Tovarishchestvo po zhene u chukchei: primer sozdaniia rodstvennosti

Abstract

The article discusses the custom of spouse exchange that had existed among the Chukchi (Chukchee). Drawing on various sources from the eighteenth through mid-twentieth century, the author attempts to reexamine the custom from the standpoint of present-day anthropology. She undertakes a critical assessment of the concept of group marriage that was the dominant explanation of the issue in Soviet Siberian studies, and suggests considering the issue in terms of fictive kinship instead. The author argues that the practice of spouse exchange led to the emergence of partnerships among men, which were important social relationships that could be compared to kinship and arguably were seen as such by the Chukchi themselves. The article is followed by comments byL.N. Khakhovskaya, S.A. Arutyunov, and E.P. Batyanova.