Levirate and sororate and the terminological classification of uncles, aunts, and siblings' children

Ethnology • Vol/Iss. 28 • Published In • Pages: 343-358 •
By Pans, A.E.M.J.

Abstract

This study re-examines the hypothesis of Sapir (1916) regarding the relationship between levirate and sororate and kinship terminology. The author critiques Murdock’s (1947) work on this topic and performs his own analysis for four hypotheses. Results suggest that “the levirate and sororate are significantly correlated to the occurrence of bifurcate merging terminology and step-bifurcate collateral terminology” (352). Exceptions to this finding are also discussed.
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: Kate Cummings  Amelia Piazza