comparative ethonographic review
National University of Singapore
Sociology Department
SC2218
Anthropology and the Human Condition
Comparative Ethnographic Review Essay
It would seem that in every society, marriage is one necessary representation of the society’s culture. Marriage regulates, organizes and legitimizes sexual relations. Human societies have many different marriage systems, and in my review of “Everyday Life in Southeast Asia” and “The Dobe Ju/’hoansi”, it seems that this recurring theme of marriage is always constrained by the cultures, or rules, that were built upon it. While we see illustrations of elaborate structures within culture that determine if a union between two human beings through marriage is possible, I will attempt to show that such belief of the rigidity of marriage systems being constrained by culture are actually contrary, and that human beings, being agents of their cultural structure, are able to effect change and make decisions outside the control of these marriage systems and cultural structures.
Arranged Marriages Among the Ju/’hoan
In Richard Lee’s book on the Ju/’hoansi, he mentioned that the search for a marriage partner for a boy or a girl usually begins soon after a child is born. In their society, all first marriages are arranged by the parents and may involve a decade or more of gift exchange between parents of prospective bride and grooms, known as kamasi - before the children are actually wed. Girls or boys are strictly constrained in their marriage within this system in terms of whom they may marry. This is because the arrangement of marriage is bound by rules within Ju/’hoan culture, such as the kinship and name relationship of the prospects. Without going into the specific rules, what this translates to is that when a boy’s and a girl’s prohibitions are all put together, up to three quarters of all potential spouses may be excluded by reason of real kin ties or name relations. Lee
Sociology Department
SC2218
Anthropology and the Human Condition
Comparative Ethnographic Review Essay
It would seem that in every society, marriage is one necessary representation of the society’s culture. Marriage regulates, organizes and legitimizes sexual relations. Human societies have many different marriage systems, and in my review of “Everyday Life in Southeast Asia” and “The Dobe Ju/’hoansi”, it seems that this recurring theme of marriage is always constrained by the cultures, or rules, that were built upon it. While we see illustrations of elaborate structures within culture that determine if a union between two human beings through marriage is possible, I will attempt to show that such belief of the rigidity of marriage systems being constrained by culture are actually contrary, and that human beings, being agents of their cultural structure, are able to effect change and make decisions outside the control of these marriage systems and cultural structures.
Arranged Marriages Among the Ju/’hoan
In Richard Lee’s book on the Ju/’hoansi, he mentioned that the search for a marriage partner for a boy or a girl usually begins soon after a child is born. In their society, all first marriages are arranged by the parents and may involve a decade or more of gift exchange between parents of prospective bride and grooms, known as kamasi - before the children are actually wed. Girls or boys are strictly constrained in their marriage within this system in terms of whom they may marry. This is because the arrangement of marriage is bound by rules within Ju/’hoan culture, such as the kinship and name relationship of the prospects. Without going into the specific rules, what this translates to is that when a boy’s and a girl’s prohibitions are all put together, up to three quarters of all potential spouses may be excluded by reason of real kin ties or name relations. Lee
Bibliography: Gillogly, K. (2011). Marriage and Opium in a Lisu Village in Northern Thailand. In K. A. Adams, Everyday Life in Southeast Asia (pp. 79-88). Indiana, United States of America: Indiana University Press. Jonsson, H. (2011). Recording Tradition and Measuring Progress in the Ethnic Minority Highlands of Thailand. In K. A. Adams, Everyday Life in Southeast Asia (pp. 107-116). Indiana, United States of America: Indiania University Press. Lee, R. B. (2012). The Dobe Ju/ 'hoansi. (Fourth Edition). Toronto: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Lyons, M. F. (2011). Narratives of Agency: Sex Work in Indonesia 's Borderlands. In K. A. Adams, Everyday Life in Southeast Asia (pp. 295-303). Indiana, United States of America: Indiania University Press.