article
Utani: joking, sexual license and social obligations among the Luguru
American anthropologist • 65 (6) • Published In 1963 • Pages: 1314-1327
By: Christensen, James Boyd.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This study discusses the meaning and role of a joking relationship among a category of persons belonging to exogamous Luguru clans. Locally referred to as “utani,” two persons who stand as “joking relatives” vis-à-vis each other are by custom permitted, and in some instances required, to tease or make fun of each other without being offended. This expectation is reportedly useful for resolving tensions between preferentially marriageable cross-cousins from structurally competing Luguru clans. Joking relationships may also mitigate conflicts between the Luguru and neighboring non-Luguru communities.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Kin relationships
- Clans
- Regulation of marriage
- Kinship regulation of sex
- Burial practices and funerals
- Mutual aid
- Humor
- Social control
- Inter-community relations
- Inter-ethnic relations
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Luguru
- 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
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Anthropologist
- 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
- Teferi Abate Adem; 2020
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1959-1960
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1959-1960
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Uluguru Mountains, Morogoro Region, Tanzania
- NotesAdditional notes
- James Boyd Christensen
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 1326-1327)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 17015424
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Luguru (African people)