changing concepts of incest among the Nuer

Diverging from the general tendency among anthropologists to conceptualize the “problem of incest” in ahistorical terms, I examine here some of the historical processes involved in the redefinition of various categories of incest by Nuer over the last half century. In particular, I analyze the dynamic relationship between indigenous discourse about the nature of incest on the one hand, and shifting relations of power among various segments of the population on the other. [incest and exogamy, social change, alliance and descent, Nuer]