Marriage, Kinship and Family in The Life And Words Of A !Kung Woman Essay Example

the same name as their brother, sister, mother, or father.

When selecting an appropriate man for marriage, the girl's family takes into account various qualities such as hunting skills, ability to maintain gift exchanges, non-aggressiveness, and willingness to fulfill familial responsibilities (Shostak 128). The rituals of marriage commence with forcefully relocating the bride from her parents' hut to the groom's hut. Resistance and struggle during this process hold significance within the ritual. This can be interpreted either as reluctance towards marriage or an exploration of the correlation between violence and sexual arousal.

The !Kung tribe lacks formal legal systems for marriage and divorce. Both the groom and bride receive aromatic powders and oils, as mentioned by Shostak (331). Parents remain concerned about their children's family life even after marriage, frequently visiting to check on their well-being. The !Kung tribe consists of different sections, each led by headmen who oversee the families' progress.

For example, in the !Kung tribe, the headman is responsible for checking on the family and ensuring improvement when a husband beats his wife (Shostak 260). Furthermore, gender roles in the tribe differ, with men being in charge of providing food through hunting, while women are responsible for childcare and gathering food.

Conclusion

Shostak's examination of the customs and traditions of the !Kung tribe highlights both similarities and differences, allowing her audience to compare them to Western culture. However, there is limited information available on !Kung men compared to the extensive information on how women perceive life.

It could be argued that if a man was the anthropologist in this account, there would be a different perspective on the themes discussed.

Work Cited

1. Shostak, Marjorie.

Nisa, the Life and Words of A!kung Woman. Routledge, 2014. Print.