The Authority of Ancestors

A Sociological Reconsideration of Fortes's Tallensi in Response to Fortes's Critics

Bibliographic Data

ID7433633
AuthorsCraig Calhoun (0000-0001-7218-3780, corresponding author), C J Calhoun
Year1980
Volume15
Issue2
Pages304-304
Publication date1980-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMan (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0025-1496 • E-ISSN: 2397-2548
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/2801673
OpenAlexW1520509127
LanguageEN
Citations received18
References cited7

Forte's account of ancestor worship and kinship among the Tallensi has recently been subjected to a variety of criticisms. Most of these have stemmed at least in part from misunderstandings of Fortes. More fundamentally, many have tended to stress cultural categories and terminology to the exclusion of sociological analysis. They have reduced the authority of ancestors to a static set of norms or a seemingly random collection of ritual observances. Some have even suggested that the distinctions between living and dead, agnatic and non-agnatic ancestors, are matters of indifference. The present article challenges these interpretations with a reconsideration of Forte's material in which the authority of ancestors is treated sociologically and seen to be the key to the working of the Tale kinship system

Genealogy · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · History · Mormonism, Religion, and History

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