Marriage, Kinship, and Illness

1
Marriage, Kinship, and Illness
2
Marriage and Kinship Some Basic Anthropological
Terms

• Kinship boundaries patrilineal, matrilineal,
  bilateral
• Residence of wedded couple patrilocal,
  matrilocal, neolocal
• Exchanges at marriage bride-price or
  bride-wealth dowry
• Types of marriage monogamy, polyandry, polygyny
  (James Buchers question)

3
Frequency of Marriage Types Across Cultures from
the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample of 186
pre-industrial societies (Murdock and White 1969)
4
Preferred marriage is to the son or daughter of
ones fathers brothers (the paternal uncle)
5
Nadia
6
Aisha
7
Jamila
8
Why is Jamilas position in her household so
tenuous?
9
Why do people marry someone who is related?
10
Somatization

• Illness as a way to resist oppression? p. 249,
  footnote 11
• Nadia on being ill from not working p. 205

11
Medical Pluralism

• Western medicine is expensive doesnt address
  the non-medical issues, p. 164-166
• Not all physical problems are medically caused,
  but caused by social conflicts spells/witchcraft
• Why might visiting a saints shrine help? p. 208
• But social stigma for doing so Abdul Haqq, p.
  165

12
Back to a big question how and why cultures
change?

• Has globalization (the relocation of
  multinational factories to Morocco) generated
  cultural change?
• If so, how is it happening?
• If not, why not?