An Aspect of Recent Eskimo Polygyny and Wife-Lending in the Eastern Arctic
This article is concerned with an aspect of status in some hunting and collecting societies which are economically at or near susbsistence level and under conditions of contact with the modern world. It attempts, perhaps, to bridge an implicit conceptual dichotomy between the aboriginal culture and...
| Published in: | Human Organization |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Informa UK Limited
1962
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.17730/humo.21.1.873715365h4w21k8 http://meridian.allenpress.com/human-organization/article-pdf/21/1/17/1721019/humo_21_1_873715365h4w21k8.pdf |
| Summary: | This article is concerned with an aspect of status in some hunting and collecting societies which are economically at or near susbsistence level and under conditions of contact with the modern world. It attempts, perhaps, to bridge an implicit conceptual dichotomy between the aboriginal culture and the present society under the influence of an overwhelming intrusive culture. In the face of a cumulatively important change in the ecology of the arctic coastal regions in the latter nineteenth century and the early twentieth century, as well as the presence of non-Eskimo persons to create and direct the new economy, it follows that social and political mechanisms might become important as supportive institutions in that change. In this context of change, the article deals with a man's jural rights in respect to the sexual services of his spouse and how these rights may be exercised in support of claims to high status within the community. And in this situation, the rights are claimed by and given to the Euro-Canadian in the Eskimo community. |
|---|