Working Paper 23

Title
Kinship, courtship and conscription: Lévi-Straussian aspects of some alpine village rituals

Author
Patrick Heady

Department
Department ‘Resilience and Transformation in Eurasia’

Year of publication
2001

Number of pages
23

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Working Paper 23

Abstract
The theory of exchange marriage has had little impact on the anthropology of Europe. Its relevance to European ethnography might increase if it were extended to include representations of marriage exchange between generational groups. An analysis of collective celebrations of kinship and courtship suggests that they express the principles of exchange marriage in a way that fits the corporate structure of many European villages. The celebrations draw on church and military symbolism, and the analysis has some implications for our understanding of popular attitudes to church and state.