Kinship and contiguity: variation in social alignments among the Semporna Bajau Laut

Sather, Clifford

essay

Kinship and contiguity: variation in social alignments among the Semporna Bajau Laut

societies of borneo : explorations in the theory of cognatic social structure • (6) • Published In 1976 • Pages: 40-65

By: Sather, Clifford.

Abstract
This is a discussion of how Sama-Bajau household heads establish enduring economic and political relations with other households and groups by drawing on both residence and cognatic ties as complementary principles of social organization. This strategy arises primarily from the recurrent movement of households and boat-dwelling groups between dispersal into fishing crews at sea to aggregation in a boathouse village at the shoreline. The presentation highlights a range of economic settings and cultural obligations where both neighborhood and kinship serve as important principles behind mutual aid and resource sharing. In emphasizing the complementarity of kinship and locality, the author criticizes earlier anthropologists for regarding them as separate principles of social organization.

Inter-community relations

Family relationships

Household

Extended families

Labor supply and employment

Mutual aid

Gift giving