Persistent Cultures: Miskitu Kinship Terminological Fluidity

Article


Lyon, Stephen M., Jamieson, M. and Fischer, Michael D. 2015. Persistent Cultures: Miskitu Kinship Terminological Fluidity. Structure and dynamics : eJournal of anthropological and related sciences. 8 (1).
AuthorsLyon, Stephen M., Jamieson, M. and Fischer, Michael D.
Abstract

Kinship is understood dynamically and processually but kinship terminologies are remarkably stable idea systems. They provide cultural continuity over time and are more resistant to modification than many types of cultural instantiations. Miskitu speakers in Nicaragua, however,
have adopted new kin terms that appear to have fundamentally changed the idea system used to generate their kin terms historically. The shape of the changes that have occurred in Miskitu kin terminologies over time are the result of powerful economic, political and social forces introduced,
in part, as a consequence of the geography of Mosquito Coast economies, migrations and political processes. We argue that the current use of kin terms is atypically hybrid and is not the result of a single, algebraically derivable idea system. Rather than negating the validity of mathematical approaches to kinship terminologies, the case of Miskitu kinship terminology suggests that core idea systems, although subject to change over time, move between informationally economical
forms adapted to socioeconomic changes.

Keywordskinship terminologies; Miskitu; cultural systems
JournalStructure and dynamics : eJournal of anthropological and related sciences
Journal citation8 (1)
ISSN1554-3374
Year2015
PublishereScholarship, University of California
Publisher's version
License
CC BY
Web address (URL)https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6w65n7sf#
Publication dates
Print2015
Publication process dates
Deposited29 Jun 2017
Accepted2015
Copyright information© 2015 The authors.
Additional information

Local Identifier(s): imbs_socdyn_sdeas_27342.

Permalink -

https://repository.uel.ac.uk/item/857wq

Download files


Publisher's version
Jamieson 2.pdf
License: CC BY

  • 157
    total views
  • 134
    total downloads
  • 0
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Cultural Predictors of Facial Ethnicity Preference in the Miskitu and Mestizos of Rural Nicaragua
Jucker, J-L., Thornborrow, T., Batres, C., Penton-Voak, I. M., Jamieson, M. A., Burt, D. M., Bowie, W. N., Tovée, M. J. and Boothroyd, L. G. 2024. Cultural Predictors of Facial Ethnicity Preference in the Miskitu and Mestizos of Rural Nicaragua. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 55 (3), pp. 297-307. https://doi.org/10.1177/00220221241232674
Displacement, Language Loss and Identity in Eastern Nicaragua
Jamieson, M. 2020. Displacement, Language Loss and Identity in Eastern Nicaragua. in: Layton, R. (ed.) The Anthropology of Displaced Communities Sean Kingston Publishing. pp. 125-145
Theodicy and Lovindeer’s ‘Wild Gilbert’ on Nicaragua’s Mosquito Coast
Jamieson, M. 2019. Theodicy and Lovindeer’s ‘Wild Gilbert’ on Nicaragua’s Mosquito Coast. Suomen Antropologi: Journal of the Finnish Anthropological Society. 43 (2), pp. 88-91. https://doi.org/10.30676/jfas.v43i2.77628
Nutritional status and the influence of TV consumption on female body size ideals in populations recently exposed to the media
Jucker, Jean-Luc, Thornborrow, Tracey, Beierholm, Ulrik, Burt, D. Michael, Barton, Robert A., Evans, Elizabeth H., Jamieson, M., Tovée, Martin J. and Boothroyd, Lynda G. 2017. Nutritional status and the influence of TV consumption on female body size ideals in populations recently exposed to the media. Scientific Reports. 7, p. Art. 8438. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-08653-z
Cocaine Money, Cement Houses, and New Residential Arrangements in a Coastal Miskitu Village
Jamieson, M. 2019. Cocaine Money, Cement Houses, and New Residential Arrangements in a Coastal Miskitu Village. in: Baracco, L. (ed.) Indigenous Struggles for Autonomy: The Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua Lexington Books. pp. 181-199
Human preferences for sexually dimorphic faces may be evolutionarily novel
Scott, Isabel M., Clark, Andrew P., Josephson, Steven C., Boyette, Adam H., Cuthill, Innes C., Fried, Ruby L., Gibson, Mhairi A., Hewlett, Barry S., Jamieson, M., Jankowiak, William, Honey, P. Lynne, Huang, Zejun, Liebert, Melissa A., Purzycki, Benjamin G., Shaver, John H., Snodgrass, J. Josh, Sosis, Richard, Sugiyama, Lawrence S., Swami, Viren, Yu, Douglas W., Zhao, Yangke and Penton-Voak, Ian S. 2014. Human preferences for sexually dimorphic faces may be evolutionarily novel. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111 (40), pp. 14388-14393. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1409643111
Television exposure predicts body size ideals in rural Nicaragua
Boothroyd, Lynda G., Jucker, Jean-Luc, Thornborrow, Tracey, Jamieson, M., Burt, D. Michael, Barton, Robert A., Evans, Elizabeth H. and Tovee, Martin J. 2016. Television exposure predicts body size ideals in rural Nicaragua. British Journal of Psychology. 107 (4), pp. 752-767. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12184
Contracts with Satan: Relations with 'Spirit Owners' and Apprehensions of the Economy among the Coastal Miskitu of Nicaragua
Jamieson, M. 2009. Contracts with Satan: Relations with 'Spirit Owners' and Apprehensions of the Economy among the Coastal Miskitu of Nicaragua. Durham Anthropology Journal. 16 (2), pp. 44-53.
Language and the Process of Socialisation Amongst Bilingual Children in a Nicaraguan Village
Jamieson, M. 2007. Language and the Process of Socialisation Amongst Bilingual Children in a Nicaraguan Village. Durham Anthropology Journal. 14 (1).