To understand the system under which land
rights are held in any pre—literate society, one must refer
to the cultural background since primitive tenure is usually
tied in with other aspects of culture. Thus, because a
person may hold rights in land according to his social,
political and economic status, it is necessary to obtain a
clear picture of the social, political, and economic structure,
Because a person may obtain or lose his rights according to a
change in status, one must be familiar with the rules of succession and inheritance, marriage customs and lineage ties.
Public ceremony and tribal mythology are often instruments for
the validation of claims, while the means of guaranteeing rights
in land are related to the system of social control. Moreover,
the reasons for desiring land can only be fully explained by
referring to cultural values.
It follows that because of this relationship between
land tenure and the rest of culture, a system of tenure will be
affected by change occurring in cultural aspects with which it is
linked. For instance, when a person holds rights in land by virtue
of his membership in tribe and family, a breakdown of these groups
will tend to invaliaate his claims. Again, when a shift in
the political structure leads to new concentrations of authority,
different means of controlling land may arise. A changing
economy may free people from dependence upon the old social group
and thus lead to the individualization of title. When ceremonialism plays an important part in the validation of land rights, its
submergence tends to cause confusion of claims.
In studying the effects of culture contact upon the
Tsimshian system of land tenure during the nineteenth century) the
writer began by examining the traditional system of tenure and its
relationship to other aspects of culture. The place of the social, political and economic structure in the land tenure scheme
was determined, as was the part played by ceremonialism, mythology
and the system of social control. The nature of culture contact
and its influence upon these aspects of culture was then reviewed.
Finally, the writer attempted to determine to what extent the system
of tenure was itself affected. / Arts, Faculty of / Sociology, Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/39409 |
| Date | January 1956 |
| Creators | Darling, John Davidson |
| Publisher | University of British Columbia |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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