essay
Time and social structure: an Ashanti case study
Social structure: studies presented to A. R. Radcliffe-Brown • London • Published In 1949 • Pages: 54-84
By: Fortes, Meyer.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This study of domestic groupings in the two rural Ashanti townships of Asokore and Agogo is particularly important because it defines for the first time the extremely complex residence patterns which underlie Ashanti household organization. The data were derived from the Ashanti Social Survey (Fortes 1947), and also from census records collected in the field by Miss P. Ady, a member of the Survey. Fortes indicates through statistical analysis of the composition of the Ashanti dwelling group that ...'Ashanti domestic organization is the result of the interaction of a number of fairly defined factors operating both at a given time and over a stretch of time.' These factors include the rule of matrilineal descent and the recognition of paternity, the sex of the household head, the tendency to seek a compromise between the ties of marriage and parenthood on the one hand and those of maternal kinship on the other, and the ideal that every mature person, especially a man, should have his own household. In addition to analyses of residence patterns and household composition, Fortes provides some information on interpersonal relationships, the relative ststus of males and females within the society, and Ashanti values and motivations as they apply to the dynamics of domestic groupings. The tables of statistical data indicate age, sex, kin relationships, marital status and number of children of household units examined in Asokore and Agogo, as well as age distribution of household heads in years (for both males and females), and the percentage of age group in the population who are household heads. Fortes was Professor of Social Anthropology at Cambridge University.
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Akan
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2019
- 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
- essay
- 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
- Mary L. Bartlett ; July 1953
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1945-1946
- 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)
- Ashanti; Ghana; townships of Asokore and Agogo
- NotesAdditional notes
- Meyer Fortes
- The author's discussion of his own and Radcliffe-Brown's concepts of social structure may be found on pp. 54-60.
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Twi (African peoples)