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Social Change and the Symbolism of Dress in Kalabari Women's Societies
Author(s) -
Michelman Susan O.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
family and consumer sciences research journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.372
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1552-3934
pISSN - 1077-727X
DOI - 10.1177/1077727x9502300402
Subject(s) - kinship , social stratification , gender studies , social change , sociology , politics , niger delta , social status , power (physics) , social class , political science , social science , anthropology , delta , law , physics , engineering , quantum mechanics , aerospace engineering
In this article, the author examines Kalabari women's contemporary progression from an iria‐related social identity associated with procreation to one reflecting greater social, economic, and political achievement. Such social stratification is symbolically displayed in the dress of women's societies. Women's societies are voluntary associations of women not based on kinship that are social, cultural, and sometimes philanthropic. The Kalabari people reside in three towns of the Niger River delta of southeastern Nigeria. Two case studies of Kalabari women in the 19th century are presented to promote an appreciation of the social development of women in Kalabari society. Dress is also examined as a symbolic reflection of cultural conflict, regarding issues of power and social control, between males and females.