Family and land in peasant ritual

American Ethnologist • Vol/Iss. 3 • Published In • Pages: 87-96 •
By Michaelson, Evalyn Jacobson, Goldschmidt, Walter

Hypothesis

". . . moral pressures [ranging from sense of moral obligation to preserve family land to conception of retaining land in family line as a sacred duty] are highly correlated with patrilineal land inheritance . . . And, more over, are frequently an integral part of the symbolic structure of the ancestral cult" (92)

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
Chi squareSupportedp<.001UNKNOWNUNKNOWN

Variables

Variable NameVariable Type OCM Term(s)
Land Inheritance PatternDependentInheritance
Land/family TiesIndependentInheritance

Related Hypotheses

Main AuthorHypothesis
Michaelson, Evalyn Jacobson"When we examine the relationship between ancestral shrines and patrilineal inheritance of land, we find that there is a high correlation. . . . Among the households in these patrilineal communities family rituals are held more consistently . . . [and] with greater frequency" (90)
Gouldner, Alvin W.Findings: Factor L, "Lineality", is bipolar. Traits which load heavily and positively (oblimax rotation) are: patripotestal family authority, patrilineal inheritance, patrilineal descent, patrilineal succession, and subjection of women. Negative loadings are for matrilineal inheritance and descent (21)
Baker, MatthewControlling for technology and complexity, the predicted probability of a land market will have a negative impact on the likelihood that a fixed inheritance rule is observed (93).
Nimkoff, M. F."…residence is associated with inheritance of property. In patrilocal societies inheritance is largely patrilineal and in matrilocal societies, matrilineal, although in the latter the degree of association is not as high as in the former" (42)
Itao, KenjiCapacity of available land resources will be related to the evolution of family systems.