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Article: Indigenous modes of representing social relationships: a short critique of the 'genealogical concept'.
- Article from:
- Australian Aboriginal Studies
- Article date:
- March 22, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Abstract: The first part of the article discusses briefly the notions of genealogy and kinship within the Euro-American epistemological context and advocates the necessity for a sharp distinction between these two domains. While being a useful tool, especially in comparative approaches, the collection of genealogies is nevertheless the enactment of the genealogical concept, which in turn is a particular mode for legitimising status associated to a culturally specific iconography.
The second part of the article portrays ethnographic material illustrating, as an alternative to the genealogical concept, Indigenous modes for representing relationships between people ...