What does moiety mean in anthropology?

In the anthropological study of kinship, a moiety (/ˈmɔɪəti/) is a descent group that coexists with only one other descent group within a society. In the case of a patrilineal descent system, one can interpret a moiety system as one in which women are exchanged between the two moieties.

What is the main function of a moiety system?

Moiety systems occur in two basic forms: as a feature related to but not necessarily determining the regulation of marriage, and as a system through which to divide a community into two groups for ceremonial or other purposes.

Where did moieties come from?

The Anglo-French moité (meaning “a half” or “part of something”) comes from Late Latin medietat-, meaning “a half.” Around the same time that moiety was borrowed from Anglo-French, medietat- was also borrowed directly from Latin as mediety, a word which can also mean “a half.” Medietat- comes from Latin medius (meaning …

What is the meaning of protein moiety?

n a biochemical compound consisting of a sequence of amino acids making up a simple protein to which another nonprotein group (a prosthetic group), such as a carbohydrate or lipid group, is attached.

How is moiety decided?

A person’s Moiety can be determined by their mother’s side (matrilineal) or their father’s side (patrilineal). Moieties can also alternate between each generation (people of alternate generations are grouped together). People who share the same Moiety are considered siblings, meaning they are forbidden to marry.

What are the 3 levels of kinship?

There are three levels of kinship in Indigenous society: Moiety, Totem and Skin Names.

Why is kinship so important?

Kinship has several importance in a social structure. Kinship decides who can marry with whom and where marital relationships are taboo. It determines the rights and obligations of the members in all the sacraments and religious practices from birth to death in family life.

What is an Aboriginal skin name?

Each of these is represented by people of a number of different groups (each with their own lands, languages and philosophies) through their hereditary estates – so many things are either Yirritja or Dhuwa: Skin name.

Is a moiety a functional group?

In organic chemistry, the term moiety is used to denote a portion of a molecule, which may be a functional group, or describe a portion of a molecule with multiple functional groups which share common structural aspects.

What does law mean in aboriginal culture?

Traditional law refers to the common features of acceptable and unacceptable behavior in Aboriginal communities. On this web-site this is also referred to as ‘traditional lore’ and ‘the lore’.

What do you mean by moiety in anthropology?

Look up moiety in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. In the anthropological study of kinship, a moiety ( / ˈmɔɪəti /) is a descent group that coexists with only one other descent group within a society.

Where can I find the definition of moiety?

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia. 1. A half. 2. A part, portion, or share. 3. Anthropology Either of two kinship groups based on unilateral descent that together make up a tribe or society. 4. Chemistry A well-defined part of a larger molecule.

What are moieties and what are their roles in society?

Most often, moieties are groups that are exogamous, or outmarrying, that are of unilineal descent (tracing ancestry through either the male or female line, but not both), and that have complementary roles in society.

Why do male anthropologists rarely have access to women?

Male anthropologists, Golde argued specifically, rarely have access to women in tribes and societies because of the sexual threat they pose to these women. As such, they receive the stories of men about women in instances when women are not present at all.