essay
Gender and life-course strategies among the Gusii
African families and the crisis of social change • Westport, Conn. • Published In 1997 • Pages: 253-267
By: Håkansson, Thomas, LeVine, Robert Alan.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In Gusii society not only is the road toward an ideal old age different for men and women, but the ways in which each gender achieves the ideal are mutually contradictory. As in many other African societies, the family provides security and comfort in old age. However, principles of separation and authority based on gender, generation, kinship, and affinity, which define relationships between Gusii family members, differentially affect the life course goals of men and women. These principles are expressed in the division of labor, resource control, and rules of avoidance (CHINSONI). The authors' objective in this article is to explore the material and social consequences for the elderly of the structurally opposed life-course strategies that result from intrafamily dynamics in 1940-1989 Gusii society (p. 3).
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Sociocultural trends
- Real property
- Saving and investment
- Labor supply and employment
- Mode of marriage
- Family relationships
- Polygamy
- Education system
- Senescence
- Status and treatment of the aged
- Gender roles and issues
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Gusii
- 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
- Eastern 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
- John Beierle ; 2005
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- no date
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1940-1989
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Kisi District, western Kenya
- NotesAdditional notes
- N. Thomas Håkansson and Robert LeVine
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 266-267)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 96045346
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Gusii (African people)