Rules and Boundaries in Daily Practices

Rules and boundaries exist in our daily practices. The rules and boundaries are communicated in many different forms within our social lives, governing our social relations. They persist despite the constant flow of personnel and the long-term maintenance of social relations across them (Barth, 1969). Social boundaries are not always obvious and spoken. Our society is made up of different cultures and social classes, however as individuals we all share one thing in common. “In our lives we will pass through many series of passages, from one state to another, usually marked through ‘special acts’ such as a ceremony “ (Gennep, 1960). These special acts are constrained with rules and boundaries that aren’t inevitably apparent. Examples of these special acts include the engaging of romantic relationships as well as celebrating a coming of age in the instance of a 21st birthday. In cultures, other than western, distinct social relations have been observed in anthropologists’ fieldwork. These social relations appear obscure however, for instance, in the case of Claire Smiths study of the complex Aboriginal kinship system which is a sole determinant through ‘skin groups’ in the Barunga-Wuglarr are the relationships occupied in their community. Another dissimilar paradigm is that of Christine Helliwell’s (1996) study into the space and sociality in a Dayak longhouse. Where rules and boundaries are unwritten but understood, governing the social relations of the community and their actions within the longhouse.

Throughout the world and cross culturally there are rites of passage that celebrate the coming of age. The Jewish coming of age is celebrated at the age of 13 with a bar mitzvah. A young lady, traditionally from an aristocratic or upper class family celebrates her coming of age into maturity as a debutante at a ball, usually at the age of 18. Arnold Van Gennep (1960) was one of the first people to explore into the rites of passage. He saw the life of individuals in

Cited: Smith, C. 2004 Country, Kin and Culture: Survival of an Aboriginal Community contact and conflict South Australia, Wakefield Press pp 8-9 85-87 Burke, H and Smith, C Argyle, M. and Henderson, M. 1984 Endorsed and Applied Rules of Relationships Reported by Teachers Oxford Review of Education vol. 10, No 2, pp. 193-202 Stevenson, A and Lindberg, C Van Gennep, A 1960 Rites of Passage, Chicago, University Chicago Press Turner, V, 1969, The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure, New York, Aldine Publishers. Kohli, M. 1986 ‘The World We Forgot: A Historical Review of the Life Course’, in V