The dynamics of clanship among the Tallensi: being the first part of an analysis of the social structure of a Trans-Volta tribe

Fortes, Meyer

Book

The dynamics of clanship among the Tallensi: being the first part of an analysis of the social structure of a Trans-Volta tribe

Oxford University Press for the International African Institute • London • Published In 1945 • Pages:

By: Fortes, Meyer.

Abstract
This source is devoted to a structural analysis of the clanship and lineage relationships among the Tallensi. It deals with the constitution and interrelations of the corporate groupings found in Tallensi society. He develops the idea that the tendency towards equilibrium is marked in every sector of Tallensi society and in the society as a whole, this tendency being a result of the dominance of the lineage principle in the social structure. He spends some time relating the economy and religion to the lineage system within the structure of the society. The interpenetrations of kinship with these aspects of the structure are left for a second volume. Material culture is touched upon only incidentally. Fortes received his doctorate in psychology from the University of London in 1930, studying subsequently under Radcliffe-Brown and Malinowski. He is currently William Wyse Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge.

Sacred objects and places

Mythology

Ethos

Community structure