Definition:
A kinship group which is one half of a dual division of a society is a moiety.
The word moiety is derived from the French word moiety meaning half, when a society is divided into two groups so that every person is necessarily a member of one or the other, the dichotomy results in the formation of two halves or moieties.
Distribution:
Moieties have a wider occurrence than phratries. They occur in societies like Murngin in Australia, Tlingit Red Indians in British Columbia, Winnebago Red Indians of United States, Bororo and Apinaye RedIndians of South America, the inhabitants of New Caledonia in Melanesia, the AO Naga, Rengma Naga and Angami Naga of Nagaland, the Gonds of Central India and the Korkus of Madhya Pradesh, the Bondos of Orissa, the Andhs of Adilabad in Andhra Pradesh and the Todas of Nilgiri Hills in Tamilnadu.
Types:
Moieties may be patrilineal like those in Andhs, Gonds, and Korkus and Nagas or matrilineal like those in New Caledonians, Murngins and Tlingit Red Indians
Attributes:
- Name: The – moieties of Todas are Tartarol and Teivoliol; those of Korkus are Raj Korkus and Pallarias; those of Bondos are Ontal (Cobra) and Killo (Tiger); and those of Tlingit RedIndians are Raven and wolf. In Australian societies moieties have no names.
- Exogamy, rarely agamous or endogamous: Among the societies like Tlingit and Murngin the moieties are exogamous. However, among the Seneca Red Indians the two moieties were originally exogamous but in recent centuries they have lost control over marriage and have become agamous. Agamy means that once the moieties were exogamous but now they have relaxed exogamy. On the other hand, among the Todas the moieties are endogamous.
- Totemism: Among the Bondos of Orissa, the members of ontal moiety do not kill a Cobra “for it is our brother”, Similarly members of Killo never kill a tiger, Members of the moieties believe that they are the descendants of their respective totem ancestors namely Cobra and Tiger.
- Dual organization: Moiety is half a society, Hence, wherever moieties occur we find only two moieties in a society. The organization resulting born two moieties of a tribe is known as Dual organization. Dual organization has several features and functions:
First, the division of a society into two moieties is a characteristic feature of dual organization, in some societies, the clans and moieties are one and the same. Among the Central Miwok Red Indians in California, USA, there are only two clans , one named after Land , another named after water. The two clans divide the Miwok Red Indians into two halves, each half forming a moiety. Thus the clan and the moiety are synonymous among the Miwok Red Indians.
Secondly, linkage of the moieties by means of symbolic contrasts is another feature of dual organization. In several tribes in Indonesia one moiety is associated with such symbolic features as “Right”, “Male”, “Above”, “Heaven” , “in Front” and “old” and the other moiety is associated with such symbolic features as “Left”, “Female”, “Below” , “Earth”, “From Behind” , and “New”. Among the Seneca Red Indians in the United States of America, one moiety includes four clans each named after a strong animal like Bear, Wolf, Turtle and Beaver and another moiety include four clans each named after a meek organism like Deer, Snipe, Heron and Hawk. Thus the two moieties are symbolic contrasts. The Winnebago Red Indians in Wisconsin, USA, have two moieties, one symbolizing those Above Earth and another symbolizing those on Earth. The families in these two moieties construct their houses in circle, one half representing one moiety and the other half representing other; one representing the right side of the other representing the left side of the village. Among the Bororo Red Indians in Brazil, one moiety is called the weak and the other one Strong. Both construct their dwellings in semicircular rows facing each both construct their dwellings in semicircular rows facing each other and leaving .an open space in between with a wide path in east-west direction. Among the Apinaye Red Indians in Brazil, one moiety is named Sun and Red paint and the other Moon and Black paint. Among the Choctaw Red Indians, one moiety is named after Upstream; another is named after Down-stream. Among the Tlingit Red Indians of North-west coast in Canada, the Raven moiety is considered a weak one and the wolf moiety a Strong one. Such symbolic contrasts serve to emphasize the complementary roles played by the two moieties.
Thirdly, dual organization helps easy detection of kinship relatives in a society. Suppose a society has matrilineal exogamous moiety namely wolf and Eagle. If an individual belongs to wolf, his siblings are also –Wolves because all of them are members of their mother’s moiety. But under the rule of exogamy one’s father and father’s siblings as Eagles. His father’s sister’s husband will be wolf. Thus, it will be easier to declare the kinship affiliations of a person in a society with dual organization.
Fourthly, dual organization stipulates the rights and duties of the moieties in terms of exchange of specific services. Among the Tlingit Red Indians, an individual never employs a member of his own moiety for service. A Ravan moiety. Gets the services of a member of the Wolf moiety in many societies with local organization, persons must marry outside of the moiety, each moiety thereby providing the other with spouses. Moiety affiliation is often an important consideration in religious or ceremonial services. When one moiety is mourning for the death of one of their members, the other moiety cooks food and supplies it to the members of the other moiety and the relatives who visit the family of the deceased in order to express their condolences and sympathies. The Mardudjana in Australia have a dual organization based on patrilineal descent. At large ceremonial gatherings they group their camps into two “sides by moieties, They also this division in seating for certain men’s rituals. Among the Seneca Iroquois of North America, each moiety performs mourning rituals on behalf of the other; Moiety may serve other purposes as well. Mordudjana moieties play an important role in inter-group gift exchange, in several North American Indian tribes like the Tsimhians, Kwakiutl, Tsimhian and Tlingit Red Indian moieties compete against one another in games of lacrosse
As the two moieties share different tasks, they become specialized in performing different types of activities. Each moiety acquires monopoly over specific type work. This work specialization forces one moiety depends upon another moiety. Both the moieties work on the basis of distribution of rights and responsibilities between them, conflict between the two is thus avoided by conferring equal importance to both the groups. The perpetual linkage through complementary roles in rendering services to each other creates strong integration of the two moieties hence the society.