a. kuper - lineage theory - a critical retrospect

7/24/2019 A. Kuper - Lineage Theory - A Critical Retrospect

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LINEAG TH ORY: A

CRITICAL R TROSP CT

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stab is m nt f in ag t ry" r s nt t ry" is nv nti natra t t pub i ati n in 1940 fAfr can Po t al Sy tem The NueranThe Po t cal Sy tem of the Anuak(1 16 28) Lin ag t y minatt stu y f s ia str tur in Britis ant r p gy imm iat y a r t

n f W r WarI an r tain a ntra p siti n unti t mi 1 60sw n B tis s ia ant r p gy m r g n ra y an t B tis p r its it s m t s its imp tus an t r n int t san s Y t it in t mp t y vanis E m nts f t in ag m p iti a rganti n sti l mb is p ant m pr t stat s in t w r r an ist rians

r t in ag p ti nt r r n Mar ist ant r p g sts r t y app ar si p y as pa t trappings ta n r

grant in z ns t n grap n grap s is st bb a i in ag t r warrants nsi rati n. av an ist ri a int r st in n ag t ry a s r a t ug r pr

s nt at t tim a br a t r ug it was rat r a transf mati n far i r t ri s in ant r p gy n rstan ing t way in w i t trans

f mati n urr ps us t s an w y ant r p gy v pit i

rganizati n my r vi is r ug y r n gi a anI s as t t g n a gy in ag t ry a g n a gy w i pr i tab y a

b n tamp r wit (by t rs) ttar f r amp p int ut t at t r is a ng ist ry f int r st in tntra t m s f s nt t ry t at is in t r ipr a ati ns b

tw n s nt gr ups an a an p iti a gr ups b tw n in ag s an71

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clans and local and pol t cal commun t es. e ted part cularly the classcal stud es of Maine Fustel de Coulan es obertson mith and ederson

but thin that one of the rst systemat c eld stud es of a l nea e

system was my own study of the Nue of the An lo ypt an udan wh chbe an in 1929. A more prolon ed and de ailed s udy was rofessor Fo tesinves a on o the Tallens o he old Coas be un n 1934 19 p. 10)

Meyer Fo es himsel o ered a d eren vers on. nK nsh and the So alOrder ( 6) he constructed a trad t on dat n ba k not only to Maine butto Mor an and developed by vers and adcl Brown before vans-

r tchard and Fortes h mself made the r eldm cro enealo y wh h l nked vans r t hard s Nuer study d rectly to

adcl e Brown and to the Boas ans:

E ans Pr hard s a es n h s re ew of mynam cs o/C ansh p ha he s gg on of how o handle he da a of N er des en gro ps ame from a on ersa on w hRad l Je Brown n 9 I was presen on h s o as on E ans Pr hard was des r b ng h s N e obse a ons where pon Rad e B own sa d he s n fron of he

rep a e: "My dear E ans Pr hard 's rfe ly s mple ha 's a segmen ary neage sys em and yo l d a ery g d a n of by a manG ord s 4

here on a e Brown ga e s a e e on G or s ana ys s of he onga sys em7 p

There s some truth nl these ve s ons but shall ar ue that the historyof the models s to be rasped not at the level of nd v dual borrow n ordevelopmen but rather a a deeper level at wh h rev s ons and rit c smsand even emp al appl a ons appear as rans o ma ons o a s n le s u

ureThe development o l nea e theo y can be d v ded conven ently nto two

periods for purposes of expos t on the class cal and mode each markedby three phases. The class cal per o was nau urated by the publ ca on ofthe o nal models o Ma ne and or an. Almost a on e these modelswere mod ed by ontempora es most notably perhaps M Lennan. Therefo lowed a third pha e n which hypotheses drawn from these models weresubje ted to empirical test n on the bas s of new ethno raphi reports aphase assoc ated part cularly w th Boas s students n the n ted tatesThen when the lass al models had nally been s ipped of all he r o i i-

pre en ons and appeared to be no more than ha mless su v vals o ane er pe od o spe ula on hey were unexpe edly rev ved n a new u

n the stud es of the Brit sh ri an sts. Th s then in ated a new y le oelaborat on and of ethno raph c app cat on and cr t c sm.

Throu hout these two pe ods the entral ssues rema ned remar ablyconstant. F rst there was the quest on of he relat onsh p between bloodand so l k nsh p or descent and e tory. econd there was the relat on-sh p between he fami y" on he one hand and the lan" or ens" or

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NE GE THEORY 73

b" on the other. The e two top c were related to each other and theywere rooted n older que t on about nature" and culture " ava ery"and c v l at on." The underlyin ue wa the con t tut on of the pr m

t ve pol ty and the mpl cat on for a c v l ed pol t cal order. M , M RG McL

r enry umner a ne publ hed hn nt Law n 1 61. ook n backmany year la er he recalled When I be an he back round waob cured and the route beyond a cer a n po nt ob truc ed bya pr or heor e ba ed on the hypothe of a law and a e of Nature." In con ra t hown v ew of early oc ety wa rounded n he ev dence of Greek and

oman author part cularly the early record of oman ju prudence.The e led h m to formulate the Pat archal theory " the theory of theo i n o o t n m l h ld to h r b h thopro ect on of the elde val d male a cendant" 70 pp. 19 93) Even

omer' Cyclop had been or an ed n fam l e every one exerc e jur d ct on over h w ve and h ch ldren and hey pay no re ard to oneanother"!)

The next tep n oc al evolut on wa the a re at on of fam l e . Whenthe Patr arch d ed h on and the r fam l e tayed to ether form n theba of a b oader pol t . In th wa e tended t e of k n h p became theba of oc et e . Onl very much later d d terr to al attachment come toriv l blood h ba or oc l or n t on.

The hi to of politi al ide b in , in fa t, with the a umption that kin ip in blood b gr c y ; s

ubve iono f ling. w i h w e rev r g omp e as e ang wh h i a omp i h when om o he p in p u a th

an e, l al -e ab e m h ba c(69 06

he e tended patr archal fam ly roup wa a un l neal development outof the fam l . t th patr archal a re ate the mode fam ly thu cutdown on one de and e tended on the other wh ch eet u on thethre hold of pr m t ve jur prudence" 69 p. 110). It prov ded the ba for

jural order and cont nu ty nce the e tended fam l wa a corporat on andth mpl ed per ence n t me. Corporat on n v r d and accord n lypr m t ve law con der the ent e w th wh ch t deal .e. the pa r arcor fam ly roup a perpetual and next n u hable" 69 p. 22).

a ne fundamental oppo t on between oc et e ba ed on k n h p andoc et e ba ed on terr tory became common currency n the follow nenerat on. Oppo t on aro e on d erent ue . McLennan Mor an and

other ar ued that the ori nal tate of human oc ety wa character ed y

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promi cuity rather than family life, and that ub equent, more orderedy tem of procreation initially hi hli hted the mother/child bond and oenerated matriliny rather than pat i iny. atriliny would repre ent a ater,

more ophi ticated development, p e uppo in marria e and the reco nition of le a pate ity.Mor an' central the i , however, echoed Maine.

all o m o gov nt a c bl to two g n al pla . h t n th o do t m o nd d pon on and pon lat on p ly p onal a d mayd t g a ty ( oc ta ) h g n t n t o th o gan zat on . . h

ond o nd pon t to y and n p op y nd m yd t g a tat(c v ta )(73, pp 6 7

Gentile ociety" dominated the ear y hi tory of mankind, and whereverfound i the ame in tructural or ani ation and in princip e of action 7 ,p. 634 . Moreover, it wa a democratic a d e a ita an y tem. Libe tyequality and frate ity thou h never fo ulated, ere cardi l p incipleof th n " 7 p85).

R L L M

The initial development of the model were of two main kind . Fir t, rivatheori t re rran ed the element in fre h patte to u e alte ative

ine of putative hi torical developme t.Seco dly, a d more intere ti ly, the model wa applied to cla ic

ource and to ethno raphic report from e otic ocietie . The e drewattention to p cicinto the eneral model or iven reater prominence. Mc ennan and Mor-

an tre ed the nece ity for e o amy in the clan or en . n Mor anfo u atio the e e tabli hed it e f i pa t a a biolo ic l mecha i m.

A intermarria e in the en wa prohibited, it withdrew it member fromth evil of con an uine marria e and thu tended to increa e the vi orof the tock" 73 p. 69; cf p. 75 . otemi m " di covered in Au tra ia wa

oon thou ht to be a common attribute of kin roup , perhap even e plaini k roup e o my. Both the e idea owed much to the advocacy ofMcLennan and the indu try of Fra er. On the ba i of cla ica ource ,Fu tel de Coulan e 32 ar ued that it wa ance tor wor hip that had edto the enlar ement of the patriarcha family into the ancient en Fortewa later to make much of the e relation hip thou h in a functional rather

than an hi torical framework obert on Smith appli Mc ennan' the ito ancient Semitic ocietie and empha i ed the impor ance of the bloodfeud." The key to all divi ion and a re ation of Arab roup ie in theaction and reaction of two principle : that the on y e ective bond i a bond

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NE GE HE Y 75

f bl , n th t the p p e f s ety t n te men f en e nefen e. The e t p in ple meet n the l f the bl fe " 0,

p 56). v ns itch d s to develop th s l ne of tho ght )

D he m, nTh D v s n f Lab n S c tyst p bl shed n 1 93),t ed t t n t p in ple h l n b ed ety m ght pep t e. He g e th t the egment f h et e e ogn

the m t l m l ty nd be n p e by en e f h t he te memech n c sol d ity " Cl n b sed so et es e e, ho eve , only spec

case of h t he c lled s m ntal r an zat nso et es b sed on epet t vep ts h h j ned togethe imply th gh en e of m t l esembl n eCl ns g ve y to te ito i l segments tho t d st b ng the mode ofsol da ity Only l te , th the development of the d v s on of l bo , d dg o ps eme ge h h e e denedspec li ed g o ps to fo m comple o g n t on nsp ed by sense of

gan s l ity" )A f m e di l devel pment o ed n the e ly t ent eth ent y,

n m t gn ntly ev e f M g n m el th efe en e t ne Ame n n n m te

als They beg n, fo the t t me ystem t cally to test the el t ons pos tedbet een the elements n the m el.

The st mpo tant nt ib t n John S nton s s pe b p pe , TheS l O g n t n f Ame i n T ibe ," t p bl hed n t eAmer canAn ro o og n 9 9 ), n t te t ee e e fte the ppe n e

fAnc en Soc e .S nt n e t ne the p t l ted h t l p ty fm t il neal l ns V io s No th Ame ic n t ibes e e not m t il ne lM e e , t be g n e t e n f m ly b e e by n e n m

dvan ed th n the m t il ne l t be , M g n t e y e i ed f t d t n t n h h ld be d n, t the n e l g l

eg n l g n 9 )

S nton' the s n p ept n e m ng N th Ame n t , n1910 Golden e se too p gg t n f S nt n s n ev e ed thep oblem of totem m " n one of the g e t emp i al it es f the Bo

h l, G l en e e 37) em l he the n t n f n ed t tem mted th exog m l n When, h e e , he eex m ned t e l

m del n 1914, h n l n e e m e t On the ne h nd tn l" M g n m del le ly n nge ten ble M e ve , T

s gn n e of te to ial n ts n p im t ve l fe h s e tainly been nde esm te " 3 ) Yet G lden e e em bly el t nt t hallenge the

nde ly ng mpt ns f the l ss l m del, n f e y te l ng eA g p b ed n el t n h p, nd ne b ed n l l b t t n, m

be e gn ted n t l g p " 3 , p 433) E en m ny ye s l te , he te the l g f h n e

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6 KUPER

h mp on ht thu onv d th t th b p nt wholl t t ou to o pond n to no on l ty th t b t t mo u ul n th ntudy w t b t t on t n l n t on t n l t n on o t on o un

m n nFo un t ly t not n ry to t oxt on on W t v t

d n n nd nt wh v found h v t n o on Amonth w c o th t t nd t dth d t on of l n nd n : th t onof blood l t on h p th h t h t th un l t l p t w ll b(39 p 306)

This was a ste ile conclusion, little more than a tautology, but Rivehis discussion of the matter in Chapter2 ofSoc al rgan at onhad beenreduced to similar y empty fo mulae

In 1915the ethnographer Frank Speck pointed out that Algonkian huner-gatherers were organ zed on a fam ly b sis and more signi cthat these families were de n tely assoc ated with pa ticular t rri"The wh l t rr t ry claimed by each tr be was subdivided into

wned from t me immem r al by th same families and handed dowg neration to generation92 p 290).

Low e prov e an aut or tat ve summa y o t e pos t on o can mp r cists after th cr t qu f M rgan had b en c mpleted

8) F rst th h sto cal r at nsh pbetw n th fa ly and the un l n al

gr upswas clar ed su vey the data cl ar y shows that t es pr sent at v ry stag f culture; that at a h gh r l v t c upl w h sib rgan at n d that at a st ll h gh r ld sapp ars(6 p 1 ) c n y th r is n x succ ss n f ma pat al d sc nt d f the h gh st c v li at ns mphasn l side f th fam ly so do many f th l west(6 ,p 18 )F ally, b thth b lat ral (fam ly) d th un la r l (cl , s b m ty) u

n loc l s w ll s a cons ngu n act r (68 p66

RIVERS AND RADCL FFE-BROWNThe Br t sh a thr p log sts w re engaged m r d rectly w th MMc an tha w th M rg , and th r mp r c l v nc larg ly from Oc a a Neverthel ss th r d scov r es clos lythos of th r transatlant c coll agu s and R vers for xamplthei conclus ons The debate on the histor cal pr o ity of father-

moth r r ght was aband n d the r val thes s pr ving e ually ( g 79 p 98 Th arly x st nc th am ly gr up waas a conse uence especially f the w rk of Wester arck and Mal noClans were generally associa d with a pa ticular e r t ry and awe must be content to accept the ter ito al tie as one fo m of bond bthe membe s o clanlthough Rivers considered it p obable that in all

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e o i c ns he e bond is be e in common desceh bi ion o common e i o , pp 22 23)

The "c ssi c or inship e ino og iden i ed b Mo g

ci ed b hi i h or s o o p rri ge s no enehe p esence o exo o s c ns This s o ie's vie hoi c io s mes c 12) Rive s who h d e iee bo e m i ge e exp n ions o inship e mino ohis e de s: "I o e diss is ed wi h he wo d c ssi c

o he s s e o e ionship hich is o nd in eric s i nd Oce ni o o d be per ec s e in c

s s em nd in in e ring he ncien p esence o soci she exog o s c n even i his s r c e e e no onge p

82)o he eric n nd Br ish r e s e e b o d onew e s c n be s id o h ve deve oped spec he e

o he corpo e o e o descen g o ps This s opic hised b M ine in his disc ssion o co po eness in Rom n

e ned o i nd so es eci did dc i e B ownve s' disc ssion o "descen inS c al an at onw s me n o c e

con sion b h s ins e d c sed end ess mis nde s ndingdo b bec se he boo w s no comp e ed b Rive s himsepos h mo s om ec e no es b he di sionis W P

Rive s d ew en ion o he gene i e o dis ing isho he e m "descen o " he w in which membe ship o de ermined nd o he modes o nsmission o p ope t This w s n ccep b e since " hese ocesses do no w s

i h one no he The er descen sho d e e o " e bg o p nd o his on The di c ose om his ici ed e ds b neve exp ined b Rive s h " he

is on o v e when he o p is ni e The e o e i pp ies mos de ni e e he c n nd he moieThe se o he e mh s i e sense nd conseq en i e v e in he c

o ping pp 8 8 ) On he ve s me p ge hohe erm de cen so o deno e membe ship o "c ss

ex p e he Ge m n nd he Po nesi n nobi i ies g o ps ce in no ni ine in ch c e

dc i e-B own s ess on ine nd nevided Rive s dis inc ion wi h ion e ) He g ed niz ion dem nded con in i s bi i nd de ni eness hese needs eve socie e i ed he o ni ion o corpo

nscended individ e sons S ch co o ions migh be he b sis ei he o e o ies o o kinshi ies Kinsh

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tions would usually be unilineal descent groups, since only un l neal groupswould unambiguously de ne group membership on a descent criterion.

Radcli e-B own illust ated his a gument with mate ial d awn f om Aus

t a ia, and his sho t monog aph,The S c al O an at n the u st a anT e ( 6)pre gu ed the "lineage theo y studies which a pea ed adecade later. In that monograph he descr bed the two bases of ustralianA o igina social structu e as the "family and the "ho de. The ho de wasa oca group which cont o ed ights in a te to y Its membe s wererec uited y pat i inea descent, and in consequence each ho de was associated with a "c an. The c an was usua y exogamous and was attached tothe ocal totems found n the terr to y o the horde. he oca c an/ho dewas the political and wa making unit "t es being no mo e than l nguistic catego es The othe k nship groups moieties sections and sub sections) we e a so ased on uni inea descent, pat ilinea o mat i ineal.

Kroe e , in one of the most adica c itiques of the pe iod cha engedRadc i e own's insistence on the central impo tance o descent in Austra ia. Fo eshadowing in his tu many of the c itiques which we e to ea med at l ea e theory, roeber wrote: "I st d of cons der the cl ,moiety, totem, o fo ma unilate al g ou as ima y in social st uctu e andfunction, the p esent view conceives them as secondary and often unstab eembroide es on the p ima y patte s of group esidence and subsistenceassoc ations (53 . 308). These institutions were "secondary or superstructural e en as re ards their functional value n many articular societies They are in a se se e phenomena to other, under ying henomena,such as p ace of esidence(53 p 30 )

THE TRANSF RMAT

ha e ar ued that the ce tral ssues ra sed by Ma e and Mor a conce ed

st the evolutionary relationsh p etween terr tor al and nshi grou sand second the elationship between the family and the clan The gene ationof empir cal c ticism initiated by Swanton and Lowie successfully estal shed an nformed consensus on these questions The institutions and inc plesof grou or anization were not re ated in rm histo ca se uence.Where cla s were mpor ant they were always found together w th elemen

ary family units The add t onal roper ies which had been associated withcl ns or s bs (totem sm the b ood feud ancesto wo ship, and even exogamy) were now known to occu in the absence of clans o sibs. No we e

they ecessar y found associated with clans or sibs whe e such g oups werede t edThe clan model d d not d e nevertheless no did it simply fade away. In

Amer ca Murdoc tried to c ar fy matte s by distinguish ng a totemic and

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e ogamous descent group, wbich following Lowie he called a sib," and alocalized descent group which he called a clan" 73a) However a moresuccessful revival was launched contemporaneously in Britain In one of the

most remar able transformations in the h story of anthropological theory,the moribund clan model" was resuscitated and relaunched in a new,functionalis guise as the lineage model" of segmentary political organiza-tion At one level the revival seems to depend on li le more han sleightof hand. Clans were pushed n o he ac ground, and hey were replacedby lineages i ord had simply substi uted he term lineage" for clan,"for reasons he never e plained e g. 33, p. 393), but in the new version thelineage was actively con ras ed o the clan The clan was now a ag e entityde nedor e ogamous. I s impo ance lay in he fac ha cons s s of severalineages which may be segmented" 72 p. 4) These lineages were corpo-ra e, localized, e ogamous, unilineal descen groups In s or , t ey wereendowed wi h all he attribu es formerly associated with the clan, sib, orgens.

But more than a sle ght of hand was involved. The functionalist versionof the old model did more than jus change some of the labels. The function-alists were not conce ed with sequen es of institutional change but ratherwith the relationship between contemporary institutions Moreover, theywere ethnographers, studying par icular systems The old model was nowreplaced by specic African

The Ethnographic ParadigmsIn their introduction to Afr can ol cal Sys emsFor es& vans Pritchard 2 ) contrasted states" and stateless societies" n terms which wouldhave been i med ately fam l ar o Maine and Morgan. The dis i c ion wasnot t is e, a y longer a s mple ma er of he presence or absence of

e o al or descen un s a her depended on a di erence n he na uof such un ts. In s ates he adm n stra ive un t s a te orial un poli icrigh s and obligations are erritorially delimited In the other group ofsociet es there are no territor al units de ned by an adm n stra ive system,but the ter torial units are local communit es the e tent of which corresponds to the range of a pa cular se of l neage ies and he bonds of d rectco opera o " 2 , p10) Political rela ons n such soc e es were regula ed

y he segmen ary l neage sys em."But if the segmentary l neages were indeed the old clans n fancy dress,

how could hey rejuvena e the languishing classic model? To apprec ateow this happened t is necessary to consider in some detail the centralmonographs, par icularly e N er (15) and The Dynam s of Clanshamong he Ta ens 1)for the new model triumphed by way of wha

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F rt s lat all d "pa ad g at as s t d al t p s Th s lt d l a f l f al t a d s d abl suas v w T opm nt m dt full plo t t on o th M l nows n p m s th t

ldla ultu f w t was a s t t l t d sat als f ur s s f a at s a h ( th B as a a ) v t d v l p a "th f a pa t ula s t a th r wh h

t s v as a la d l at uld b a l d t t s tc 54)Fu t al st ld stud s a d th synch on c n lys s o soc t s.

h s l d that t ass at s tw t rr t al u s a d d sg ups b tw l a s a d fa l s sh uld b t at d as s l gqu st s t as st al ssu s la s a d fa l s x st d k sht t al b ds w t tw d H w d d t t a t? h s qul d t u l v l d v l ts f t ld d l

The Nuer: Terr tory and Des enth ut s th u a a a t fa a t u t

a tulat h G u lat s ("s al st u tu ) w d stf d v dual tw ks f lat sh s "B st u tu w a latb tw g ups f p s s w th a s st f ups(1 p 262). Th sg ups w bas d th t t d s t

Th la st t t al a d p l t al u t was th t b th uw th wh h h d sh uld b sat d f b bl d w alth atht a v a T t bal t t was d v d d t s ts a d atsu ss v l v l f s g tat t l al ou s w s all a d

h s v Th s s g ts had abs lut st but d sps tuat s all d t b g p s t t l k u ts If a a v lla k ll d a a a th th tw t v lla s w uld b f d

f tat If a a th th s v lla s k ll d a a a td st t t all t v llag s h s d st t w uld u t a a stll th v ll g s

n th oth d st ct. Th s w th p oc ss s o ss onva s Pr t ha d d t d as t d a f th s tar l t al s

t Th s ss s w v d t ab v all th bl d f ud wh"fu t va s P t ha d w t was "t a ta th str tu al qu

u b tw p s d t bal s g ts wh h a v th l ss l tfus d lat t la g u ts(1 p 9)

ll l ng th t to l o d w s s s o d sc nt g oups. ch twas ass at d w th a d a t la a d ts s ts a al a

a d al l a s w a h ass at d w th a s ll al a at Th l ag s st v d d a la ua a dt r s f wh h th t t al p l t al lat s w a t ulat d

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ass lat n f un t t s t l n ag st u tu , th xp ss n f tt al a l at n n a l n ag d , and th xp ss n f l n ag a l at

n t s f t t al atta h n s, s what ak s th l n ag s st s

s gn ant f a stud f p l t al gan zat n 5, p. 2 5) B aus sp nd n th ugh t s n t " a t ) th tw s st ms uld b ps nt d n a s ngl d ag a 5, p 248):

bP a t bal s t ns

llag un t s

T t a t bal s t ns

nda t ba s t ns

lanMax al l n ag s

Maj l n ag s

M n l n ag s

M n a n ag s

F th nt t s n ugh t p s nt ust th ba utl n f th s d lt nd at h w l gantl t s l d th lass al ant th s s b tw n d sg ups and t t al g ups n p l t al gan at n. Th l has bd s uss db an auth s g 8, pp 2 75; ; 35; 42; 47; 52, pp 29 9878). h st n nd f t sm s that t s t f al and d alt d ust t what happ ns n th g und. ud R ha ds, wh s

w fThe N erwas p haps th st publ sh d s n f th s t qua gu d, f xa pl , that h wn f an ld xp n had taught hthat:

noth ng s more remarkable than the ack of perm nence of part cu ar neages or"segmen s ; he ni e varie y here is in heir composi ion, heir iabi i y o changeow g to h stor c factors the strength of nd v ua persona t es an s mi ar eterminants. Such soc et es, n my exper ence are not v e nto st nct an og ca systemsof segments, but rather owe the r be ng to the ex stence of a number of ere t pr nc pof group ng (78p )

lu an, nt du ng an ssa f ans P t ha d s n 945 36), sp nd d that th d ta l d as mat als publ sh d nS dan No es andRecords 4), and th data wh h w uld app a lat , nta n d th

p al just at n f ans P t a d's d l H w , th s ld f ns uld n t b susta n d f l ng, pa t ula l aft th publ at

fK nsh and Marr age among he N er 8) hat b k nta n d su

nt data n l al gan zat n t a t p f tl l a that th dwas a p gu d t l al un t st u tu .ans P t ha d h s lf t a d nt l n n fa t, s al

d nt l n s In h s a l ssa s nS dan No es and Re ords 4), h had

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82 KUP R

ugge ted that the d junct on between the de ent y tem and the y temo terr tor al po t ca group aro e becau e the Nuer were n a tate otran t on rom a pure neage y tem to a terr tor a y ba ed po ty Genera

t on o war and e pan on bro e up clan and neage toe tent wh ch mu t have great y mpa red the un y ng n uence o n h p C an wecon equent y d u ed d per ed n o mall neage wh ch wer

requent eud w th the r re at ve and ne ghbour Th mean that commu-nity of l v ng ten e to upplant commun ty of bloo a the e ent al princ -ple of o al cohe on though n a o ety ba e upon t e of n h p thechange too pla e by a lat n b ot [ e te to al] t e to t e He even a ue that the lan y te now on t tute the a nob ta le to pol t al evelop ent (1 pt 3 pp8 87) In hort he o ere

a tra t onal evolut on t argumenThe N er ar ed the repla e ent of th h torical mo el w th a yn-hronic per pe t ve In the ear er e ay the Nuer had been repre ented a

a oc ety n a proce of change through conque t an a cret on o newpeople The o d clan y tem wa g v ng way to a more deve oped terr tor -a l ba e olit Th exa tl co trar to ahl n later ea that the

egmentary neage y tem wa a tool or predatory e pan on (81). ]n the unct ona t mode the pr nc p e o de cent and territory were not

h torically oppo e but funct onally un te The emp r cal d repanc eould there ore no longer be attr bute to the nev tably unt y pro e of

tran t on an van P it har no lon er argue that the l neage o elcorre pon e to a former type of organ zat on Nor he ugge t l e

luc man that the mo el referre to a tual roup out there a pealong the N le The e entary l nea e y te wa rather a y te ofvalue l n ng tr bal e ent an prov n the o n wh h their relat on can be expre e and d re t (1 p2 2).

The obv ou ontra t between Evan rit har mo e and what heo et me ter e the actual t e " wa no lon er a ource of e barra -ent Eva ritchar n eed ncrea n l came to ory n the lac ot

between the mode and the emp i al report Th wa the ource o tho eamou paradoxe wh h ade Evan ritchard a ort o GK Che ter on

o A ri an anthropo ogy te two example Both treat the apparentlyperplex ng portan e of in h p t e tra e through the mother

It wo s m t may e part y j st e a se t e agnat p n p e s a engeN es ie y a e ra ing o en hroug omen is so prominen an ma ri o a i y sopre a ent Ho e er m h the a t a on rat ons of nsh p sters may ary an

hange he neage st t re s n ar a e an sta e8p 8)[ l man ommente Th tatement pl e that f the prin plewere challen e e ent through wo en woul be le prom nent an

atri o a ity le prevalent (3 p 3 9n) ]

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N er ake any kind of cognatic relationship to several degreesa ar to arriage aat east so i s s to e it is a ar to arriage eca se of the f a e taagnatic

ri ci e r i g thro gh N er society (1847) ( y e hasis)

( s th s p that a s c t bas d "a fu da ta cogna p c plw u d t ba a ag s w h c g a s?

Th a gu t s f u at d ss t a st t s "Th u d l g at c p c pl s . . . g a g c t ast t s c al ac ua t s. But th actual

t s a alwa s cha g g a d pass g wh l h p c pl du s (65 Th u d l was t a d sc p s c al actual t s

f a l u alu s Rath t was d d t captu th d p u cha gss c f u s c t th c f u alu s

S c cs ha p t d u ha h d l cl a l d s t caps as c u alu s I d d s u alu s app a c ad cH l a d ll h w sugg st that th alu s capsulat d h dare c t al t th u bu x st a stat f c c w h th awh ch a at f th d a s f s c a f (472) M w p s t

s ad cal I s as sal ag a pa f h u dI a a ssa Sudan No es and Records a s P cha d a k d h d cul s f h s ldw k c d s a d th ap d cha g

u w xp c g I c s qu c h c f ss d

was ore s ccessf for th e re o s i gras i g their k shi syste a the ai yo tacts of catt e ca ife tha the orga iztio of the ess ta gi e c a a tri a

gro s i the case of the s o ha to re y arge y o what itt e i for at oco e agge o t of the asio a forma ts y q estio a a swe etho s ofe iry a therefore co e e to ge era ise o what ay so et es e i s cie t

a to regar so e of y co c sio s a wor g hy otheses tho ghfee thatha e raw the o t correct y 143 . 76)

Th w h w fu da tal p bl s d fu h "cla d l f th u p b s b d th aga s f

cha c

What exact y is ea t y i eage a c a ? O e thi g is fair y cer ai a e y that theN er o ot thi k g o a st actio s ca e c a s fact as far as a awa e hehas o wo d ea i g c a a yo ca ot ask a a a e i a e t of "What is yo rc a ? ( 4 Pt 1 2 ).

S a s la The Nuer h was a l c d :

it is o y whe o e a rea y k ows the c a s a their i eag a thei ario s rit asy o s the N e oes that o e ca easi y a e a a 's c a thro g his i ageo y his s a - a e a ho o i c sa tatio o N e s eak e t y i te ms of eageA i eage isthok mac, the hea th orthok dWie the e tra ce to the h t or o e ayta k ofk a a ch ( 5 95)

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84 KUP R

App re ly he Nuer l e he Br sh hr p l s s her y y l e f r e e

s he r de f l e es f h h hey spe e

A Nuer rarely about h s neage as d st nct from h s commun ty, and in contrast to other l neag wh ch form part of t outs de a cer mon a contextI have watched aNuer who knew prec sely whatI wanted try ng on m behalf to d cover from a stranger the nam of h s neag . He o en found great n t al d cu ty mak ng the man und r and h nforma on equ d of m fo Nu r hink g n ra l n terms of ocal d v ons and of th re a on hip betw th m and an attemp to d s ov neage

a ons apa from he r commun t re at ons and out de a cer mon a conte t gen ra l l to m und stand ng n th open ng tag of an nqui (15 p203).

Whe E s r h r e ed Nuer r f lrel s s ll l e he ree h e pp9 98) he r ry he N er drew f s h l fr As H ly h s p ed 46 pp 6

p f p r ul r se f err r re s seThi pr n t on nd Nu r comm nt on t how r l i c nt fact ab ut h way which Nu r th y em Th y ee p m y ac u at on b twee roup of k nsmen w th n ocal commun rather han a t ee of de c nt for he

per on a whom he neage a ca d do no a p oceed from a ng e nd du pp 202-3)

There s sp e f r e h us ve lys s b s eNuer le rly d s u sh e es fr l rI s e re y d b fu h here s N r f e wheve se y he de f he e e ry e e sys e

re ble h he el p res v l es wh h re s p werf l h heyx nhe pp re k f p e er s

re re s b e de h he er de pr v des re e her Nuer s l beh v r r Nuer v lues Eve l ehe N er T h he es he del re e? I rel es

p e he w r f e rl er hr p l s s p rl z s f M r M e D he R er s S

Br w Se d y r s es s e h v s-Pr hf he Bed s ed ed by h s re d R berts S(1 pp 7

)

he a lens Clansh p and K nshThe her s ur e f l e e he ry s r es s s u y fTh s s less ue l h he Nuer s u y he eld

hr p l y h d pr f u p sh p s u eF r es s bse ue y dev ed spe e

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E E E 85

Tall ns "clans w r local d assoc at ons conta n ng "l n ag s andl n ng u w t l un ts n a s r s o cross cutt ng assoc at ons. Tov rla ng " lds o clans contrast d shar ly w th th n at, h rar

ch cal, n st ng att of Nu r s g nts ounda s w r unc a n, ands g nts of "clans o t n ad d r nt, thoug artly ov rla ng, " ldsof clans

" lan t s w r const tut d, n ort s s d scr t on, by a var ty ofact v t s and sy bols Th y ght b bas d on s l s at al rox ty,w thout any g n alog cal bas s, or on occas onal tual collaborat on ( g2 , 96 97), or v n on nt r arr ag (alt oug clans was su os dto ly xoga y) y t o t s was occas onally obl g d furt r to d st n

gu s a s c al cat gory of " xtra clan t s o clans (2 , 82). Th clanand l n ag s w r not cor orat cono c un ts a a t ro th "nucl arl n ag [or, n s l t r s, a an and h s sons (2 78)]. Pol t cally,too, "clans was l ss r l van an s s o ol cal o c s and d v s ons b tw n t Na oos and th Tal s

In a r c nt c t qu , ngl n concl d d t at "t Tall ns do not usagnat c d sc nt as t bas c r nc l of local organ at on (2, . 65), but

sugg st d t at th r s a r l vant d r nc b tw n th autochtonousTal s and grant Na oos. "Na oo cultural d nt ty s bas d r donantly on anc stry and Tal s d nt ty r ar ly on local ty (2, . 5 ) T s

s b caus t Na oos, argu ng ro d sc nt, can a t ost o t rr st g ous Ma us or g ns, w l th Tal s, argu ng fro r s d nc , ca

cla t r ual author ty du to t or g nal own rs of th landFort s's Tall ns " arad g was l ss or a d and or nuanc d than

vans r tchard's s ar r N r od l t n nd For s ad s larassu t ons w c t c docu ntat on d d not su o t H argu d t at"d sc nt nc l s w r a n grou structur and that t s acwas r ct d n Tall ns conc t ons vans Pr tchard, ort s t n

had to acco nt or th o anc o atr la ral nsh(22 d v lo d a th or t cal x lanat on wh ch r st d on a d s nct on b tw n "clanr lat ons, w ch o rat b tw n grou s, and n w c d sc nt s su os dto b do nant, and " nsh r lat ons, w c jo n nd v duals.

Mal nows and Radcl rown had bothatt t d to d n a sycholog cal r lat ons b tw n t a l and t clan. "S nt nts g n rat d n t a ly w r roj ct d on o or d stant r la ons s.

vans r tchard, and s c ally ort s now ro os d a or for al soc olog cal r lat ons Ind v dual t s of ns , g n rat d by fa l al t

l at on and s bl ngsh , const tut d a s c c "do a n o soc al actd st nct fro th ubl c, soc oc nt c, " ol t co jural do a n h d scrnat on of act on nto "do st c and " ol t co jural do a ns was a att r

o cont xt. Int r sts and valu s nt r n trat d and ght v n ull arson n d r nt d r ct ons. Th d v lo ntal cycl of th do st c

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group, for example, was the product of "domestic, moral, sentiments ofattachment as well as "politico ural considerations, including rules ofinhe itanc , ules of residence at marriag , and the power of the uling

lin ag in a pa icular communit mong t shanti, or ampl , t rwas a tension etween these inuencesFo tes and vans t hard that t e divided their reports nto two volumes, ea h devoted to one of the two "domains of so ial life.

Fo tes later ela orated the model, developing a complex distinction etween "descent and not onl " liation t "complementar liation If"descent was the fundamental principle in the constitution of groups basedon kinship, " liation, the relations ip of parents and children, and itscorolla "sibl n ship, provided the basis for domestic relationships ofk ship Descent s stems gave a special ural role to one of the two linesof liation, while the other, the line of complementa liation, then hadto bear the weight of moral sent ment 24 .

POLOG R

One line of development from the Nuer and allensi monographs was inthe fo m of theoretical ela oration of the model and the de n tion of t pologies he most mportant paper in this series was without question Fo tes s" he St ucture of Unilineal Descent Groups, pu lished in thAmer canAn hropolog in 953 24 Here he presented the se menta linea emodel as the reat theoretical cont bution of contemporar British anthropolog "We are now in a position to formulate a number of connectedgen rali ations a out th st cture of the unilineal descent group and itsplace in the total social s stem which could not have been stated twent

ears ago 24 p. 24Fo es stressed p i ularl the o orate and hen e putativel pe etual

nature of these lineages in Africa, and thei political role, especiall wherepoliti al entra ation was s ht. Wi h respe t to the relationship betweenterr tor and descent, Fortes took an extreme position, and one which bno means followed inevitabl from his allensi anal sis "I think it wouldbe a reed that lineage and localit are independentl variable and how theintera t depends on ot er factors in t e soci l st u ture. As I inte pret theeviden e, local ties are of se ondar si ni cance,p K oeber, for lo al tiesdo not appear to g ve r se to structural bonds in and of themselves 24, p.

h famil /clan opposition was restated in terms of the new concept ofcomplementar liation

t app that the e a ten en y o nte t ht an oya t to e v onroa y co p e entary nto thos that have the sanct on of aw or other p cnst t t ons for the enforce ent of oo con ct an those that e y on re on o a

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ity, conscience an sentiment or ue o ser ance W ere cor orate escent grou s ex stt e ormer s m o gene a y ti to t e escent grou s, t e atter to t e com ementary ne of iation 3 ).

Other class cat y stud es f ll wed (e.g. 6 14 72 90) The ssuesaddressed were the range and type f descent gr ups the c te a f c p -rateness and the mp tance wh ch sh uld be attached t un l neal ty an

ssue wh ch espec ally rked Ocean a spec al sts wh felt that they werebe ng den ed use f the m del by Afr can sts c nse uences f any

nterest were attached t the d st nct n between "un l neal and "n nun lneal r "c gnat c descent gr ups and the debate surely the m st a dand sch last c n m de anthr p gy serves nly t h ghl ght the prest geand n uence f the fr can segmentar neage m del (see 26,4 4, 61

5 6) Leach attacked typ l g ng uest n ng even the categ r es "mat l neal and " pat l neal s c et es perhaps the m st f u tful an-thr p l g sts had been able dent fy e y elded t n b dy h wever nh s fa th n R vers' de t n f descent gr ups anathemat ng th se anthr p l g sts wh "have been nc ned t aband n R vers' d st nct ns at gether Hav ng thus created a te m n l g cal cha s they have t ed tunscramble the eggs aga n by res t t a t tu us tax n my 61 p 131)Others (e g 64) adv cated the spec cat n f sets f va ables rather thanthe mult pl cat n f types and subtypes a p s t n perhaps n t t farrem ved fr m that f R vers

T A A vu ng the1 60s t seemed t many that the ma n challenge t the "descent

m del came fr m a m del f pr m t ve s c a structure devel ped byL v Strauss and c mm nly referred t at the t me as "all ance the y (cf10 8 ) Th s m del a s p s ted the ex stence f a segmenta y rgan at n

f un neal descent gr ups but l cated the art culat n f the system n the

mar age exchanges between these (putat vely ex gam us) gr ups s v -Strauss argued n a c t ue f Radcl e r wn the m del als ered ana te at ve nte pretat n f the relat nsh p between "fam ly and "clan.Radcl e r wn had be eved that a un versa "fam ly generated sentments wh c were extended al ng l nes f s l dary s bl ngsh p t l gergr up ngs n L v Strausss v ew the nuc ear fam ly was n t essent aS bl ng gr ups were l nked thr ugh the exchange f s sters n mar age (63)

Leach represent ng the the all ance sch l n a d spute w th F rtes (2 )a gued that "c plementa l at n was a bl nd. F rtes "wh le rec gn s-

ng that t es f a n ty have c mparable mp tance t t es f descentd sgu ses the f mer under the express n c mplementary l at n' (60p 122). In h s ana ys s f the ach n each argued that b th segmenta yl neagesystems and pr m t ve states c uld be dent ed n the eg n and

ndeed that there was a cycl cal m vement between the tw systems The

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key mech sm th s d lect c w s system o p e e e t l u il tem i ge alli ces which li ked "lo l desce g oups(58, 59).

The Transa tional Alte ativeA othe ompetitive model w s eo M li owski i to e The "cl w s leg l ctio The tio le o soci l ctio w s to be g sped t the level

o i d vidu l m ipul t o o esou es o pe so l dv t ge (c 4 ) Tv ew w s developed d ect oppos t o to the segme t y l e ge model

d m y be exempli ed g i by e ch this time i his study o vill gei S i L kPu/ Eliya (62

In Evans-Pritchard's studies of the Nuer and also Fort 's studi of the Tal ensiunil nea descent tu s out to large y an idea concept to which the empirical factsare on y adapt by eans o ctions. Both s ieti are treated extre e exampl ofpatr nea organ sation e ev dent i port nce a ached to matri ateral and a nalkinship conn tions not s much e p a ed e p ained away (62, p. 8)

But e ch gued ship d des e t p i ciples do ot ct lly gu deme s ctio s T ey e me e d oms w ys o t lk g out p ope y e e ommu y o de ed y k sh o de e t s "scollectio o i dividu ls who de ive hei livelihood om piece o te ito yl id out i p icul w y(62, 3 . The t ditio al opposi io betwee desce t d te ito y w s thus ei t odu ed Te to y s e lity ith ve s o de ce t t o . "Pul l y s soc ety wh lo l t

ot de ce t o ms t e b o o po te g oupi g t s ve y s mple pe ps lmost obvious di g yet i seems to me to ve ve y impo t

mplic tio s o th opologic l theo y d method(6 p 0 " t mighteve be the c se th t the st uctu e o u ili e l desce t g oups is total

ctio illumi ti g o doubt like othe theologic l ide s but still ctio p 3

d o d g k o e e whic we e de o st bly the sou ce o depe de t i te es s d p essu esi Pul liy om "desce t g oups which pe h ps ew would h ve expected to d i Si gh lese vill ge i y c se No did h ttempt to

el te this c itique to his e lie dvo cy o " lli ce models Neve theless l st ds s co ve ie t sou ce o othe st d i themod t q e o de t eo lb l ke l t eo y c

om w th t e s me h sto l t d tio c tique which t p o oulevel dopted the te ms o the model it ttempted to displ ce

E NOGR P IC EVELOPMEN S: C ORS' MOD S ND SYST MS " N TH ROUND

A c the pl c t o o t e model ollowed co se v t ve p t o somme o g om g ou m d t o u o

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de nition of an inte mediate "t pe, t e se mentar state, represented bt e ur ;cf 43,72) n some areas t e mode was more or ess ne ected.T e most notab e instance was ort American Indian studies ere t e

in uence of Radc i e rown on t e C ica o sc oo was not trans ated intoa conce wit abori ina po itica structures per aps because t e oasiancritique could not be ignored. sew ere t e canist mode was some-times app ied wit a minimum of adaptation, for examp e b reedman forC ina (29, 0 cf 1 orsome studies of Is amic pastora ists (reviewed in1 C ap. More usua t e mode was adapted, or rat er, particu ar

oca s stems were presented as variants wit more or ess signi cant t eoretica consequences. e Midd e aste segmenta ineage s stems, forexamp e, were ideall endo amous, and bot art and eters 5,74

ar ued t at i co se uence " inea es were ess direct imp icated ipower re ations, for inea e re ations cou d be modi ed b po itica marria es. sew ere Kirc o s mode of t e inte a ran ed descent roup,t e "conica c an, was revived to desc ibe t e coexistence of descent mod-e sand strati ed socia s stems and, t eoretica , to ink t e segmenta y

inea e s stem and t e "state (see 31 pp. 4 6 Wit out uestio , ow-ever, t e most interestin et no rap ic deve opments conce ed Po nesiaand t e new contacted societies of Hi and ew Guinea.

n ew Guinea a oun er eneration of ant ropo o ists, trained or inuenced direct b t e itis descent t eorists, was confronted wit

societies in w ic princip es of patri inea descent were iven considerab eemp asis and w ere po itica centralization was minima . One of t e rstand most in uentia monograp s, b Meggitt, app ied t e ricanist modeto t e Mae a (71 cf 4 . et atear sta e precise a d si i cantob ections were fo mu ated to t e "Af ican mode , stimu atin a debatew ic provided t e context for ater e d studies and et no rap ic ana ses.

es set out t e issues in a brief but extreme in uentia paper pubis ed in 62

The peopl of the New Guinea Highlands t became accessible for study at a mewhen anth opo ogica discussion was dom nated by the ana ys of political and kinshipsystems tha had r ntly bee made Ethno aphe s work ng in New Gu neawere ab e to pr ent inter m accounts o the po ysegmenta y statel s sy tems of theHigh ands with s e ort and greater speed by making use o the advanc n undest ding l dy a hieved by their olle gues who had s udied simil r so i l systems i

Yet it has b ome that Highland societies t awkward y intomoulds (3, . 5).

n part t e prob em was one of t e eve s of abstraction As Lan ness putit, t e comparisons made are o en between ura ru es (ideo o ies of t einea se mentar societies of Africa, and presumed (but not actua statisti-

ca norms of ew Guinea 7 p. 16 ut t ere appeared to be ot ermore fundamenta , di cu ties as we .

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hile a large proportion of men in the local communities were t picalrelate a naticall , local roups often nclu e lar e num ers of nona -nates, who mi ht e powerful mem ers of the communit Status istinc-

tions within th group i not epen on escent, an escent pr ncipleswere not greatl ela orate Further, there appeare to e consi era leui it in group composition i lan societies were loosel structure ,

as ouwer a ar ue (7 ) Ba es contraste the multiplicit of in ivi uala liations to t e apparentl soli a Tallensi group structures A corollarwas the a sence of pre icta ilit or regular t in c an es in the segmen-tar patte (3, p 9 In sum, as Brown complaine

. we may hard put to d ide, for example whether d scent roups are main yagnatic w th numerous accret ons or co nat c w th a patr ineal bias We d that p ople

are more m bile than any ules o descen nd r sidence should warrant, tha genealogiare too short to help l, that we don't k ow what "co porate means when applito some g oups, that al and descent oups are ra mented and ch ge thei a gn-ment . (7 p. 57).

The critique was sustaine su sequent research Reviewing the litera-ture a few ears later e Lepervanc e ocumente an con rme t ereservations w ich ha een expresse (9 cf 83) Strathe su geste that,nonetheless, some tra itional questions remaine to e ealt with venifwe regar escent o mas as merel an expression of common resi ence,

it is surel interestin t at t is pa icular expression at er t an ot ers isregularl c osen (93, p 38) In is et no raphic stu ies e pursue t ei eolo ical meanin s of claims that nei h ors are rothers, an revealea complex interpenetration of i eas, a partial fusion of escent an localiti eolo (94, p 2 9 ) The concept of foo , giving su stance, linkingpeople to t e soi , ma e an important me iator etween t e concepts oi entit throug localit an i entit throug escent (94 p 33) Atthe level of political anal sis, however, group mo els of all in s iel eto transactional ig man mo els

The classic Australian mo els have een su ecte to a similar series ofcritiques (cf 1 , an a para lel evelopment can e trace in ol nesianstu ies (reviewe in 20 . A num er of American ol nesia spec a ists eganto stress the impo ance of ma in a istinction etween culture an socialaction a istinction authoritativel a vocate arsons ut a sent in themo el uil ng activities of oth escent an alliance theorists

In Oceania, local communities were apparentl similar to the Afr canlocal groupings, thoug ase on what the authors sometimes calle cog-natic escent Where, t en, la the i erence? Keesing note

T e gulf between t e way Kwaio ( dI their ethnographer) con ept a ze the systema d the way Fort nd Goody concept the African systems seems ar w der thanthe gul between what the Kwa o and A icansdo. And i the gul is generat moreb the models th n by the facts, we had bette look ve ca ef ll at the models ( 0 p.

65 .

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I E E E Y

D erent ideolo ies in other words mi ht be asso iated with the same sortof lo al roup n "In major terr tor al es ent roups there s no pa t cularrelation between the des ent ideolo y and roup composit on Sahlins

ar ued "A descent do trine does not e press roup omposition but imposes itself upon the omposition (82 p. 104 his line of thou ht wasdeveloped at len th by Sche er in a penetratin review of descent theo(85 . S hneider (88 8 took a similar position and tr ed to foster thecultural study of "descent constru ts ( f 41, 1, 2. . he ulmination ofth s r t que s S hneider s superb new mono raph whi h contrasts anearlier "linea e theory model of ap so iety with a ultural model inwhich "linea e "des ent and "residen e are abandoned as analyticalcate or es (8

ne Afr anist has attempted to defend the model a ainst the NewGu nea r t que (5 but she is obviously stru lin a ainst the current.can s u es a ra her e n ra ew u nea o e s a e

hinted that an analysis of some Nuer ommunit es reveals that they havea number of the haracteristics attributed by Ba es to many Hi hlandso ieties (48 p 114 and New Guinea models have already been appliedto Af can soc et es w th nterest n results b Ka p (49) and b an e nseele ( 7 here are two re ent eneral r tiques of the se mentary linea emodel by Afri anists dealin respe tively with Southe Africa (55 hap4 ,and with Central Africa ( 8 .

ON L S ON

he Boasian c iti ue of Mor an's mode of entile society was intellectuallyunanswerab e and yet the model survived to be re uvenated in the form oflinea e theory A enerat on later a er theoret a debate e hno raph

ompar son and the reanal s s of "parad mat ases l nea e theorappears equally threadbare et t too survives and not only as a passiveelement in studies wh h are really more on e ed with somethin else

At the he ht of its vo ue the mo el provided a readily omprehensibleframework fa ilitatin the or ani ation of ethno raphic materials. It alsohad th merit of drawin attention to clearly important issues su h as theor an a on of local co un es k nsh p rela ons and the re ulat on omarria e residen e inheritance and succession. It was like a verbose butassiduous uide the patter was o en a bore but at least one was shown

many items of interest. ven toda the model ont nues to s imulate thepublication of ood des riptive arti les whi h nd a theoretical pe in theriti ism of some aspect of the model in a particular ethno raphi onte t

(e. .1 4. Some ideas appropriated and deve oped by des ent theoristshave been w dely used su h as the not on of "se mentary oppos t on. et

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2 KUP R

would not attempt even a uarded defense of the model It is heoreti allyunprodu tive, and that is the real test

Verdon has tried to ti hten up the model nd his e periment is inst u tive

( i e La Fontaine (5 , he fe rs th t if the riti s win out then thewhole omparative thrust of anthropolo may be los Consequently he isdetermined to nd de nitions universal enou h to promote the ompara-

ve anal s s of des ent roups a ross ont nents This involv a retu tost prin ip es and Verdon s pr n iples are of unpre edented austerity It is

not enou h o distin uish fol models and de ision models e must "a reeto divor e roups from heir behavioral and no ative e pression and

ontemplate them as sets from whi h an be derived a series of properties( , p 47 Des ent roups are then further distin uished with equal areBut the pri e of purifyin the riteria s that the model seems no lon er to

pply to ny ethno r phi ases in the end even the uer, Tiv and Talisanno be said o h ve rue se menta linea es Other examples may be

found the amoos perhaps, or the we, amon st whom Verdon hasworked but lea l the exer se leaves us w h a ompara ive ool wh h

e pp i tiMy view s that the linea e model, its pr de essors nd its analo s, h ve

no valu for nthropolo i al nalysis Two reasons bove all support thison lusion First, the model does not represent folk models whi h a tors

anywhere have of their own so ieties Se ondly, there do not appear to beany so e es n whi h v tal politi al or e onom a tiv t es are or anized by

repeti ive series of des ent roupset I do not expe the model to be nally abandoned It ev dently suits

mode not ons of how primitive so iet es were or anized, perhaps be auseof what it implies about the rel tionsh ps between na ure and ulture, ra eand itizenship, he ommun ty and the individual The model also tssnu l nto a broader lass of so olo al models, n whi h losed so et esare analyzed in o mutually e lus ve roups or lasses de ned by a sin leprin iple

The w y in whi h the model has been repeatedly transformed is of bro dinterest, sin e I do no believe that linea e theory is the only bran h ofan hropology hara e zed b su h rans o ma ons o onl he ontemporaries o Maine and Mor an but a l he model bu lders s n e, n lud nl nea e heo sts and allian e heo s s, have done l t le more than reorderthe e ements o themodel n novel omb nat ons, l ke hi dren pla n withbuildin blo ks Individual ses have hen been presented as "paradi

mati e amples of par i ular versions of the model, or as lo al, perhapstransient ex ept ons Only n the rare attempts a systemati reg onal strutural ompa ison were the fundamen al assumpt ons of the model o asionally shaken.

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NE GE THEORY 9

Give this assessme t there is vi usl p i t i casti a ut f r asu stitute Admittedl the m dels ca e made i creasi l c mple c t ast dels f alues a d m dels f act seek still deepep c ples st uctu e w c t u e l e th p s t "cti s whic w uld e plai awa vi us weak essesYet a ce tur f ever i le ma ipulati f the asic m del has ielded pr t hee rts f e erati s the rists have served l t u time f r t e m deli the face f its e i e t a k uptc

L terature C ted A em, E. 1976 Seg entation -ne e l ne ge : a v ew through wr ttengenealo Am. Ethnol. 3(1) 1-16

2 Angl n A 1979 Analytic l odels ndfolk ls. S Ref 45 pp. 49-673 B , 1 A 1962 Mri a dels in

the New Gu ne High ands Man52 5-9

4. B 1 A 1967. Agnation a ong t enga Ocean a37(1) 33 3

5 Ba , F 973 Descent a d a iager onsidere e 1 pp 3-19

6. Befu, H. Plotnicov L 1962 Ty es ofc rp rate u eal descent gr upsAm.Anth 64(2) 313 27

7. Brown, P 1962. Non agna a ongthe at ne l h bu Pol nes anSoc. 71 57-69

8 Buch erI Selby H A 1968K n-h and al O an at n: An Intu on o Theo an Me ho .New

York ac il an9 de L v nc e . 1967-68. Des nt

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58; (3) 163-891 . Du ont L 1971.ntrodu t on Deux

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12 Durk e 1897 eview of JKo er, Zur U e eh chte der Ehe(InFrench). Annee So o 1 3 6-19

13 ickel an D F 1981 e ddleE An Anthropolog al App a h.nglewood Cli s J Prentic Hall

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16 Evans P itc a , E E 19 e ol t -al S s e of the Anua of he Anglo-

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18 vans P itc a d . 1951K nsh pand a age among the ue Oxforl rendon

19 vans Pr tc rd . . 1958 Preface toRe 72 pp ix x

20. Fein rg R. 198 W at is Pol s ak ns p l a o t? Ethnolo 20 2 :115-3121 Forte 1945.he nam cs ofClanh among the al ensLondon Ox

for U iv Pr s22. Fort , . 19 9. The e of K nsh

among the a en London Oxfordniv. P ess

23 Fo es . 1949 Ti e s cial str ct re a As a ti case st Soc alStru ture ed Forte , pp. 5 -8 Oxford rendon

24. ortes . 195 . e str ct re of nilineal escent gro ps Am. Anth pol.55 1 1 4125. Fortes, . 1959 Descent ation a

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26 Fo tes 1969K nsh p and the Soc alOrder he Legacy ofLew s Hen organ Chicago: A d ne

27 Fortes .1979 Preface to Ref 45 ppv i x

28. For . Evans P itc d E E.19 0 Afr an Pol al S stemLondon Oxford niv Pre s

29 F eed an . 1958L neage O an at on n Southea te Ch nL ndonc on ono . Soc. Ant rop lNo 18. L ndon At lone

3 Freed an 19 6. h nese L neageand Soc et uk en and Kwangtun

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94 KUP R

ondon Sch. con Monogr. So . nt N nd n: At l ne

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48 Kabe ry P M1967. he plast c ty ofNew Gu sh p InSo ial O an tion ed M Fr man pp10 3L ndon Cs

49 Kar , I 1978 New G ea m ele Af an avanna a 48(1)

1 16

0 K s ng R. M1970.Sh n anc to sand co aticde ent:theK d

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t one61 ch, E. R 196 On ce ta n uncons

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don Murray

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Anthro o Inst.968,

pp. 37 5294 Strathe A 973 K nsh p d s nand local ty: ome ew Gu nea e ample See e4 pp -33

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hordes of d scord: Austr l an A o gnal oc al organ at on recon deredMan 6 90- 07

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a. kuper - lineage theory - a critical retrospect

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