Year: 2004
Type: article
Abstract: ALLERTONThe path of marriage Journeys and transformation in Manggarai, eastern IndonesiaMarriage and alliance have been central topics in eastern Indonesian ethnography since the publication in 1935 of Van Wouden's comparative study of social structure in the region. 1 As a member of the Dutch Leiden School, Van Wouden sought to uncover the basic patterns of social organization and classification that defined eastern Indonesia as a 'field of study'.In particular, he aimed to demonstrate the importance to these societies of 'connubium' (forms of cross-cousin marriage), arguing that marriage customs were the 'pivot' to a comprehensive organization of society and cosmos (Van Wouden 1968:2).Since this pioneering study, ethnographers have continued to reveal a variety of types of marriage alliance in the region, whilst retaining a distinctive Leiden School stress on cosmology and classification.2 However, whilst these and other works have considered important and complex issues in relation to eastern Indonesian marriage, they have tended to be most concerned with the 'rules' governing social action, and with demonstrating the links between cosmological beliefs, ritual activities, and structural order.
Author: Catherine Allerton
Institution: London School of Economics and Political Science
Language: Dutch
Topic: Marriage and Family Dynamics
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W2143193745