Book

The politics of kinship: a study in social manipulation among the lakeside Tonga of Nyasaland

Published on behalf of The Rhodes-Livingston Institute (University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland) by the Manchester University Press ; and in the U.S.A. by Humanities Press, Inc.Manchester [Eng.] • Published In 1964 • Pages:

By: Van Velsen, J..

Abstract
A superb ethnography on Lakeshore Tonga kinship and politics, which employs a situational analysis approach. The study shows how leaders to the extent possible attract followers and augment or maintain power by manipulating lineage and affinal connections, bridewealth debt, cross-cousin marriage, access to land and marital residence. Van Velsen analysizes several case studies, including ‘Meya's Death,’ expertly accounting for the different behavior of individuals and groups.
Subjects
Borrowing and lending
Status, role, and prestige
Regulation of marriage
Mode of marriage
Residence
Kin relationships
Lineages
Community structure
Community heads
Inter-community relations
culture
Lakeshore Tonga
HRAF PubDate
2001
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Southern Africa
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnographer
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Ian Skoggard;1999
Field Date
1952-1955
Coverage Date
1930-1952
Coverage Place
Nkhata Bay district, Northern Province, Malawi
Notes
by J. van Velsen
Includes bibliographical references (p. 327-330)
LCCN
64005609
LCSH
Ethnology--Malawi