06-1 Structural Functionalism

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Apr 3, 2024

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Villanueva ANT 2053 Early Ethnography E. E. Evans-Pritchard and the Nuer Objectives 1. Identify and describe EE Evans-Pritchard’s contribution to Anthropology. 2. Review Evans-Pritchard’s relationship with the Nuer. 3. Describe the social organization of the Nuer. 4. Analyze criticism of Evans-Pritchard’s approach. 1. E.E. Evans Pritchard, The Nuer Discussion questions a. How does Evans-Pritchard come to study the Nuer? Through colonization, British came to colonize that land and found the Nuer individuals. He oversaw this land and to perceive the way they worked as a society. b. What is the nature of his relationship with the Nuer people? He saw how cattle was a key importance to the Nuer people and how they organized themselves. c. What element of Nuer life does he highlight as important to his study? Why? 2. Territorial System a. Huts i. Usually where the women & children live. b. Homestead i. Cattle buyer and one or more huts. ii. The wives and children (several huts) of the husband c. Hamlets i. Several homesteads put together. ii. iii. Brothers homestead or brother’s cousins 3. 4 Features of a Tribe a. Each tribe has a name. b. Each tribe has a particular territory which it owns and defends. c. It is the largest group in Nuer society in which people feel it is their duty to unite for fighting and raiding for defensive action.

Villanueva ANT 2053 d. It is the largest unit in which compensation is made for a homicide. i. If a man kills a man of another tribe & has to compensate through cattle 4. Segmentary Principle a. Notion of “home” or what the Nuer people called cieng , is relative. i. Could mean your homestead, hamlet, village, or any tribal sections b. Evans-Pritchard argued there was a “structural relativity” of Nuer groups. i. Nuer people, E-P argued, saw themselves as a group only in opposition to other groups . Ex. If talking to someone from Houston, will say I’m from the valley but if you are in the valley, will say I’m from Mission Define our identity based on our need. Ex. If I am Z1, I am an opposition to Z2. However, if I am an opposition to Y1, I am Y2. However, if I am an opposition to X, I am Y. However, if I am an opposition to A, I am B. 5. Evans-Pritchard argued there was a “structural relativity ” of Nuer groups. a. 6. Agnatic Descent a. The lineage system, E-P argued, created the basic organizational structure of Nuer society. b. Nuer followed agnatic descent: traced relations between people through male consanguineal [we share blood] linkages (“blood” “ties”)—also known as patrilineal descent. c. The largest group of agnates who traced descent from a common ancestor was the clan . Each clan had a series of lineages (a genealogical segment of a clan)

Villanueva ANT 2053 7. Nuer Segmentary Lineage System a. “Clan” b. Lineage c. Extended family d. Nuclear family 8. Evans-Pritchard Thesis a. Shifting balance of feuding and fusing segments b. Order and stability without government 9. Nuer Social Organization a. “ segmentary lineage system ” b. Lineage : group of families descended from common ancestor 10.Segmentary Lineage System a. Nuclear families nested within extended families. b. Extended families nested within lineages. i. Genealogical links sometimes traceable. c. Lineages nested within clans. i. Genealogical links not traceable. d. Clans nested within tribe or tribal “factions.” 11. Importance of Agnatic Principle a. Link between territorial system and lineage system b. If lineage system is agnatic and territorial system is linked to lineage, then the AGNATIC PRINCIPLE underlies entire structure of Nuer society. 12.Kathleen Gough’s reinterpretation E-P’s Model of Nuer Society Gough’s Model of Nuer Society stable changing uniform/homogenous heterogeneous egalitarian stratified

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Villanueva ANT 2053 13.Evans-Pritchard’s Legacy The good The bad Produced an incredibly detailed ethnographic account that was rich with data. Made his data clear and accessible, thus open to new interpretations. Failed to address indications of changes occurring in Nuer society 14.In short, structural functionalism failed to: a. Account for change: Removed society from its historical context—a society was operating at a steady equilibrium or falling apart. b. Account for heterogeneity and difference— leads to overlooking the importance of social inequality and social stratification 15.Lost, but Not Forgotten a. By the 1970’s showing up to an anthropology gathering talking about structural functionalism was about as cool as showing up to a party in dungarees. b. BUT… it’s re-emerging from scholars in South America… and Britain. 16.What pushed this framework out of style? Historical changes: a. The attainment of political independence by colonized countries . This brought about quite major and rapid change which became hard to ignore. b. Critiques from nationalist writers and scholars denouncing anthropology and its colonial connections, prompting reflection of the uneven regimes of power within which anthropologists operate. c. Increased awareness, through engagement with post-colonial literature , of the way in which structural functionalism acted to produce a “ timeless other. ”

06-1 Structural Functionalism

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