Book
Kinship in Bengali culture
University of Chicago Press • Chicago • Published In 1977 • Pages:
By: Inden, Ronald B., Nicholas, Ralph W..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The approach to Bengali kinship as presented in this work is based primarily on David M. Schneider's analysis in 'American Kinship' (l968). The authors, as with Schneider, define the 'kinship system' as a cultural system. This they further define as a 'system of symbols', or more precisely, a system of 'meanings' of symbols (p. xii). Using these definitions as a basis of their work Inden and Nicholas examine the various symbols in Bengali culture '…that have meanings connected with social solidarity, whether in the form of 'duties' (KARTAVYA) or in one of the many differentiated forms of 'love' (PREMA)' (p. xiii). They attempt to understand these symbols and show how the Bengalis utilize them in defining relationships. Thus, in Chapter 1 of this source, the structure of Bengali kinship categories is examined and an explanation, from the Bengali standpoint, is presented as to why they are structured in this way. Chapter 2 of this work describes the 'life cycle rites' (SAMSKARAS), the symbolic acts by means of which kin relationships are created and transformed. The source concludes with chapter 3, an examination of the ways in which Bengali 'kinship terminology' is related to the structure and transformation of kin relationships (p. xvii).
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Nuptials
- Family relationships
- Kinship terminology
- Kin relationships
- Ritual
- Ethnopsychology
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Bengali
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2002
- 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
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypesThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Historian
- 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.
- 4: Excellent Secondary 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 ; 1992
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1960-61, 1968-69, 1970 [N]; 1963-64 [I] [p. x]
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- not specified
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Hindu [p. xi]; primarily West Bengal [pp. xvi-xvii]
- NotesAdditional notes
- By Ronald B. Inden and Ralph W. Nicholas
- Includes index. Bibliography: p. 127-134
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 76025639
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Bengalis