Song as a measure of culture

Folk Song Style and Culture • American Association for the Advancement of Science • Washington, D.C. • Published In • Pages: 117-169 •
By Lomax, Alan

Hypothesis

"Simple alternation [between singing chorus and leader] . . . almost always indicates the presence of at least one or two levels of extra-local political control" (158).

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
GammaSupportedp<.01.75UNKNOWN

Variables

Variable NameVariable Type OCM Term(s)
Extra-local Political ControlIndependentTerritorial Hierarchy
Simple Alternation In SingingDependentMusic

Related Hypotheses

Main AuthorHypothesis
Lomax, Alan"Cohesive singing . . . occurs . . . more frequently . . . in stable and 'non toppy' communities than elsewhere" (187) Note that 'toppy' communities are those "in which either a complex or elite caste system or many levels of extra-local governmental authority split the community."
Davis, William N."As predicted, simple local communities and simple states (i.e. a low level of political complexity) tended to be associated with a high frequency of drunkenness while complex communities and complex states were related to a lower frequency of drunkenness" (36)
Anderson, Siwan Historical female political representation in a given ethnic homeland will have a positive relationship to contemporary female political representation in local elections.
McClelland, David C."Low male solidarity, non-lineal descent (i.e., bilateral descent), and lack of a jurisdictional hierarchy at the [extra] local level [indicators of low structural differentiation] are all related to each other and to drinking" (64)
Schaefer, James Michael"Simple political systems . . . link with extreme, aggressive drunkenness, while more complex political systems . . . link with mild, non-aggressive drunkenness"