Book
The Bedouin of Cyrenaica: studies in personal and corporate power
Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge • (72) • Published In 1990 • Pages: xii, 310
By: Peters, Emrys L. -1987, Goody, Jack, Marx, Emanuel.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is one of the best ethnographies ever written. Peters provides very detailed and insightful accounts of feuding, lineage organization, gift-giving, bridewealth, and patron-client relations among the Bedouin of northern Libya. He critiques conventional understandings of gift-giving, segmentary lineage system, and women's status in a patriarchal society. He argues that power and leadership among the Bedouin is limited and not congruent with lineage organization, but based on control of resources through affinal and matrilateral networks. These networks are established through giving of gifts, including bridewealth. Ostensibly all brothers are equal because land and water is corporately held and equally shared by agnates, however, men can gain use of additional land and water through their in-laws. Selective and astute manipulation of these ties creates differences in wealth and power among agnates.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Real property
- Gift giving
- Status, role, and prestige
- Gender status
- Classes
- Kinship terminology
- Kin relationships
- Lineages
- Religious denominations
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Libyan Bedouin
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1999
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Northern Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- 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 ; 1998
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1948-1950
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1948-1950
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- northern Libya
- NotesAdditional notes
- Emrys L. Peters ; edited by Jack Goody and Emanuel Marx
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 298-306) and index
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 89048036
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Bedouins