Effects of climate on certain cultural practices

Explorations in Cultural Anthropology: Essays in Honor of George Peter Murdock • McGraw-Hill • New York • Published In • Pages: 511-544 •
By Whiting, John W.M.

Abstract

This study explores ecological reasons that might explain why boys are mostly circumcised in tropical regions, particularly in Africa and the insular Pacific. The author postulates a long causal chain linking: 1) tropical climate to the growing of root and fruit crops; 2) the need to keep babies on mother's milk for as long as possible where the adult diet is lacking in protein; 3) a long post-partum sex taboo as a way to space births; 4) the practice of polygyny (and associated mother-child sleeping) in the face of a long sex taboo; 5) patrilocal residence; and 6) male initiation ceremonies which are believed to result from the combination of mother-child sleeping, the long poast-partum sex taboo and patrilocal residence.

Samples

Sample Used Coded Data Comment
Ethnographic ReportsResearchers OwnLaboratory of Human Development at Harvard
Ethnographic Atlas (EA)Other Researchers

Hypotheses (5)

HypothesisSupported
Circumcision occurs frequently in tropical climates. Author shows exclusive mother-infant sleeping arrangements occur in warm climates, while previous studies report a strong association between exclusive mother-infant sleeping arrangements and male circumcision (515)Supported
"If a society has a high frequency of polygyny . . . then it is more likely to have patrilocal residence than a society with a lower frequency of polygyny" (516)Supported
"Societies characterized by a prolonged postpartum sex taboo also tend to have a high frequency of polygynous marriage" (517)Supported
"Low protein leads to [the disease] kwashiorkor and kwashiorkor to a prolonged postpartum sex taboo to protect the nursing infant from this disease" (520-521)Supported
"Societies whose staple crop has been judged to be low in protein are most likely to be found in the rainy tropics" (521)Supported
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: mas