Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol. 5, No. 3, 1976
Polygyny: Insufficient Father-Son Contact and Son's Masculine Identity Michio Kitahara 1
In polygynous societies in which the family consists o f husband, wives, and children only, if each cowife lives in a separate quarter with her children, males are more likely to be circumcised or segregated at puberty. These customs are interpreted as the measures to rectify boys' mother-oriented personality development because o f limited contact with their fathers due to their mother's separate quarters. Circumcision and segregation can be explained better in terms d f the son's insufficient contact with the father rather than a very close relationship with the mother due to the long postpartum sexual taboo. KEY WORDS: circumcision; puberty; masculine identity; polygyny; father-son contact; postpartum sexual taboo; father absence.
INTRODUC~ON
According to the findings of several studies, circumcision and segregation of males at puberty are associated with a very close relationship between the mother and son due to exclusive mother-infant sleeping arrangements and/or a long postpartum sexual taboo (Burton and Whiting, 1961; Stephens, 1962; Whiting, 1964; Whiting et eL, 1958). That is, in certain societies, the nursing baby sleeps in the mother's bed in bodily contact with her while the father sleeps elsewhere. This custom is often accompanied by a taboo which prohibits sexual intercourse between a man and wife after childbirth, sometimes for as long as 2 years. When this taboo exists, presumably the mother pays most of her attention to the baby at the expense of her husband. In these studies, it is assumed that the personalities of boys in such societies are mother-oriented as a result, and the initiation rites, which often include circumcision and segregation from women, are seen as the means to rectify their personality development and to let them acquire a proper masculine identity. 165 Tokyu-Skyline, 1-21-6 Dogenzaka, Tokyo 150, Japan.
201 © . 1 9 7 6 P l e n u m P u b l i s h i n g C o r p o r a t i o n , 2 2 7 West 1 7 t h Street, New Y o r k , N . Y . 1 0 0 1 1 . N o part o f this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system~ o r t r a n s m i t t e d , in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise~ w i t h o u t written permission o f t h e publisher.
202
Kitahara
Although the existence of such a causal relationship is conceivable, it appears that the problem can and should be seen in a wider perspective: namely, if a son has father and mother, it is desirable to examine the relationship between the father and son in addition to the relationship between the mother and son. Since the problem deals with the son's personality development in the family, his relationship with the father ought to be taken into account. Many findings indicate that when the father is absent in the household the son tends to be affected by that condition. For example, compared to fatherpresent boys, father-absent boys tend t o be less aggressive, be less independent, be overly submissive, and show feminine fantasies (e.g., Biller, 1970; Biller and Borstelmann, 1967). In brief, there seems to be good evidence that when the son has insufficient contact with the father he shows more feminine elements in his personality development. If we can assume that circumcision and segregation of males at puberty are instrumental in letting feminine boys acquire a masculine identity, there are two factors to be taken into account. First, it is conceivable that when the son has a close relationship with the mother due to such customs as exclusive motherinfant sleeping arrangements or a long postpartum sexual taboo, he may develop a feminine personality. This is the aspect already recognized and discussed in detail (Burton and Whiting, 1961 ; Stephens, 1962; Whiting, 1964; Whiting et al., 1958). In addition, it is conceivable that when the son has insufficient contact with the father the son may develop a feminine personality. The purpose of this article is to examine circumcision and segregation of males at puberty in terms of this second possibility and to compare its significance with the significance of a close mother-son relationship. METHOD
The study of contact between father and son has several possibilities. However, the approach which is most clear-cut for our purpose is to look at livingquarter arrangements for cowives in polygynous societies. In polygyny, there are basically two types of living-quarter arrangements for cowives. In one type, cowives usually share the same living quarter with their children and husband. In this arrangement, everyone lives together, and a child sees its father probably as frequently as its mother. In contrast, in the other kind of living-quarter arrangement, each cowife has her own quarter where she lives separately with her children. The husband comes to her quarter from time to time, but he may not stay there all the time, because he moves from one cowife to another. Here,it is likely that a child has more contact with its mother than with its father, and this difference in living quarter arrangements for cowives may be considered to make a difference in the extent of contact between father and son. On this assumption, data were obtained from the Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock, 1967). There were four types of information needed for this study,
P o l y g y n y : I n s u f f i c i e n t Father-Son C o n t a c t and Son's Masculine Identity
203
Table I. The 37 Sample Societies a
1 Ab Ab Ab Ac Ac Ac Ad Ae Af Af Ag Ah Ai Ai Ai Ai Aj Cb Eg Id Id Ie Ie Le Ig Na Na Nc Nc Nd Nd Ne Ne Ne Na Se Sf
2
13 14 19 17 3 10 11 8 1 56 10 14 12 3 30 6 2 24 9 2 1 24 5 3 3 17 20 15 33 24 12 13 11 4 42 3 5
3
Tswana Lovedu Ambo Suku Bemba Chewa Bena Rundi Fon Ngere Konkomba Kamuku Fall Azande Lese Shilluk Masai Wodaabe Fulani Baiga Murngin Armada Koiari Keraki Arapesh Kurtatchi Slave Kutchin Coast Y u k i Luiseno Kidutokado Flathead Blood Assiniboin Crow Potawatomi Jivaro Paez
4
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + . . . .
5
6
+ + + +
-
+ + + + + +
+ +
+ :
+ + +
+ -
+ + -
+ +
--
+ + + + + + + + + : + +
-
+ +
-
+
-
+
-
: : :
aColumns: (1) regional identification, (2) na me o f society, (3) separate quarters for cowives, (4) long p o s t p a r t u m sexual taboos, (5) circumcision at puberty, (6) segregation at puberty. The presence ctr absence o f the practice is i n d i c a t e d b y (+) or ( - ) , respectively. Absence of i n f o r m a t i o n is indicated by C). Source: M u r d o c k (1967). and columns
37 (Male Genital Operation)
and 38 (Segregation of Adolescent
Boys) were used for the data on circumcision and segregation. In order to know the extent Sexual
of closeness between
Taboo)
the mother
was used, and information
cowives was obtained
and son, column
36 (Postpartum
on living-quarter arrangements
for
from column 14 (Family Organization), which in turn was
used for inferring the extent of contact between father and son.
204
Kitahara
Each of the 412 clusters of the Ethnographic Atlas was examined, and whenever there was adequate information for a society in columns 14 and 36, and also at least in either column 37 or 38, it was selected as a sample society. If there were two or more societies belonging to the same cluster, the most informative society was chosen. If they were equally informative, one society was chosen randomly by means of a table of random numbers. In this way, 43 societies were first selected. They were then scrutinized in terms of the "three-degree rule" (Murdock, 1967, p. 4), and if two societies belonging to two different clusters were geographically too close to each other one was eliminated at random and a substitution made whenever possible. The final sample thus obtained was made up of 37 societies (see Table I). The sample was then dichotomized in terms of the four factors of (1) circumcision, (2) segregation, (3) length of postpartum sexual taboos, and (4) living-quarter arrangements for cowives. Category 5 (circumcision between 11 and 15 years old) and category 6 (circumcision between 16 and 25 years old) of column 37 were combined and considered to represent the practice of circumcision at puberty, as opposed to the other categories of column 37, in which this phenomenon was considered absent) As regards segregation, categories P, R, S, and T of column 38 were combined and collectively considered to represent the practice of segregation at puberty. The societies belonging to category A were considered to have no segregation. In order to dichotomize the sample in terms of the length of postpartum sexual taboos, the societies belonging to category 4 (duration 1-2 years) and category 5 (duration more than 2 years) of column 36 were put together in one category and considered to have a long postpartum sexual taboo. The societies of categories 0, 1,2, and 3 were put together in another category and considered to have a short or no postpartum sexual taboo. This procedure of using 1 year as the cutoff point is in accordance with the decision made by Whiting and Kluckholm (quoted in Stephens, 1962, pp. 3-4). The information on the arrangements of living quarters for cowives was obtained from column 14, and only categories P, Q, R, and S were used. In P and R cowives live together, and in Q and S they live separately. In R and S cowives are preferentially sororal. These four categories were used because only in these categories is a polygynous family unit independently maintained. It was reasoned that in this way, without involving individuals other than the husband, cowives, and children, the significance of father-son contact would be most likely to be indicated. The existence of a grandfather in the same family unit, for example, may work as a model for a son and influence his socialization process. Since whether or not cowives are preferentially sororal does not seem to have 2In a sense, it may be problematic to consider circumcision performed only at puberty. But according to the data used in this study, irrespective of living-quarter arrangements, circumcision is concentrated in categories 5 and 6. For this reason, different decisions on this matter bring al~out much the same result.
Polygyny: Insufficient Father-Son Contact and Son's Masculine Identity
205
Table II. Relationship Between Living-Quarter Arrangements in Polygyny, Length of Postpartum Sexual Taboos, and Segregation of Males at Puberty a b
Postpartum sexual taboo with eowives in separate quarters
Postpartum sexual taboo with cowives in the same quarter Segregation Absent Present Total
Less than 1 year
More than 1 year
Less than 1 year
More than ! year
5 4 9
4 0 4
3 6 9
2 8 10
14 18 32
i
aHypothe~s 1: columns l a n d 2 vs, 3and 4: x 2 =4.16, P < 0.025. Hypothesis 3: columns l a n d 3 vs. 2 and 4: X~ = 0.07, P < 0.40. Hypothesis 5: columns 1 vs. 2: P < 0.18. Hypothesis 5: columns 3 v~ 4: P < 0.45. Hypothesis 7: columns 1 vs. 3: P < 0.32. Hypothesis 7: columns 2 w 4: P < 0.015. Hypotheses 5 and 7 are by Fisher's test. All tests are one-tailed. Table IH. Relationship Between Living-Quarter Arrangements in Polygyny, Length of Postpartum Sexual Taboos, and Circumcision of Males at Puberty a Postpartum sexual taboo with cowiv_esin the same quarter Circumcision Absent Present Total
Less than 1 year More than 1 year 11 1 12
Postpartum sexual taboo with cowives in separate quarters Less than 1 year
More than 1 year
4 5 9
7 4 11
5 0 5
27 10 37
aHypothesis 2: columns 1 and 2 vg 3 and 4: P < 0.009. Hypothesis 4: columns 1 and 3 w 2 and 4: P < 0.56. Hypothesis 6: columns 1 vs. 2: P < 0.71. Hypothesis 6: columns 3 vg 4: P < 0.46. Hypothesis 8: columns 1 vs. 3: P < 0.03. Hypothesis 8: columns 2 vs, 4: P < 0.19. All tests are by Fisher's test (one-tailed). a n y significant m e a n i n g w i t h r e s p e c t t o o u r c o n c e r n , 3 t h e societies o f c a t e g o r i e s P a n d R were c o m b i n e d a n d similarly t h e societies o f categories Q a n d S were c o m b i n e d t o y i e l d t h e t w o t y p e s o f societies b a s e d o n t h e l i v i n g - q u a r t e r a r r a n g e m e n t s . F o r t h e t e s t i n g o f t h e d a t a , p r i m a r i l y F i s h e r ' s test was u s e d , a n d w h e n t h e X2 test was a p p l i c a b l e Y a t e s ' s " c o r r e c t i o n f o r c o n t i n u i t y " f o r m u l a was used. T h e results are s u m m a r i z e d in T a b l e s II a n d III.
RESULTS I n all, e i g h t h y p o t h e s e s w e r e t e s t e d . T h e e x t e n t o f c o r r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n insufficient father-son contact on the one hand and the practice of circumcision a n d s e g r e g a t i o n o n t h e o t h e r was e x a m i n e d b y m e a n s o f h y p o t h e s e s 1 a n d 2: H y p o t h e s i s 1 ( h y p o t h e s i s 2): I n p o l y g y n o u s societies, i f e a c h c o w i f e lives in a s e p a r a t e q u a r t e r w i t h h e r c h i l d r e n , m a l e s are m o r e l i k e l y to b e s e g r e g a t e d 3 Examination of the sample societies shows that neither segregation (P < 0.81, Fisher's test, one-tailed) nor circumcision (P < 0.57, Fisher's test, two-tailed) is significantly correlated to preferentially sororal polygyny.
206
Kitahara
(circumcised) at puberty, compared to societies in which cowives live together in the same quarter. Tables II and III indicate that both hypotheses 1 and 2 were significantly supported, suggesting that the extent of contact between the father and son is instrumental for the presence or absence of circumcision and segregation. For the sake of comparison,hypotheses 3 and 4 were tested in order to determine the relative importance of the extent of closeness between the mother and son for these phenomena: Hypothesis 3 (hypothesis 4) In polygynous societies, if there is a long postpartum sexual taboo, males are more likely to be segregated (circumcised) at puberty, compared to societies in which there is a short or no postpartum sexual taboo. Surprisingly enough, hypotheses 3 and 4 were both rejected (Tables II and III). This suggests that, contrary to several studies (Burton and Whiting, 1961; Stephens, 1962; Whiting, t964; Whiting et al., 1958), a long postpartum sexual taboo is not correlated with the practice of circumcision and segregation. For this reason, the importance of a long postpartum taboo was further examined. By controlling the factor of living-quarter arrangements for cowives, the ideas underlying hypotheses 3 and 4 were repeated in the form of hypotheses 5 and 6: Hypothesis 5 (hypothesis 6): In polygynous societies, if there is a long postpartum sexual taboo, males are more likely to be segregated (circumcised) at puberty when the factor of living-quarter arrangements is controlled, compared to societies in which there is a short or no postpartum sexual taboo. Table II shows that among the societies in which cowives live in the same quarter there is no significant correlation between segregation and the length of a postpartum sexual taboo. In fact, contrary to the prediction, the correlation is in the opposite direction. In the case of the societies having separate quarters for cowives, there is also no significant correlation. As regards circumcision, the results are much the same. Table III shows that when cowives live in the same quarter there is no significant correlation between the length of a postpartum sexual taboo and circumcision, nor is there a significant correlation between the two when cowives live in separate quarters. Thus both hypotheses 5 and 6 were clearly rejected. In agreement with the resuits of hypotheses 3 and 4, the results of hypotheses 5 and 6 indicate that the length of a post partum sexual taboo is not significantly correlated to circumcision and segregation of males at puberty. The absence of correlation in these cases is not indicative that a correlation exists only when cowives live together or only when they live separately. In all cases, a significant correlation is absent.
Polygyny: Insufficient Father-Son Contact and Son's Masculine Identity
207
In view of these f'mdings, the significance of living-quarter arrangements to segregation and circumcision (hypotheses 7 and 8) was examined by controlling the length of postpartum sexual taboos: Hypothesis 7 (hypothesis 8): In polygynous societies, if each cowife lives in a separate quarter with her children, males are more likely to be segregated (circumcised) at puberty when the factor of the length of a postpartum sexual taboo is controlled, compared to societies in which cowives live together in the same quarter. As regards segregation, when a taboo is absent or less than 1 year, there is no significant correlation. When a taboo lasts more than 1 year, a significant correlation exists (Table II). Thus hypothesis 7 was partially supported. In the case of circumcision, when a taboo is absent or less than 1 year there is a significant correlation, but when a taboo lasts more than 1 year no significant correlation exists (Table III). As in the case of hypothesis 7, then, hypothesis 8 was partially supported.
DISCUSSION
The results of this study indicate that the factor of the living-quarter arrangements for cowives is more useful than the length of a postpartum sexual taboo in order to predict the presence or absence of segregation or circumcision. To put it differently, the extent of contact between the father and son is far more important than the extent of closeness between the mother and son for predicting the possibility of segregation and circumcision of males at puberty. Even when the mother and son have a very close relationship due to a long postpartum sexual taboo, as long as the son has enough contact with the father in his daily life he has a proper model of the adult male, and this factor seems to be crucial for the son's acquisition of a masculine identity. Although the influence of housing arrangements on the social aspect of culture in this manner may appear rather surprising, a well-known study in social psychology possibly supports such reasoning. According to Festinger et al. (1950), among the occupants of various housing units social contact was closely correlated to the location of the occupants' apartments. Furthermore, the nature of their "subculture" was related to the physical arrangements of the apartments. Therefore, the influence of living-quarter arrangements on social contact and further on personality development is understandable. Theoretically, there are two works which are directly relevant to a possible interpretation of these findings. According to Zajonc (1968), mere exposure of an individual repatedly to the same stimulus object is a sufficient condition for
208
Kitahara
the enhancement of his attitude toward it. For example, if a person merely perceives the same person repeatedly he comes to like that person. Homans (1950, p. 110ft.) thinks that if one interacts with another person repeatedly'one comes to like that person. Therefore, it may be possible to say that due to the livingquarter arrangement in which the son has more contact with his mother than with his father he develops a more favorable attitude toward his mother than toward his father. This is in part due to more frequent exposure to her cognitively (Zajonc, 1968), and in part due to more frequent interaction with her (Homans, 1950, p. 110ft.). This results in a more sympathetic attitude toward femininity in general and toward the mother in particular. But if the society in which such a process takes place is dominated by men, as suggested by polygyny, the development of such an attitude on the part of the boys who are to take over the role of the dominating males in the future is not desirable. The sympathetic attitude toward women may endanger the dominant status of men, and if this becomes extreme the society cannot be maintained on the basis of its basic premises of life. The solution to this problem is to let the boys realize the difference between men and women by means of, among other things, institutionalized circumcision and segregation.
CONCLUSION There are several works which try to explain circumcision and segregation of males at puberty in terms of the boy's early experience in the family. Basically, however, these works examine the problem in terms of the extent of mother-son contact only, and the possible effect of the extent of father-son contact is not taken into account. If we can assume that both father and mother are important for the son's personality development in general and his acquisition of a masculine identity in particular, it is necessary to look at the problem in terms of the nature of contact between the son and both parents. The results of this study suggest two things in regard to future research in this area. First, it is necessary to reconsider the assumed importance of a very close mother-son relationship in the son's infancy for understanding circumcision and segregation later at puberty and to consider the importance of the son's relationship with the father. Second, it appears necessary to recognize the importance of living-quarter arrangements for the members of the family in order to study the process of socialization and personality development of the child.
REFERENCES
Biller, H. B. (1970). Father absence and the personality development of the male child. Develop. Psyehol. 2: 181-201.
Polygyny: Insufficient Father-Son Contact and Son's Mascufine Identity
209
BiUer, H. B., and Borstelmann, L. J. (1967). Masculine development: An integrative review. Merrill-Palmer Quart. Behav. Develop. 13: 253-294. Burton, R. V., and Whiting, J. W. M. (1961). The absent father and cross-sex identity.
Merrill-Palmer Quart. Behav. Develop. 7 (2): 85-95. Festinger, L., Schachter, S., and Back, K. (1950). Soeial Pressures in lnformal Groups, Harper, New York. Homans, G. C. (1950). The Human Group, Harcourt, Brace, New York. Murdock, G. P. (1967). Ethnographic Atlas, University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh. Stephens, W. N. (1962). The Oedipus Complex, Free Press, New York. Whiting, J. W. M. (1964): Effects of climate on certain cultural practices. In Goodenough, W. H. (ed.), Explorations in Cultural Anthropology, McGraw-Hill, New York, pp. 511-544. Whiting, J. W. M., and Kluckhohn, R. (n.d.). Ratings of duration of the post~partum sexual taboo. Unpublished paper, Laboratory of Human Development, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Whiting, J. W. M., Kluckhohn, R., and Anthony, A. (1958). The function of male initiation ceremonies at puberty. In Maccoby, E. E., Newcomb, T. M., and Hartley, E. L. (eds.), Readings on Social Psychology, 3rd ed., Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, pp. 359-370. Zajonc, R. B. (1968). The attitudinal effects of mere exposure. Jr. Personal. SocialPsychol. Monogr. Suppl. 9(2): 1-27.
Polygyny: Insufficient Father-Son Contact and Son's Masculine Identity Michio Kitahara 1
In polygynous societies in which the family consists o f husband, wives, and children only, if each cowife lives in a separate quarter with her children, males are more likely to be circumcised or segregated at puberty. These customs are interpreted as the measures to rectify boys' mother-oriented personality development because o f limited contact with their fathers due to their mother's separate quarters. Circumcision and segregation can be explained better in terms d f the son's insufficient contact with the father rather than a very close relationship with the mother due to the long postpartum sexual taboo. KEY WORDS: circumcision; puberty; masculine identity; polygyny; father-son contact; postpartum sexual taboo; father absence.
INTRODUC~ON
According to the findings of several studies, circumcision and segregation of males at puberty are associated with a very close relationship between the mother and son due to exclusive mother-infant sleeping arrangements and/or a long postpartum sexual taboo (Burton and Whiting, 1961; Stephens, 1962; Whiting, 1964; Whiting et eL, 1958). That is, in certain societies, the nursing baby sleeps in the mother's bed in bodily contact with her while the father sleeps elsewhere. This custom is often accompanied by a taboo which prohibits sexual intercourse between a man and wife after childbirth, sometimes for as long as 2 years. When this taboo exists, presumably the mother pays most of her attention to the baby at the expense of her husband. In these studies, it is assumed that the personalities of boys in such societies are mother-oriented as a result, and the initiation rites, which often include circumcision and segregation from women, are seen as the means to rectify their personality development and to let them acquire a proper masculine identity. 165 Tokyu-Skyline, 1-21-6 Dogenzaka, Tokyo 150, Japan.
201 © . 1 9 7 6 P l e n u m P u b l i s h i n g C o r p o r a t i o n , 2 2 7 West 1 7 t h Street, New Y o r k , N . Y . 1 0 0 1 1 . N o part o f this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system~ o r t r a n s m i t t e d , in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise~ w i t h o u t written permission o f t h e publisher.
202
Kitahara
Although the existence of such a causal relationship is conceivable, it appears that the problem can and should be seen in a wider perspective: namely, if a son has father and mother, it is desirable to examine the relationship between the father and son in addition to the relationship between the mother and son. Since the problem deals with the son's personality development in the family, his relationship with the father ought to be taken into account. Many findings indicate that when the father is absent in the household the son tends to be affected by that condition. For example, compared to fatherpresent boys, father-absent boys tend t o be less aggressive, be less independent, be overly submissive, and show feminine fantasies (e.g., Biller, 1970; Biller and Borstelmann, 1967). In brief, there seems to be good evidence that when the son has insufficient contact with the father he shows more feminine elements in his personality development. If we can assume that circumcision and segregation of males at puberty are instrumental in letting feminine boys acquire a masculine identity, there are two factors to be taken into account. First, it is conceivable that when the son has a close relationship with the mother due to such customs as exclusive motherinfant sleeping arrangements or a long postpartum sexual taboo, he may develop a feminine personality. This is the aspect already recognized and discussed in detail (Burton and Whiting, 1961 ; Stephens, 1962; Whiting, 1964; Whiting et al., 1958). In addition, it is conceivable that when the son has insufficient contact with the father the son may develop a feminine personality. The purpose of this article is to examine circumcision and segregation of males at puberty in terms of this second possibility and to compare its significance with the significance of a close mother-son relationship. METHOD
The study of contact between father and son has several possibilities. However, the approach which is most clear-cut for our purpose is to look at livingquarter arrangements for cowives in polygynous societies. In polygyny, there are basically two types of living-quarter arrangements for cowives. In one type, cowives usually share the same living quarter with their children and husband. In this arrangement, everyone lives together, and a child sees its father probably as frequently as its mother. In contrast, in the other kind of living-quarter arrangement, each cowife has her own quarter where she lives separately with her children. The husband comes to her quarter from time to time, but he may not stay there all the time, because he moves from one cowife to another. Here,it is likely that a child has more contact with its mother than with its father, and this difference in living quarter arrangements for cowives may be considered to make a difference in the extent of contact between father and son. On this assumption, data were obtained from the Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock, 1967). There were four types of information needed for this study,
P o l y g y n y : I n s u f f i c i e n t Father-Son C o n t a c t and Son's Masculine Identity
203
Table I. The 37 Sample Societies a
1 Ab Ab Ab Ac Ac Ac Ad Ae Af Af Ag Ah Ai Ai Ai Ai Aj Cb Eg Id Id Ie Ie Le Ig Na Na Nc Nc Nd Nd Ne Ne Ne Na Se Sf
2
13 14 19 17 3 10 11 8 1 56 10 14 12 3 30 6 2 24 9 2 1 24 5 3 3 17 20 15 33 24 12 13 11 4 42 3 5
3
Tswana Lovedu Ambo Suku Bemba Chewa Bena Rundi Fon Ngere Konkomba Kamuku Fall Azande Lese Shilluk Masai Wodaabe Fulani Baiga Murngin Armada Koiari Keraki Arapesh Kurtatchi Slave Kutchin Coast Y u k i Luiseno Kidutokado Flathead Blood Assiniboin Crow Potawatomi Jivaro Paez
4
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + . . . .
5
6
+ + + +
-
+ + + + + +
+ +
+ :
+ + +
+ -
+ + -
+ +
--
+ + + + + + + + + : + +
-
+ +
-
+
-
+
-
: : :
aColumns: (1) regional identification, (2) na me o f society, (3) separate quarters for cowives, (4) long p o s t p a r t u m sexual taboos, (5) circumcision at puberty, (6) segregation at puberty. The presence ctr absence o f the practice is i n d i c a t e d b y (+) or ( - ) , respectively. Absence of i n f o r m a t i o n is indicated by C). Source: M u r d o c k (1967). and columns
37 (Male Genital Operation)
and 38 (Segregation of Adolescent
Boys) were used for the data on circumcision and segregation. In order to know the extent Sexual
of closeness between
Taboo)
the mother
was used, and information
cowives was obtained
and son, column
36 (Postpartum
on living-quarter arrangements
for
from column 14 (Family Organization), which in turn was
used for inferring the extent of contact between father and son.
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Each of the 412 clusters of the Ethnographic Atlas was examined, and whenever there was adequate information for a society in columns 14 and 36, and also at least in either column 37 or 38, it was selected as a sample society. If there were two or more societies belonging to the same cluster, the most informative society was chosen. If they were equally informative, one society was chosen randomly by means of a table of random numbers. In this way, 43 societies were first selected. They were then scrutinized in terms of the "three-degree rule" (Murdock, 1967, p. 4), and if two societies belonging to two different clusters were geographically too close to each other one was eliminated at random and a substitution made whenever possible. The final sample thus obtained was made up of 37 societies (see Table I). The sample was then dichotomized in terms of the four factors of (1) circumcision, (2) segregation, (3) length of postpartum sexual taboos, and (4) living-quarter arrangements for cowives. Category 5 (circumcision between 11 and 15 years old) and category 6 (circumcision between 16 and 25 years old) of column 37 were combined and considered to represent the practice of circumcision at puberty, as opposed to the other categories of column 37, in which this phenomenon was considered absent) As regards segregation, categories P, R, S, and T of column 38 were combined and collectively considered to represent the practice of segregation at puberty. The societies belonging to category A were considered to have no segregation. In order to dichotomize the sample in terms of the length of postpartum sexual taboos, the societies belonging to category 4 (duration 1-2 years) and category 5 (duration more than 2 years) of column 36 were put together in one category and considered to have a long postpartum sexual taboo. The societies of categories 0, 1,2, and 3 were put together in another category and considered to have a short or no postpartum sexual taboo. This procedure of using 1 year as the cutoff point is in accordance with the decision made by Whiting and Kluckholm (quoted in Stephens, 1962, pp. 3-4). The information on the arrangements of living quarters for cowives was obtained from column 14, and only categories P, Q, R, and S were used. In P and R cowives live together, and in Q and S they live separately. In R and S cowives are preferentially sororal. These four categories were used because only in these categories is a polygynous family unit independently maintained. It was reasoned that in this way, without involving individuals other than the husband, cowives, and children, the significance of father-son contact would be most likely to be indicated. The existence of a grandfather in the same family unit, for example, may work as a model for a son and influence his socialization process. Since whether or not cowives are preferentially sororal does not seem to have 2In a sense, it may be problematic to consider circumcision performed only at puberty. But according to the data used in this study, irrespective of living-quarter arrangements, circumcision is concentrated in categories 5 and 6. For this reason, different decisions on this matter bring al~out much the same result.
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Table II. Relationship Between Living-Quarter Arrangements in Polygyny, Length of Postpartum Sexual Taboos, and Segregation of Males at Puberty a b
Postpartum sexual taboo with eowives in separate quarters
Postpartum sexual taboo with cowives in the same quarter Segregation Absent Present Total
Less than 1 year
More than 1 year
Less than 1 year
More than ! year
5 4 9
4 0 4
3 6 9
2 8 10
14 18 32
i
aHypothe~s 1: columns l a n d 2 vs, 3and 4: x 2 =4.16, P < 0.025. Hypothesis 3: columns l a n d 3 vs. 2 and 4: X~ = 0.07, P < 0.40. Hypothesis 5: columns 1 vs. 2: P < 0.18. Hypothesis 5: columns 3 v~ 4: P < 0.45. Hypothesis 7: columns 1 vs. 3: P < 0.32. Hypothesis 7: columns 2 w 4: P < 0.015. Hypotheses 5 and 7 are by Fisher's test. All tests are one-tailed. Table IH. Relationship Between Living-Quarter Arrangements in Polygyny, Length of Postpartum Sexual Taboos, and Circumcision of Males at Puberty a Postpartum sexual taboo with cowiv_esin the same quarter Circumcision Absent Present Total
Less than 1 year More than 1 year 11 1 12
Postpartum sexual taboo with cowives in separate quarters Less than 1 year
More than 1 year
4 5 9
7 4 11
5 0 5
27 10 37
aHypothesis 2: columns 1 and 2 vg 3 and 4: P < 0.009. Hypothesis 4: columns 1 and 3 w 2 and 4: P < 0.56. Hypothesis 6: columns 1 vs. 2: P < 0.71. Hypothesis 6: columns 3 vg 4: P < 0.46. Hypothesis 8: columns 1 vs. 3: P < 0.03. Hypothesis 8: columns 2 vs, 4: P < 0.19. All tests are by Fisher's test (one-tailed). a n y significant m e a n i n g w i t h r e s p e c t t o o u r c o n c e r n , 3 t h e societies o f c a t e g o r i e s P a n d R were c o m b i n e d a n d similarly t h e societies o f categories Q a n d S were c o m b i n e d t o y i e l d t h e t w o t y p e s o f societies b a s e d o n t h e l i v i n g - q u a r t e r a r r a n g e m e n t s . F o r t h e t e s t i n g o f t h e d a t a , p r i m a r i l y F i s h e r ' s test was u s e d , a n d w h e n t h e X2 test was a p p l i c a b l e Y a t e s ' s " c o r r e c t i o n f o r c o n t i n u i t y " f o r m u l a was used. T h e results are s u m m a r i z e d in T a b l e s II a n d III.
RESULTS I n all, e i g h t h y p o t h e s e s w e r e t e s t e d . T h e e x t e n t o f c o r r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n insufficient father-son contact on the one hand and the practice of circumcision a n d s e g r e g a t i o n o n t h e o t h e r was e x a m i n e d b y m e a n s o f h y p o t h e s e s 1 a n d 2: H y p o t h e s i s 1 ( h y p o t h e s i s 2): I n p o l y g y n o u s societies, i f e a c h c o w i f e lives in a s e p a r a t e q u a r t e r w i t h h e r c h i l d r e n , m a l e s are m o r e l i k e l y to b e s e g r e g a t e d 3 Examination of the sample societies shows that neither segregation (P < 0.81, Fisher's test, one-tailed) nor circumcision (P < 0.57, Fisher's test, two-tailed) is significantly correlated to preferentially sororal polygyny.
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(circumcised) at puberty, compared to societies in which cowives live together in the same quarter. Tables II and III indicate that both hypotheses 1 and 2 were significantly supported, suggesting that the extent of contact between the father and son is instrumental for the presence or absence of circumcision and segregation. For the sake of comparison,hypotheses 3 and 4 were tested in order to determine the relative importance of the extent of closeness between the mother and son for these phenomena: Hypothesis 3 (hypothesis 4) In polygynous societies, if there is a long postpartum sexual taboo, males are more likely to be segregated (circumcised) at puberty, compared to societies in which there is a short or no postpartum sexual taboo. Surprisingly enough, hypotheses 3 and 4 were both rejected (Tables II and III). This suggests that, contrary to several studies (Burton and Whiting, 1961; Stephens, 1962; Whiting, t964; Whiting et al., 1958), a long postpartum sexual taboo is not correlated with the practice of circumcision and segregation. For this reason, the importance of a long postpartum taboo was further examined. By controlling the factor of living-quarter arrangements for cowives, the ideas underlying hypotheses 3 and 4 were repeated in the form of hypotheses 5 and 6: Hypothesis 5 (hypothesis 6): In polygynous societies, if there is a long postpartum sexual taboo, males are more likely to be segregated (circumcised) at puberty when the factor of living-quarter arrangements is controlled, compared to societies in which there is a short or no postpartum sexual taboo. Table II shows that among the societies in which cowives live in the same quarter there is no significant correlation between segregation and the length of a postpartum sexual taboo. In fact, contrary to the prediction, the correlation is in the opposite direction. In the case of the societies having separate quarters for cowives, there is also no significant correlation. As regards circumcision, the results are much the same. Table III shows that when cowives live in the same quarter there is no significant correlation between the length of a postpartum sexual taboo and circumcision, nor is there a significant correlation between the two when cowives live in separate quarters. Thus both hypotheses 5 and 6 were clearly rejected. In agreement with the resuits of hypotheses 3 and 4, the results of hypotheses 5 and 6 indicate that the length of a post partum sexual taboo is not significantly correlated to circumcision and segregation of males at puberty. The absence of correlation in these cases is not indicative that a correlation exists only when cowives live together or only when they live separately. In all cases, a significant correlation is absent.
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In view of these f'mdings, the significance of living-quarter arrangements to segregation and circumcision (hypotheses 7 and 8) was examined by controlling the length of postpartum sexual taboos: Hypothesis 7 (hypothesis 8): In polygynous societies, if each cowife lives in a separate quarter with her children, males are more likely to be segregated (circumcised) at puberty when the factor of the length of a postpartum sexual taboo is controlled, compared to societies in which cowives live together in the same quarter. As regards segregation, when a taboo is absent or less than 1 year, there is no significant correlation. When a taboo lasts more than 1 year, a significant correlation exists (Table II). Thus hypothesis 7 was partially supported. In the case of circumcision, when a taboo is absent or less than 1 year there is a significant correlation, but when a taboo lasts more than 1 year no significant correlation exists (Table III). As in the case of hypothesis 7, then, hypothesis 8 was partially supported.
DISCUSSION
The results of this study indicate that the factor of the living-quarter arrangements for cowives is more useful than the length of a postpartum sexual taboo in order to predict the presence or absence of segregation or circumcision. To put it differently, the extent of contact between the father and son is far more important than the extent of closeness between the mother and son for predicting the possibility of segregation and circumcision of males at puberty. Even when the mother and son have a very close relationship due to a long postpartum sexual taboo, as long as the son has enough contact with the father in his daily life he has a proper model of the adult male, and this factor seems to be crucial for the son's acquisition of a masculine identity. Although the influence of housing arrangements on the social aspect of culture in this manner may appear rather surprising, a well-known study in social psychology possibly supports such reasoning. According to Festinger et al. (1950), among the occupants of various housing units social contact was closely correlated to the location of the occupants' apartments. Furthermore, the nature of their "subculture" was related to the physical arrangements of the apartments. Therefore, the influence of living-quarter arrangements on social contact and further on personality development is understandable. Theoretically, there are two works which are directly relevant to a possible interpretation of these findings. According to Zajonc (1968), mere exposure of an individual repatedly to the same stimulus object is a sufficient condition for
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the enhancement of his attitude toward it. For example, if a person merely perceives the same person repeatedly he comes to like that person. Homans (1950, p. 110ft.) thinks that if one interacts with another person repeatedly'one comes to like that person. Therefore, it may be possible to say that due to the livingquarter arrangement in which the son has more contact with his mother than with his father he develops a more favorable attitude toward his mother than toward his father. This is in part due to more frequent exposure to her cognitively (Zajonc, 1968), and in part due to more frequent interaction with her (Homans, 1950, p. 110ft.). This results in a more sympathetic attitude toward femininity in general and toward the mother in particular. But if the society in which such a process takes place is dominated by men, as suggested by polygyny, the development of such an attitude on the part of the boys who are to take over the role of the dominating males in the future is not desirable. The sympathetic attitude toward women may endanger the dominant status of men, and if this becomes extreme the society cannot be maintained on the basis of its basic premises of life. The solution to this problem is to let the boys realize the difference between men and women by means of, among other things, institutionalized circumcision and segregation.
CONCLUSION There are several works which try to explain circumcision and segregation of males at puberty in terms of the boy's early experience in the family. Basically, however, these works examine the problem in terms of the extent of mother-son contact only, and the possible effect of the extent of father-son contact is not taken into account. If we can assume that both father and mother are important for the son's personality development in general and his acquisition of a masculine identity in particular, it is necessary to look at the problem in terms of the nature of contact between the son and both parents. The results of this study suggest two things in regard to future research in this area. First, it is necessary to reconsider the assumed importance of a very close mother-son relationship in the son's infancy for understanding circumcision and segregation later at puberty and to consider the importance of the son's relationship with the father. Second, it appears necessary to recognize the importance of living-quarter arrangements for the members of the family in order to study the process of socialization and personality development of the child.
REFERENCES
Biller, H. B. (1970). Father absence and the personality development of the male child. Develop. Psyehol. 2: 181-201.
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BiUer, H. B., and Borstelmann, L. J. (1967). Masculine development: An integrative review. Merrill-Palmer Quart. Behav. Develop. 13: 253-294. Burton, R. V., and Whiting, J. W. M. (1961). The absent father and cross-sex identity.
Merrill-Palmer Quart. Behav. Develop. 7 (2): 85-95. Festinger, L., Schachter, S., and Back, K. (1950). Soeial Pressures in lnformal Groups, Harper, New York. Homans, G. C. (1950). The Human Group, Harcourt, Brace, New York. Murdock, G. P. (1967). Ethnographic Atlas, University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh. Stephens, W. N. (1962). The Oedipus Complex, Free Press, New York. Whiting, J. W. M. (1964): Effects of climate on certain cultural practices. In Goodenough, W. H. (ed.), Explorations in Cultural Anthropology, McGraw-Hill, New York, pp. 511-544. Whiting, J. W. M., and Kluckhohn, R. (n.d.). Ratings of duration of the post~partum sexual taboo. Unpublished paper, Laboratory of Human Development, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Whiting, J. W. M., Kluckhohn, R., and Anthony, A. (1958). The function of male initiation ceremonies at puberty. In Maccoby, E. E., Newcomb, T. M., and Hartley, E. L. (eds.), Readings on Social Psychology, 3rd ed., Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, pp. 359-370. Zajonc, R. B. (1968). The attitudinal effects of mere exposure. Jr. Personal. SocialPsychol. Monogr. Suppl. 9(2): 1-27.
