[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]

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with kin-classification. A section that is in a spouse relationship to Ego, however, may also
include persons who are not socially tolerated marriage partners, such as, in the Western
Desert, actual mother’s brother's daughter, fat.her’s sister’s daughter, daughter’s daughter and
father’s mother. As Radcliffe-Brown 1913:193 explained, the “fact that a tribe has two or
four named divisions tells us " g whatever about the marriage law of the tribe, which can
only be ascertained by a careful study of the system of relationship”.

Elkin described subsections and by extrapolafion also sections in a way that points to
what I believe is one of the system’s primary functions or raisons a"étre:

The function of the sub-section division is to summarize and classify relations,
social duties and avoidances into eight kinds. Thus, as soon as a person’s sub-
section is known, all present know at once what his social attitude and behaviour
should be towards them and what theirs should be towards hi.m It is clear
that the system does provide a medium for social thought, and seems almost to
dominate it Elkin 19322320-321.

Because sections and subsections are ascribed mechanically at birth, and are generally not
modified later in life, Fry 09332267 confirms Elkin’s point by writing that a ‘‘[class name]
serves as a ready-reference index by virtue of the fact that it is a constant for each individual”.
Indeed, kin categories are associated with particular behavioural etiquettes: avoidance of
mothers-in-law, joking relationships with cousins, respect towards fathers, and so on see
Tonkinson 1991 :63. Particular kin categories are summarised within sections or subsections.
In some respects, they are guides in such matters as determining the appropriate behaviour to
be adopted towards another person.

Table 1 summarises the four sec‘ and the general kin categories that are found in
each of them. Ego is here determined as A2, but could, of course, be a member of any other
section. The flg'ure represents general kin categories, not only actual kin. For the sake of
brevity, generations +2 and -2, that is the grand-parents’ and gmnd—children’s generations are
omitted. Following the principles described in Figure 1 above, the reader should easily be able
to determine these if necessary.

A1 B2

mother, inother‘s siblings father, fathe1"s siblings
female Ego’s children Male Ego's children

A2 Ego Bl

Ego’s siblings, father‘s brother’s children mother‘s brother’s children
mother‘: sister’s children fa.her’s sister's children

Table 1: Sections and kin categories

of the Aluridja or Western Desert system 1938-40, he was more hesitant, if not ambiguous, in this respect.