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Lineage Organisation of the Tallensi Compound: The Social Logic of Domestic Space in Northern Ghana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

Nick Gabrilopoulos ,
Charle Mather  and
Caesar Roland Apentiik
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Abstract

Houses frequently embody culturally specific principles of social organisation. In this article Tallensi compounds in the Upper East Region of Ghana are examined in terms of compound layout and the kinship relations of their occupants. By comparing the patrilineal descent patterns of occupants with the topological organisation of multi-courtyard compounds, it is proposed that there is a correlation between these two variables. Further multidimensional scaling analysis shows that proximity in kinship space is reflected in proximate living arrangements. For students of material culture, this investigation demonstrates that lineage solidarity and politics can be played out in architectural form on the micro-scale of the domestic scene. From the standpoint of ethnoarchaeology, the processes governing the social logic of compound design can also assist archaeologists in interpreting house features in the remains of similarly constituted settlements.

Résumé

La maison incarne fréquemment des principes d'organisation sociale culturellement spécifiques. Cet article étudie des campements tallensi du nord-est du Ghana en termes de configuration spatiale et de rapports de parenté. En comparant les modèles de descendance patrilinéaire des habitants avec l'organisation topologique des campements à cours multiples, l'article suggère qu'il existe une corrélation entre ces deux variables. Une autre analyse multidimensionnelle en relativité d'échelle montre qu'une proximité de parenté se reflète dans la proximité des habitats. Pour ceux qui étudient la culture matérielle, cette etude montre que la solidarité de lignage et la politique peuvent se manifester sous une forme architecturale à la micro-échelle de la scène domestique. D'un point de vue ethnoarchéologique, les processus régissant la logique sociale du type de campement peuvent aussi aider les archéologues à interpréter les caractéristiques des maisons situées sur d'anciens sites, dont la configuration est comparable.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 72 , Issue 2 , May 2002 , pp. 221 - 244
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2002

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