On Centrism and Dualism - Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

CENTRISM AND DUALISM
In his seminal work The Elementary Structures of Kinship, LÉVI-STRAUSS (LÉVI-STRAUSS
1969 [1949], 1993 [1969]) conceptualizes marriage as the gift exchange of sisters (daughters)
by brothers (fathers). This conceptualization enables him to develop a concept of exchange
and reciprocity of great generality and rigor (GREGORY 1994: 925), which is commonly
referred to as LÉVI-STRAUSS’ theory of marriage alliance (cf. e.g. DUMONT 2006: 61 [1971]).
The alliance theory of structuralist anthropologists essentially derives from the Maussian concept
of the exchange of women. Such exchange however, is normally intragenerational or horizontal,
while kinship also involves the equally important intergenerational or vertical dimension (ALLEN
2000: 97).
LÉVI-STRAUSS draws a clear distinction between ‘elementary’ and ‘complex’ structures of
kinship, while the former represent the focus of his analytical attention. Elementary structures
are marked by the existence of positive marriage rules, i.e. these societies not only have
negative marriage rules, defining who is forbidden for marriage, but also rules prescribing
who ought to be married. 44 These elementary structures are further subdivided into structures
of restricted and those of generalized exchange.
Restricted exchange takes a dyadic form which can be conceptualized as A B, and
expressed in terms of symmetry.
45 Symmetric exchange is the continual exchange of women
between two exogamous groups. 46 These groups are very often conceived of as unilineal
descent groups or their segments; nevertheless, different cultural units like houses or villages
can also constitute these exchange groups.
The notion of ‘sister exchange’, which is often used to describe this form of reciprocity
between exogamous units, precisely captures the essence of restricted exchange (GREGORY
1994: 926). Thus, the engendered and maintained alliance relations are based on a prescriptive
44 “The category designated as spouse by such rules is itself identified by a kin term. […] A prescriptive
terminology expresses the alliance relationship as continuing between generations.” (PARKIN 1997: 57)
“[…] a man is not simply prohibited to marry certain categories or types of woman, but he is positively
constrained to take a wife from a specific terminological class of persons.” (NEEDHAM 1973b: 166)
“We should actually say positive rules of a certain type, since these societies uniformly prescribe or prefer
marriage between persons falling into the anthropological category of ‘cross-cousins’. Without being too
arbitrary, following Lévi-Strauss and other authors, this restricted theory can be designated the theory of
marriage alliance. But in Elementary Structures it is integrated with a general theory which one can call a
structural theory, or, perhaps, to be more precise, a structuralist theory of kinship, centred on a structural
interpretation of the prohibition of incest.” (DUMONT 2006: 63 [1971], original emphasis)
45 LÉVI-STRAUSS summarizes restricted exchange under the rule: “[…] if a man of group A marries a woman of
group B, then a man of B marries a woman of A.” (LÉVI-STRAUSS 1993 [1969]: 599)
46 Exogamy, according to WAGNER, refers to the moral injunction of selecting recognized sexual partners and/or
spouses from social units other than those of which oneself is a member (WAGNER 1972: 602).
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