article

Marriage, language, and history among eastern Tukanoan speaking peoples of the northwest Amazon

Latin American anthropology review1 (2)Published In 1989 • Pages: 36-41

By: Chernela, Janet Marion.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This paper examines two societies -- the Arapaso of Brazil and the Makuna of Colombia -- as examples of exceptions to the prevalent practice of linguistic exogamy among eastern Tukanoan populations, and explains these apparent anomalies as a response to the nation-state in the northwest Amazon (p. 36). In reference to the Makuna, Arhem attributes the exceptions to the rules of linguistic exogamy as the result of structural transformation; Goldman, on the other hand, accounts for the same phenomena among other eastern Tukanoan groups as 'historic change'. As a critique of Arhem's hypothesis Chernela '…argues that while the structural fluctuations described by Arhem delineate parameters of possibility, the changes in correspondence between language, identity and marriage practice can best be attributed to historic factors related to geopolitical integration' (p. 36).
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
History
Sociocultural trends
Linguistic identification
Regulation of marriage
Kin relationships
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Tukano
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
1998
RegionThe area the document pertains to
South America
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Amazon and Orinoco
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.
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.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle ; 1996
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
no date
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
not specified
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Eastern Tukanoan Indians; Vaupés River area, Colombian-Brazilian border region
NotesAdditional notes
Janet Chernela
Includes bibliographical references (p. 40-41)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
89644837
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Tukano Indians