Question

In the article "Life without Fathers or Husbands" by Clifford Geertz, given Miller's description of various forms of households, how would you categorize that of the Na society?

Answer 1

In his paper, “Life without Fathers or Husbands”, anthropologist Clifford Geert presents an analysis of the structure of society. Using ethnographic data from the Na society of China, Geertz presents the concept of incest as a taboo which is controlled through a particular route of kinship ties.Amongst the Na community, kinship relations are governed by matrilineal hierarchy. That is, the tribe concerns matrililineal descent and it sees incest as an act of sex between two members of the same lineage, which they trace through their mother's side. Thus, sexual relations between fathers and daughters was not traditionally considered as a taboo in this society. Moreover, there is an absence of marriage, but there are "visits" when a man comes to a woman to have sex. The purpose of sex is to procreate. these visits weren’t a taboo but were the ‘norm’. If the woman in question is of age than her visitor may simply enter her home.

However, with the Cultural Revolution and the government family programmes, the kinship order of the Na came under a massive transformation and the age old tradition began to be seen as ‘uncivilized’ and ‘illegal’. Moreover, with the inequality distribution of wealth and clas spooitics, the richer sections of the Na community, accepted the government’s larger norms about a legal family and chose marriage as an institutionalised way of climbing legitimacy and status quo for themselves. Thus, the movement of stranger men to the domestic property of the matriarch came to a halt. Here, we see how Miller’s ideas about households as representative of private possession and the social status of the owner can be seen to be applicable on the Na in the contemporary time.