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Death and Kinship in Hinduism: Structural and Functional Interpretations
Author(s) -
Orenstein Henry
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.1970.72.6.02a00090
Subject(s) - kinship , hinduism , sociology , value (mathematics) , genealogy , epistemology , anthropology , history , philosophy , religious studies , mathematics , statistics
This paper is, first, a structural analysis demonstrating that in Hindu sacred “law” death rites reflect a conception of kinship wherein intimacy is affected not only by such matters as genealogical distance, but also by differences in spiritual purity among kinsmen. Second, the paper shows that structural analysis of particular civilizations have more than intrinsic value, that they are also a necessary adjunct to highly general functional theories.