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Shrines, Ancestors, and Cognatic Descent: The Kwaio and Tallensi 1
Author(s) -
KEESING ROGER M.
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1970.72.4.02a00010
Subject(s) - descent (aeronautics) , parallels , kinship , genealogy , common descent , history , sociology , anthropology , geography , biology , genetics , meteorology , mechanical engineering , gene , engineering , phylogenetic tree
Parallels between Kwaio (Solomon Islands) social structure and the system of ancestral cults and shrines are drawn. Kwaio distinguish between, and make important use of, agnatic descent, cognatic descent, and cognatic kinship, and each is reflected in ritual. Comparisons are drawn between Kwaio social structure, ancestors, and shrines, and those of the Tallensi. Remarkable similarities emerge. It is suggested that many facets of “complementary filiation,” and other features of Tallensi social structure, may reflect a secondary principle of cognatic descent.