essay

Language and social forms: a study of Toda kinship and dual descent

Language, culture and personality: essays in memory of Edward SapirMenashaPublished In 1941 • Pages: 158-179

By: Emeneau, M. B. (Murray Barnson).

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This document presents a detailed study of the kinship system of the Nilgiris Toda in South India, along with an analysis of the functioning of the two sib-systems (patrilineal and matrilineal) in relation to one another and to the society as a whole. In his description of the above aspects of Toda society the author attempts to use native songs which he considers as the Toda art form of highest prestige, to verify certain parts of his data (e.g., when two persons sing together, special care would be taken to use the correct kinship terms in the song relevant to the degree of relationship of the two participating singers). The document concludes with a critique of the theories of the "origin" of the Toda (especially Rivers theory of a Malabar origin).
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Kinship terminology
Kin relationships
Clans
Linguistic identification
Etiquette
Music
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Toda
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2010
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Asia
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
South Asia
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
essay
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Linguist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle; 1965
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1935-1938
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1935-1938
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Nilgiri Hills, southern India
NotesAdditional notes
Murray B. Emeneau
Includes bibliographical references
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
42002294
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Toda (Indic people)