This thesis argues that kinship is experiencing revived importance in every aspect of life in post-socialist Mongolia and suggests a number of reasons for this phenomenon. Under socialism the state performed functions that in traditional times were the province of kin relations and networks, including the provision of housing, employment, child care, social welfare, economic help, and so on. Now that socialism is gone, kinship is beginning to fulfill many of these functions again. It is therefore -lhe Je-n ,se 6f' filling the void left by socialism. ?' I approach this topic from three perspectives: the encouragement of "old" traditions (Chapter 1), the history of kinship terms (Chapter 2), and the manifestations of kinship in Mongolian society, economy, and conceptual life (Chapters 3, 4 and 5). In Chapter 1, I outline the various ways in which Mongolians have looked at the past as a source from which to choose the aspects of kinship that they wish to revive through "old" traditions and memories. A diachronic analysis of kin terms (from the eighteenth century until today) in Chapter 2 illustrates the changes that have taken place in kinship terminology that reflect changes at the theoretical level. The practical aspects of kinship are examined in three parts: kinship relations and networks (Chapter 3), kinship and economic relations (Chapter 4), and kinship metaphors (Chapter 5). Four main themes have emerged from this study. First, ritual is now being revitalised. Second, there is a mutuality of obligations in kin relations, that does not exist in non-kin relations which tend to be based on economic considerations. Third, although there is a relatively clear boundary between kin and non-kin, it is still possible for outsiders to become insiders if they develop the trust of the kin group. While there are many degrees of acceptance, one of the most interesting is the relatively new phenomenon of fictive (huurai) kinship, which has developed only since the beginning of the post-socialist period. I argue that fictive kinship has become common because it has all the social advantages of kinship and all the economic advantages of non-kinship. Last, kinship distinctions were present, but invisible during the socialist era because kinship ties were discouraged and pseudokinship relations such as "brotherhood" and comradeship took their place. Today kinship distinctions are visible again, as sources of support in troubled times, and as ways of defining what it means to be Mongolian, including the establishment of genealogical links to the national hero Chinghis Khan. The involvement of intellectuals in the reinvention of kinship and tradition is an interesting and proble'm atic phenomenon with both positive and negative implications for postsocialist Mongolian society.

Seventeen complete and incomplete Eskimo kinship terminologies are examined and compared with a view to determining and assessing the nature and extent of the reported discrepancies. It is shown that the lack of a standardized orthography for the Eskimo language has contributed to the difficulties of comparing the distribution of terminology. Nuances of the language, especially those relating to the use of different suffixes for 'step', 'adoptive', and 'lesser' are shown to give rise to some of the reported discrepancies. The definitions of Spier and Murdock relating to the 'Eskimo Type' of kinship system and social structure are examined and found to be invalid for the areas for which data are available. It is established that a core of terminological and structural similarity exists between the geographically isolated systems. But the importance of local variables demands that correlations between the kinship system and the associated social structure must be made within the framework of the local economic and ecological factors impinging upon the domestic group. The apparently asymmetrical relationship between-ascending and descending generations is examined within the conceptual framework of the developmental cycle of domestic groups. It is suggested that the specificity of terminology is related to the economic effectivity of the category of relative under discussion. The data available are insufficient for statistical analyses but it is thought that the statistical approach will provide a more coherent picture of the structural and functional inter-relationships between the on-going institutions and that local variations will be shown to have rational bases. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

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The central hypothesis of this thesis is that aspects of the use of kinterms in Arandic languages (or dialects) are dependent upon pragmatic factors to do with broad levels of relationship beyond the genealogical, especially those between people and country, and between countries and Dreamings. It is suggested that other pragmatic factors such as the notions of closeness and distance are significant in determining the use of kinterms. Through an analysis of ‘unexpected’ uses of kinterms it is shown that systematic patterns of skewing exist in Arandic systems, and the factors which determine this are explored. Particular types of kin are marked by the use of specialised kinterms, by respectful codes of behaviour, and by the use of special registers.

Thesis--Tubingen. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 216-222).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [289]-299). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008. / Full text also available online. Scroll down for electronic link.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [289]-299). Also available on the Internet.

No description available.

No description available.