Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Maps
- 1 Introduction: assumptions, procedures, methods
- 2 Kinship, culture and theory
- 3 What is kinship in the West Indies?
- 4 The structure of genealogies
- 5 Marriage in the formation of west Indian society
- 6 Modern marriage and other arrangements
- 7 Sex role differentiation
- 8 Household and family
- 9 Conclusion
- References
- Index
- Cambridge Studies in Social Anthropology
3 - What is kinship in the West Indies?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 October 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Maps
- 1 Introduction: assumptions, procedures, methods
- 2 Kinship, culture and theory
- 3 What is kinship in the West Indies?
- 4 The structure of genealogies
- 5 Marriage in the formation of west Indian society
- 6 Modern marriage and other arrangements
- 7 Sex role differentiation
- 8 Household and family
- 9 Conclusion
- References
- Index
- Cambridge Studies in Social Anthropology
Summary
In discussing the social structure of the West Indies the obvious starting-place is the family, for it is, even when quite ephemeral, the outstandingly important social institution of the West Indies.
The prevailing type of West Indian family which is encountered over and over again in all the colonies is very loose in organization.
T.S. Simey 1946Even the most superficial observer would not make the mistake of thinking that kinship is unimportant to West Indians. Much has been written about the ‘looseness’ of family relations, about sexual promiscuity and about the inadequacies of child rearing, but it is generally acknowledged that family ties are both strong and extensive. Before we try to resolve the seeming paradox of coexistent strength and looseness it is necessary to get a clearer idea of the way in which our informants think and talk about kinship. What is a relative? How do kinship ties arise? What are the obligations of kinship and how do they vary? It is commonly assumed that there are differences in family structure as between classes and races, but there has been no attempt to discover whether the concepts of kinship and family are uniform throughout these societies, and whether the same terms mean the same thing to different sections of the population.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Kinship and Class in the West IndiesA Genealogical Study of Jamaica and Guyana, pp. 31 - 46Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1988