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 InstituteLondonPublished In 1945 • Pages:

By: Fortes, Meyer.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
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.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Clans
Kin relationships
Rule of descent
Lineages
Avoidance and taboo
Spirits and gods
Lineages
Cult of the dead
Sacred objects and places
Mythology
Ethos
Community structure
Community heads
Gender status
Settlement patterns
Real property
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Tallensi
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2010
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Africa
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Western Africa
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
Book
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
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
Timothy J. O'Leary ; 1957
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1934-1937 ; 1943
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1934-1945
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Tongo village, Ghana
NotesAdditional notes
Meyer Fortes
Includes bibliographical references and index
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
a 47002656
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Tallensi (African people)