Gender and Social Structure in Madagascar

List of Maps and Figures Acknowledgments 1. The Bara of Madagascar Origins: Africa, Arabia, and Indonesia The Bara Economics: Cattle and Rice Sexual Behavior and Sexual Categories 2. The Person Mauss and Malinowski Bara Idioms of Procreation From MotherOs Womb To FatherOs Tomb Idioms of Death Idioms of Rebirth 3. Residence and Corporation: Shared Values Small Groups and Freedom of Indiviuality The Bara House Male Ideology of Local Kin Groups 4. Residence and Corporation: Individual Actions Women and Men in the Local Kin Group Women and the Fission of Kin Groups WomenOs Actions and MenOs Matrifiliation Values, Structure, and Motivation 5. The Marriage of a Brother and Sister Bara Folktales The Marriage of a Brother and Sister The Children of a Brother and Sister The Children of Sisters 6. Incest, Marriage, and Society Incest, Atonement, and Social Categories Marriage and Cattle Exchange Society and Biology 7. Trance and Feminine Power Ritual of Spirit Possession Marriage and the Status of Bara Women Beyond Local Divisions: The Cognatic Clan Trance and the Person 8. Caveats and Conclusions Caveats Conclusions References Index