Dualism and hierarchy : processes of binary combination in Keo society.

Oxford & New York : Oxford University Press, 2001. Hardcover. Dustjacket. xix, 341 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. [325]-331) and index. Synopsis : Society in the Keo region of the eastern Indonesian island of Flores reveals a pervasive pairing of villages, clans, and other groups. Apart from introducing a hitherto undescribed population, this study - deriving from fieldwork conducted by the author over a period of 15 years - analyzes a form of society that has occupied anthropologists since the inception of their discipline: morphological dualism, or dual organization. Drawing on a notion of encompassment inspired by Dumont's theory of "hierarchy", the author interprets dualistic social forms as products of a continuous process of combination and a tendency to create binary wholes through the partial assimilation of junior by senior partners. While Keo exemplifies a variant of a widespread eastern Indonesian pattern of binary classification and asymmetric marriage alliance, the analysis shows how Keo morphological dualism cannot be reduced to the categories of a dual classification nor to unique or exclusive forms of reciprocity or functional complementarity. (Oxford studies in social and cultural anthropology). Condition : very good copy. ISBN 9780198234241. Keywords : , Keo (Indonesian people).