Book
The web of kinship among the Tallensi: the second part of an analysis of the social structure of a Trans-Volta tribe
Oxford University Press for the International African Institute • London • Published In 1949 • Pages:
By: Fortes, Meyer.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This source is the second volume of a description and functional analysis of the social structure of the Tallensi, a large group living in the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast Colony (present-day Ghana). The emphasis here is upon the ramifications of kinship in a patrilineal society and its intermeshing with the lineage principle. Attention is paid to the importance of the mother and of matrilineal kin in this overtly patrilineal society, and the spiritual, rather than legal, bonds developing among them. Also stressed are the tensions which arise from the opposition of kinship and the lineage principle, and the reduction of these tensions. Material culture is touched upon only as it is relevant to the problem under discussion. Fortes received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in psychology from the University of London in 1930, and subsequently studied under Bronislaw Malinowski and A. R. Radcliffe-Brown. While in the field he was influenced by the work of Raymond Firth. Fortes was William Wyse Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Household
- Family relationships
- Extended families
- Kin relationships
- Rule of descent
- Ethnopsychology
- Parents-in-law and children-in-law
- Community structure
- Community heads
- Basis of marriage
- Mode of marriage
- Termination of marriage
- Etiquette
- Gender status
- Polygamy
- Prayers and sacrifices
- Techniques of socialization
- Inheritance
- Ethics
- 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 ; 1945
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1934-1949
- 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
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 49048818
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Kinship
- Tallensi (African people)