Family and land in peasant ritual

American Ethnologist • Vol/Iss. 3 • Published In • Pages: 87-96 •
By Michaelson, Evalyn Jacobson, Goldschmidt, Walter

Abstract

This article investigates the relationship between religious practices and the importance of land and family in peasant communities. Results suggest that religious observances are reflective of the dominant concerns of peasant life, such as land inheritance.

Samples

Sample Used Coded Data Comment
Ethnographic Reports

Hypotheses (3)

HypothesisSupported
"There is a weak correlation between adherence to the Buddhist Great Tradition and the presence of ancestral shrines. . . . Frequent ritual observances for the ancestors are not limited to one religious tradition, but they are more likely to be found in Buddhist communities than in non Buddhist communities in our sample" (88, 89-90)Supported
"When we examine the relationship between ancestral shrines and patrilineal inheritance of land, we find that there is a high correlation. . . . Among the households in these patrilineal communities family rituals are held more consistently . . . [and] with greater frequency" (90)Supported
". . . moral pressures [ranging from sense of moral obligation to preserve family land to conception of retaining land in family line as a sacred duty] are highly correlated with patrilineal land inheritance . . . And, more over, are frequently an integral part of the symbolic structure of the ancestral cult" (92)Supported
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: mas  Megan Farrer