Relationship

A common bond

We can consider that each individual of each company maintenance of the relations of relationship. However it is certain that in certain company the parents will have different roles: in the companies known as industrialized, beside the parents a great number of established relations (as of more the young age, with the crib and then at the school and work, in a club of sport,…), thus the relationship has less of importance than in companies clannish where the relationship regulates practically all the relations.

The relationship articulates integrating and discriminating functions which go beyond the close relatives or from the " family " , whether one gives in this term a narrow or wide direction. The Filiation, for example, can define the membership in perennial groups which extend on a genealogical network which goes well beyond the close relations that an individual is brought to know or attend at the court of his own existence, his parents, the uncles, or the nephews, etc For this reason, a chalk-lining, a clan, even a caste, are generalizing extensions of the principle of filiation. In a given company, one will say thus that X are the descendants of the mythical beaver; in such other, which they are the descendants of such hero. Finally in laminated companies, perenniality in the time of the levels which compose it also rests on filiation. The Aristocratie of old mode affirmed, amongst other things, to be distinguished from the commoner's condition by the " blood bleu" who linked it in an exclusive way, and the appartenace with the artistocratie was transmitted by filiation. These various examples show that the study of the relationship, heard generally, makes it possible to wonder about questions as central as " who are we? " and " who are the different ones? ".

The relationship was analyzed by the anthropologists of many manners, and according to sometimes contradictory optics. Failing to approach the history of this under-discipline of anthropology, we will examine some key concepts of the studies of relationship, by basing us on the sources indicated in bibliography.

Relationship, evolution, and articulated language

The relationship is a dimension of the human existence which cannot be separate faculty to produce and to communicate representations relating to the bonds which constitute it; in other words, the relationship cannot be separate existence of a Langage articulated. In spite of this specificity, which determines the human relationship and allows its complexity, it is legitimate to study the common substrate which it shares with the organization of the reproduction or the collective life of other sexués organizations deprived of articulated language. For obvious evolutionary reasons, the human relationship is closer to the organization of the collectives of primates higher than of that of the birds, the reptiles or the insects.

The evolutionary genesis of the human relationship remains a highly conjectural field to date. Ghasarian, evokes the assumption of a joint birth of the relationship and language, and a series draws some from consequences of the psychoanalytical type. The constitution of a representation of filiation would have thus given more importance to the father who, consequently, could " interposer" in the relation between the mother and her children, an innovation in his turn not deprived of consequences on the psychic development of the latter. However, if the human relationship appears at the same time as the language, one could not show too much prudence at the time to draw some from the consequences.

Lévi-Strauss refuses to produce a conjectural genesis of the relationship, but admits for its part that so that a human relationship can exist, three conditions " a priori " are necessary:

the existence of the rule like regulates
the reciprocity like forms integration of oneself and others
the synthetic character of the gift

This meeting of elements allows the advent of a prohibition of the Inceste " humain" who is with the base of the " social Contract " original and original which for him the relationship constitutes. Lévi-Strauss sometimes expressed it in the traditional terms of the passage of nature to the culture. The minimal alienation of prohibition - I cannot marry who I want - allows the establishment of a minimal collective order - I can marry the woman whom you cannot marry. It remains that the statute of the three conditions " a priori " relationship, poses problem from an evolutionary point of view, and in his relationship with the development of the articulated language, since one could not differently approach them than like " properties invariantes" of a " humain" spirit; whose design is by definition withdrawn from any evolutionary process. If there is for Lévi-Strauss a " humain" spirit; there does not seem to be a " animal" spirit; , and consequently the problem of their continuity cannot even be paused. To solve the question of the human relationship, and its continuity or its rupture with the organization of a " pre-parenté" at the old Hominidé S, requires to answer the thorny question of the origin of the language.

Family ties

Among the relationship in general, one can distinguish three types of bonds:

the Filiation
the alliance
the Germanité

Family ties, although one tends to regard them as " naturelles" or biological, are it only in the Western tradition: thus the " Consanguinity " is regarded as biological. But in this tradition also, of the family ties can be created by a legal process, as in the case of the Adoption or fraternity symbolic system (Amitié for example). The relationship cannot rest exclusively on consanguineous bonds, because these bonds would imply the relationship of all, especially in the small firms. The social organization on this basis would be impossible. Family ties thus are generally selected in the genealogy, the others not being taken into account. It thus appears that consanguinity is especially culturally defined. Filiation defines these bonds.

Filiation

The Filiation is, according to Ghasarian, “the principle controlling the transmission of the relationship. ” Filiation makes it possible to give a Social status to an individual and to classify the men, which is particulèrement important, for example for the rules of the Mariage. Filiation necessarily does not rest on biological criteria and depends rather on the received design of the family ties.

The anthropologists distinguish three great types of filiation (cf Ghasarien, p58):

patrilineal unilinear Filiation or matrilinéaire
bilinear Filiation
undifferentiated Filiation

Note: these organizations are particularly complex, and a detailed talk would ask for a great number of diagrams to be understandable. We will thus stick to general information.

Unilinear filiation

It is the most widespread organization. Filiation is imposed on each one, as regards mother or father. Generally, in these systems, one estimates the importance of the physical role of the man or the woman in procreation according to this membership with the father or the mother.

In the majority of unilinear filiations the women are dominated by the men. According to Laburthe-Tolra, this system is founded by the physical, larger force at the man, and thus also by violence, in spite of the rebellion of the women in much of traditional companies.

Patrilineal (known as agnatic ):

In this filiation, the individual belongs to the consanguineous parental group of his father. The social relations inside the group and the right depend on the men. The woman resides then in her husband and must subject herself to her authority. Examples: Burma, old China, Greece, Rome.

Matrilinéaire (known as uterine ):

The individual is this time included in the consanguineous group of his mother: the rights are transmitted by the women. The man is in this case only one husband who has little importance, but it is the brother of the mother (uncle) who has rights on the children. One finds also companies where the relationship is patrilineal whereas the property right (including the state of free man) is matrilinéaire. In this system, the women often do not have more political power than in the precedent, although their economic and religious roles are more important. One must thus distinguish relationship matrilinéaire and Matriarcat: the relationship matrilinéaire is most of the time patriacale.

Bilinear filiation (known as also double filiation )

This filiation is rare: it combines the two preceding systems of filiation. The individual obtains precise social aspects on each side: family name, rights, duties, statutes, goods, worship of the ancestors, etc Examples: at the Jewish S, the relationship is patrilineal, but the judeity is transmitted by the women; Tuareg; Hereros.

Bilateral or undifferentiated filiation (known as cognatic )

The individual made in this case started from at least two groups of relationship, the side of his/her mother and her father starting from the grandparents. This organization structure of the companies more complex than in the preceding cases. According to Ghasarian, this system of relationship relates to 50 percent of the human society.

The individual can choose his filiation: in Occident, the choice is not obligatory to have a statute, but it is it in the traditional companies, which makes distinguish between current and right rights potential. By this choice, the individual must be established in residence in one or the other relationship, or divide himself between the two, and its rights vary consequently. This choice leaves a great individual freedom, since it is the individual who is supposed to make his rights effective; the individual can moreover sometimes modify his choice of residence.

Reserves on these divisions

Ethnologists pointed out that these divisions are too rigid to describe the really effective relationships in the companies: there would be in the facts a proportion between patrilinearity and matrilinearity. For Rodney Needham (in “the Relationship in question”, quoted by Ghasarian), there is “no principle of single filiation. ” The conformity of a company to a uniform model is thus according to him improbable. Consequently, the classification of the companies according to these criteria does not have anything obvious.

Chalk-lining

Chalk-lining is a whole of people (including deaths) who go down from the same ancestor (man or woman). It includes/understands very many aspects:

Organization (economy, work, etc)
Right (heritage/succession, authority of Old, management and use of the goods, etc)
Taxation (Death taxes, tax definition of the household, etc)
Religion (worships of the Ancestors)
Service (drives out, management of the cattle, etc)
etc

This unit trains a moral person (still that juridiquemnt this term applies rather to the companies and associations), whose members are the representatives.

Relations of the individuals in the relationship

the respect
familiarity
Prohibited
the avoidance: this relation, which is connected with the respect, comprises many related aspects with the avoided person. Avoidance of the glances, the physical contacts, the presence, the realization of certain acts (nutrition for example) in the presence of the person, etc This behavior relates to several types of relation and occurs according to the place, the moment of the day, etc: husband and woman, son-in-law and parents-in-law, etc For example, in certain companies, the son-in-law is supposed to hide if he sees his mother-in-law: it is a behavior of fear which must make it possible to avoid the conflicts and to preserve the mutual respect.
relations with jokes

Alliances and marriage

Types of marriages

The Mariage does not imply necessarily a hétérosexuelle union : in certain companies, the marriage can be homosexual, because it is the social function which is taken into account. A sterile woman can thus hold the role of a man at the Nuer:

Polygamy. It is the marriage of an individual (man or woman) with several people (men or women); one distinguishes two types of polygamous marriage:

marriage polygynic, where the man has several legitimate wives. This practice is generally associated with the social status of the man, the number of women testifying to her importance and its power. The statute of the women is variable there: the women can be locked up like goods (sign of richness), or on the contrary to lay out of a great freedom in their activities by an allocation of the functions between the wives
marriage polygynic sororal: the man Marie with a woman, then thereafter with her sister, even with several of them.
polyandric marriage: the woman has several legitimate men; however this marriage remains rather rare.
fraternal polyandric marriage: the woman Marie with brothers.

Lévirat . In this type of marriage, a woman must marry the brother of her late husband. The new husband has then the duty to continue the line of his brother; the children resulting from this union will be socially regarded as those of the former husband. Examples: ancient Greece, Rome.

Sororat . In this type of marriage, it is this time the sister of a late wife who ensures the continuity of the line.

For the sovereigns, the marriages where one of the husbands, and the children of the couple, give up part of the prerogatives of heritage, is called Mariage morganatic.

Some aspects

Economy of the marriage

Procreation

Fidelity of the grooms

the wife is generally considered by the man and sees itself like a good, as in the case of polygyny. For this reason, it is often the Virginité of the future bride who makes her value. The sexual relations before the marriage are for a woman a cause of dishonor and impurity in many traditional companies. As for the man, it is often held to marry the woman with whom it had sexual relations.
adultery is either interdict with the two husbands, or accepted for two, the or prohibited one with the one of both only. This point, like virginity, is related to the honor and can involve revenges. In certain companies, the women are exchanged between husband.

Divorce

Social status and capacity

The relationship can be regarded as an expression of the organization of the capacity; to see on this point Political anthropology.

the household head
Statute of the women
Statute of old the
Statute of the ancestors

Relationship, biology, technology

Problems of interpretation

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