article

Fanti kinship: language, inheritance, and kin groups

Anthropos86 (1-3)Published In 1991 • Pages: 19-31

By: Kronenfeld, David B..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is a sophisticated study of the relationship between inheritance and kinship terminology among the Fanti of Ghana's southern coast. Kronenfeld shows how the adoption of English kin terms coincides with changing property relations and inheritance patterns among the Fanti. Property was transmitted according to seniority and classificatory siblingship within the matrilineage. Today it is largely kept within the nuclear family, which is reflected in the borrowing of English kin terms to distinguish real parents and siblings from the larger field of lineage siblings and parents.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Inheritance
Age stratification
Gender status
Kinship terminology
Lineages
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Akan
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2000
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
article
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.
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
Ian Skoggard ;1999
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
Not Specified
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1950-1990
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Ashanti; Egyaa No. 1, Ghana
NotesAdditional notes
David B. Kronenfeld
Includes bibliographical references (p. 31)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
07021775
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Akan (African people)