Hunger and Work in a Savage Tribe: A Functional Study of Nutrition Among the Southern Bantu

by Richards,Audrey

• ISBN13: 9780415320115
• ISBN10: 0415320119
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2003-12-19
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This book examines the cultural aspects of food and eating among the Southern Bantu, taking as its starting point the bold statement "nutrition as a biological process is more fundamental than sex." When it was first published in 1932, with a preface by Malinowski, it laid the groundwork for sociological theory of nutrition.

Table of Contents

Preface to New Edition	vii
Foreword	xvii
Preface	xix
Professor B. Malinowski
History of the Problem
Nutrition as a Biological Process	1	(10)
Nutrition as a Social Activity	11	(4)
New Developments in Psychology	15	(2)
The Functional Method in Anthropology	17	(7)
Human Relationships and Nutritive Needs
Food Consumption	24	(6)
Food Production	30	(2)
Area Selected	32	(4)
Food and Family Sentiment in Bantu Society
Method of Analysis	36	(2)
Infancy	38	(9)
Weaning	47	(7)
Early Childhood	54	(15)
The Sociological Functions of Maternity	55	(4)
Family Ties and the Household Meal	59	(10)
Later Childhood	69	(5)
Grouping according to Sex and Age	69	(3)
Food Shortage and Kinship Ties	72	(2)
Adolescence	74	(2)
Paternal Authority and the Possession of Food	76	(3)
Distribution of Food in the Kinship Group	79	(2)
Hospitality	81	(2)
Conclusion	83	(2)
Food Production and Incentives to Work
Economic Organization and Social Status	85	(6)
Pastoral Activities	91	(6)
Agricultural Activities	97	(9)
Hunting	106	(4)
Fishing	110	(1)
Conclusion	111	(4)
Kinship Sentiment and Economic Organization
Terminology	115	(3)
Patrilineal and Matrilineal Sentiment	118	(6)
Marriage as an Economic Contract	124	(8)
Economic Functions of the Family and Kinship Group	132	(7)
Conclusion	139	(1)
Economic Functions of the Clan and Tribe
The Clan System among the South-Eastern Bantu	140	(4)
The Economic Functions of the Chief	144	(7)
Land Tenure	145	(2)
Rights over Cattle	147	(2)
The Chief and the Hunt	149	(2)
The Chief as a Provider of Food	151	(3)
Economic Welfare and the Ancestral Gods	154	(3)
First-fruit Rites	157	(2)
Conclusion	159	(3)
Food as a Symbol
Sacralization of Food	162	(12)
Commensualism	174	(8)
The Sacrifice in Bantu Worship	182	(8)
Food as a Symbol of Union	190	(3)
Taboos on Sharing Special Foods	193	(3)
Food and the Day's Routine	196	(6)
Woman and the Symbolism of Food	202	(7)
Food and Filial Dependence	209	(2)
Conclusion	211	(4)
Bibliography	215	(10)
Index	225