Marriage is a social arrangement by which a child is given a legitimate position in

➢ Exception: Live in relationship

➢ Give one or both partners a monopoly on the other's sexuality.

➢ Give one or both spouses the right to the other's labor.

➢ Assign one or both spouses ownership of the other's assets.

➢ Establish a joint fund or property—a partnership-for the benefit of the children.

➢ Establish a socially significant "relationship of affinity" between spouses and their

MARRIAGE: Laws of Marriage

➢ Mc Lennen in his book ‘Primitive marriages’ defined the word “Endogamy”.

1) Caste System in India ( Hypergamy / anuloma -> boy of higher status)

2) Sub-Caste: e.g. Thakur caste or Tyagi Caste in U.P.

3) Ethnic: e.g. Nagas and Khasi

2) to preserve the line (Ancient Egyptians) 2) Ethnocentrism

3) ethnic and religious customs Using a Parsi example 3) Regionalism

4) Sense of Unity ( According to William Brown ) 4) Health

➢ Mc Lennen in his book ‘Primitive marriages’ defined the word “Exogamy”.

➢ Marriage outside of one's social group is customary.

B. Deity: eg Vittu Peramal

C. Clan: eg: Muria Gond (Chhattisgarh)

D. Parvara: Common saint concept

❖ Childhood Familiarity - Westermarck ❖ Moving out – Disadvantage

❖ Alliance Creation (Levi-Strauss’s (monetary)

Theory) ❖ Cultural Contrast: University of

❖ Stability and peace Helsinki (Finland)- leading to

❖ Health (Broad Gene-pool) divorce.

❖ Diversify mate selection

➢ Incest : Sexual intercourse between individuals related in a certain degree of

➢ Incest Taboo Theories:

1) Biological Degeneration/Inbreeding Theory - C.H.Morgan (an Evolutionary

Eg: Australopithecus (4 to 1 mya).

2) Family Disruption Theory-Malinowski

✓ In order to prevent the family from disruption Incest Taboo is formed.

3) Childhood Familiarity Theory by Westermarck

✓ Incest taboo in the form of Exogamy.

4) Psychoanalytic Theory by Freud

✓ According to this theory a strong sexual relation exists between two

5) Cooperation / Alliance Theory by Levi-Strauss

✓ According to it, only this universal prohibition of incest pushes human

6) Instinctive Horror by R. H. Lowie

✓ According to it, our brain is genetically programmed for certain incest.

Eg: No sexual Attraction towards mother.

MARRIAGE-02 ( Unit - 2.3 )

❖ Laws of marriage ( hypergamy, hypogamy).

❖ Type of marriage (monogamy, polygamy, polyandry, group marriage).

❖ Marriage payments (bride wealth and dowry).

❖ In a hypergamous marriage, a man arranges