article

Fosterage in the northern Gilbert Islands

Ethnology3 (3)Published In 1964 • Pages: 232-258

By: Lambert, Bernd.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This document focuses on structural factors that led to widespread child adoption and fosterage in two Northern Kiribati communities. Child-giving families and kin groups typically own more land and command more political influence than child-rearers. As a consequence, it makes structural sense for them to have their children raised by the latter, who would groom them as future village heads. In return, the child-rearers received land and political protection from the powerful child-givers. The author argues that the institution has broad resemblance to asymmetrical cross-cousin marriage rules in other stratified societies.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Adoption
Artificial kin relationships
Family relationships
Real property
Techniques of socialization
Kindreds and ramages
Kin relationships
Inheritance
Status, role, and prestige
Inter-community relations
Community structure
Kinship regulation of sex
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Kiribati
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2018
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Oceania
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Micronesia
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 ; 2016
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1959-1961
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1950-1963
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Makin and Butaritari, Northern Kiribati Islands, Republic of Kiribati
NotesAdditional notes
Bernd Lambert
Includes bibliographical references (p. 258)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
64005713
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Kiribati