Book
The Boni refugee Blacks of French Guiana
IFAN • (63) • Published In 1961 • Pages: HRAF MS: xi, 583 [Original: xii, 356 ]
By: Hurault, Jean, Winchell, Jean.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is an important ethnography on the Boni. Hurault focuses on social organization, demography,a nd the magico-religious system. (Hurault says his data on material life, art, and other demographic aspects will be published separately.) Excellent, detailed information is presented on the socio-demographic composition of each of the Boni villages, and on the organization, composition, distribution, and functions of the basic matrilineal descent groups (the LO). A complete census of the villages is given, plus extended genealogical charts, enabling a precise placement of each individual by residence, kin relations, and matrilineage affiliations. Associated information is included on age, sex, births and deaths, marriages and divorces, and ethnic derivation (if non-Boni). A long section discusses the role of matrilineages in land ownership, an important factor in structuring the pattern of land utilization. Other sections cover settlement patterns, the physical structure of villages, family relations, and marriage and residence patterns. Starting with death and mortuary practices, an extensive treatment is given of the magico-religious beliefs and rituals. The social significance of the matrilineage ancestor cults is clearly delineated, as it is the pervasive influence of the cults of possession, and of various key ritual roles. The only significant weakness in the book seems to be at the analytical level. Thus the data on social organization are not as fully analyzed as they might be, and this leaves some gaps which the researcher must try to piece together for himself. An example of this is the very fuzzy picture which Hurault gives of village political organization. What seems to have happened is that the relevant data are analyzed solely from the stndpoint of the structure and functions of the major matrilineages, rather than from the standpoint of any one community as a whole. But in general this is a very good ethnography, particularly in view of the fact that the author's primary field is evidently geography, not social anthropology.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Composition of population
- Literary texts
- Kinship terminology
- Lineages
- Community structure
- Burial practices and funerals
- Mourning
- Religious practices
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Ndyuka
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1999
- 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
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Geographer
- 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
- Robert O. Lagacé ; 1968
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1948-1958
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1948-1958
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Aluku tribe; French Guiana and Suriname
- NotesAdditional notes
- Jean Hurault
- Translation of: Les Noirs Réfugiés Boni de la Guyane Française
- The original French text is not included
- The author uses the term 'lineage' to cover types of kin groups which in the OUTLINE OF CULTURAL MATERIALS are differentiated into Lineages (613) and Clans ( 614). Generally, when the term lineage is used in the text without further specification of the group structure, it has been indexed only for Lineages (613), although the data may also be pertinent to Clans (614).
- Translated for the HRAF files by Jean Winchell
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 540-541)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 62058073
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Djuka people