The Family Among the Australian Aborigines: A Sociological Study

by Bronisław Malinowski

This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1913 edition by Hodder & Stoughton, London.

Genres: Anthropology

345 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2014

About the author

Bronisław Kasper Malinowski (IPA: [ˌmaliˈnɔfski]; April 7, 1884 – May 16, 1942) was a Polish anthropologist widely considered to be one of the most important anthropologists of the twentieth century because of his pioneering work on ethnographic fieldwork, with which he also gave a major contribution to the study of Melanesia, and the study of reciprocity.

Reviews

[Roberto Yoed · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic that could have been enriched with Malinowski's own critiques or insights, not only synthesis of information and theoretical discussion.

That aside, this book is a classic. It felt like reading Mauss or Harris again and I'm excited to read all the work from Bronislaw.

Some interesting aspects (considering the date of the book): Malinowksi details the exploitation of women, their hard work comparing them to what men did. War was rare. Prostitution most likely come from the contact with europeans, and "communism" (another whole debate) was the logic of these aborigines.

I don't think this was a communism, but rather a specific form of transition from matriarchal to patriarchal societies. Matrimony was a legal contract that defined the work and duties of the parts. On primitive communism this did not happened. All things, sexual and economic, was for everyone.

The enigma of this transition still has to be researched.

[George Niko]

Vewy intewesting wead