Publication Information The main body of the Publication Information page contains all the metadata that HRAF holds for that document.
Author: Author's name as listed in Library of Congress records
Wiessner, Pauline Wilson, 1947-
Title:
Hxaro: a regional system of reciprocity for reducing risk
among the !Kung San
Published By: Original publisher
Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms International.
1978 [1988 copy]. 3, 55, 404 leaves ill.
By line: Author's name as appearing in the actual publication
Pauline Wilson Wiessner
HRAF Publication Information: New Haven, Conn.:
Human Relations Area Files, 2005. Computer File
Culture: Culture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC) with the alphanumberic OWC identifier in parenthesis.
San (FX10)
Subjects: Document-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Gift giving (431);
Community structure (621);
Kin relationships (602);
Theoretical orientation in research and its results (121);
Organization and analysis of results of research (128);
Social relationships and groups (571);
Abstract: Brief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This source examines how the San form social ties to
balance out daily, seasonal and yearly variation in subsistence resources and what effect
these ties have on the structure, composition and flexibility of social groups. The author
finds that relations of mutual reciprocity -- hxaro, or gift-giving, and sharing -- are a
means of assuring each family a steady subsistence income. She finds that hxaro ties, in
particular, are useful in minimizing subsistence risks because ties between hxaro partners
form chains of obligation that assure each individual access to resources over a wide area.
She also finds that in hxaro relationships the San are careful to select partners according
to personality traits, abilities and areas of land rights, but usually with little regard
to age or sex. According to the author, three major social groupings result from the ties
of mutual reciprocity: core groups of close kin, groups of cooperating cores, or bands, and
dialectical or breeding populations residing in particular areas. As one moves out from the
core towards the dialectical group, the strength of group identity and stability decrease,
however, the social ties at each level are integral to assuring a steady subsistence
income. Although filedwork is centered on the ai ai community on the northern margins of
the Kalahari desert, it does discuss HXARO trade partnerships which extend over a wide
region.
Document Number: HRAF's in-house numbering system derived from the processing order of documents
20
Document ID: HRAF's unique document identifier. The first part is the OWC identifier and the second part is the document number in three digits.
fx10-020
Document Type: May include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs or chapters/parts of monographs.
Monograph
Language: Language that the document is written in
English
Note:
UM78-04841 Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Michigan,
Ann Arbor, 1977 Includes bibliographical references (p. 397-404)
Field Date: The date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1973-1975
Evaluation: In this alphanumeric code, the first part designates the type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigene, and so on. The second part is 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
Ethnologist-5
Analyst: The HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection.
Gerald Reid ; 1988
Coverage Date: The date or dates that the information in the document pertains to (often not the same as the field date).
1975-1977
Coverage Place: Location of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
ai ai and environs, northwest Botswana
LCSH: Library of Congress Subject Headings
San (African people)
