Genealogy – Anthropology by K.V RAMESH

Definition and importance

An unavoidable part of kinship study is the analysis of Genealogy This is one of the important methods of the study of kinship.

Barnes (1961) has defined “Genealogy is an account of ones descent from an ancestor by enumeration of the intermediate person”
Barron (1961) has defined “Genealogy as the study of family origins and history and the compilations of the pedigrees and list of ancestors”
Fortes (1959) defined “Genealogy as the character by which any particular person presents himself as the descendant of a specified ancestor”

We will be more sure of the above definitions from the distinction made by Barnes (1961) between “Genealogy” and “Pedigree”. According to him “The Genealogy is the scientific record made (though as we shall see not necessarily biological based) in standard format by the anthropologist, with random errors removed, evidence duly verified and the testimonies of different informants combined and consolidated. But the “pedigree” is the information provided
by informants in culturally specific fashion. Since its proposition by W H R Rivers, it has been serving the anthropological research, specifically in the scientific research of “kinship”. Barnard and Good (1984) have opined that “Genealogies are not accounts of biological relationship but sociological artifacts whose relevance for demographic, genetic, and other lands of study, be it objective or quantitative, is often problematic”. One of systematic feature to look out for, especially in societies for which lineages or lineal pedigrees are important, is the use of genealogies to describe or order “contemporary” relationships among putatively kin-based social groupings or local communities (Barnard and Good, 1984). Among the types of Genealogies, those are

(I) Objective genealogies, which aim to state as accurately as possible the “true” sociological relationships actually existing “out there”. These are obtained by checking, comparing and combining the statements of informants, so as to eliminate errors and distortions, and overcome gaps of individual knowledge. The mentation here is to produce a historically accurate account
(ii) Subjective genealogies, which reflect the situation as perceived by particular persons or groups at particular times. These should correlate to some extent with the ages, sexes, social status and aspirations of people concerned.
(lii) Jural genealogies are those which express idealized or normative relationships between persons or group,
(iv) Behavioral genealogies are expressing the way things actually work out in practice.

Thus, it is an essential technique in social investigation. Barnes (1967) viewed “Genealogy” in the concrete sense, as “a genealogical statement made by an ethnographer as part of his field record or of its analysis” Generally genealogical method plays an important role among non- literate people, by which ancestry is often traced back to several generations as well as a large number of collateral are known by name. The value and validation of Genealogy is expressed in itself in

(a) Regulation of marriage and Marriage alliances,
(b) inheritance of property,
(c) Succession to chieftainship.
(d) genealogies guarantee the accuracy of information.

One of the first genealogies of tribal people to be published was collected by Sir George Grey (1941) in western Australia In 1860s. The true utility of genealogies for ethnographic inquiry began to be recognized since W H R Rivers published the result of his inquiries during the Torres Straits expedition of 1898-1899. He was interested in genetic as well as socially recognized kinship and paid much attention to kinship terminology. However, his method laid the foundation for later developments in social demography and the construction of statistical models, developments, of which he was one of the first appraisers. Now it is one of the indispensable methods in anthropological research in particularly in kinship study

Uses of genealogies

The potential applications of information contained within a genealogical chart in practical development are many

Genealogies provide an accurate record of social identities in a community.
In conjunction with the village map, the location and kinship relationship of all members of the village could be established through genealogy
Genealogies provide field workers with knowledge, which helps them, situate individuals and draw social connections in a way, which parallels that used by villagers themselves It facilitates the identification of village sub-groups and alliances and the interpretation of conflicts
The genealogy can and has been used to cross check social information obtained in other ways, e.g information on the village map, from a village census In the present case, several gaps were identified and corrected
Genealogies can provide a key to understanding and analysing patterns of landholding, inheritance and fragmentation
Using the genealogy in Chatra Kuta, for example, it becomes clear that up until a certain point land rights must have been linked to cultivation, larger families cultivated more land and acquired more wealth. However, in recent times following registration, land is held by title and divided equally between brothers – with the ultimate consequence of fragmentation.
A genealogy provides a grid on which a variety of things can be ‘mapped’ .
The nature of participation in project activities can be ‘mapped’ in kinship terms It was only after we had completed the genealogy, for example, that it was clear that those who were most actively participating in the PRA exercises were from key families of the principal lineage, and more particularly that the minor lineage (and therefore their views) was poorly represented.
It is possible to identify the kinship identity of all of the key village figures and holders of formal and informal offices. Once the project had established a procedure for recording the name of all participants in project meetings and activities, the genealogy provides a useful tool in the interpretation of this information.
Equally the pattern of other social activities can be recorded, e.g involvement in seasonal migration; the flow of information and innovation.
Genealogies provide a means to overcome the inherent bias (in existing forms of social mapping) towards spatial models and metaphors of social links (maps, linkage diagrams)
The genealogy provides information on the major kin groups in a community and on minority or subordinate groups (ex affinal or immigrant lineages)
The genealogy thus provides a reference point for discussion of a range of issues (some otherwise sensitive) concerning the composition and social organization of the community.
The genealogy clearly indicates the composition of each household. This provides a rapid picture of family sizes, single vs. joint residence and shared ‘hearths’.
Genealogies provide a clear record of the history of individual families, the pattern of family expansion and separation and the nature of present day inter-generational links (e g which households have elderly dependents)