Exam 9: Kinship, Family, and Marriage

Which of the following types of marriage specifically involves the marital union of one man to two or more women?

Anthropologist E. E. Evans-Pritchard conducted ethnographic research with Nuer people of southern Sudan in the 1930s and argued that this group of people constituted a patrilineal descent group. What does it mean to be a patrilineal descent group and how does this differ from a matrilineal descent group? How were cattle used to reflect the patrilineal nature of Nuer descent? Provide at least two examples.

The origins of the incest taboo are unclear, even after decades of careful study. One theory holds that the taboo is due to a fear of creating genetic defects in offspring. What is one argument against this theory?

Toguwagewa's society practices unilateral matrilineal descent. To whom does he consider himself related?

Bridewealth is prevalent in many African societies and parts of the Middle East and frequently means that the groom's family gives cattle, cash, or other goods to the family of the bride-to-be. What is the goal of bridewealth?

Within a family structure, we learn how to treat our kin. What other aspects of life in society does family prepare us to navigate?

Which of the following is the practice of formalizing and legalizing a marriage through the exchange of gifts from the bride's family to the groom's family?