article
The matrifocal family among the Mescalero: additional data
American anthropologist • 66 • Published In 1964 • Pages: 593-602
By: Boyer, Ruth MacDonald.
Abstract
This source contains a discussion of the concept of the matrifocal family and the degree to which the concept may be applied to the Mescalero. Most of the data presented pertain to household composition, residence patterns, and the employment patterns of males and females. Boyer extends the term matrifocal beyond its more usual meaning of a co-resident group lacking a regular male as husband-father to a co-resident group in which the husband-father role is weakly defined and fulfilled while the wife-mother dominates the household. In this sense, she argues, the Mescalero may be classified as a matrifocal society.
- HRAF PubDate
- 2019
- Region
- North America
- Sub Region
- Southwest and Basin
- Document Type
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Ethnographer
- Document Rating
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- Eleanor C. Swanson ; 1979-1980
- Field Date
- 1958-1959
- Coverage Place
- Mescalero Indian Reservation, New Mexico, United States
- Notes
- Ruth M. Boyer
- Includes bibliographical references
- LCCN
- 17015424
- LCSH
- Mescalero Indians