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Turkish Village
Copyright 1965, 1994 Paul Stirling. All rights reserved.
Paul Stirling
CHAPTER THREE
VILLAGES AND HOUSEHOLDS
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Page 27
not, will tend to form informal groups for recreation and conversation
Last of the important groups in the village is the lineage. This group consists of a number of households, the heads of which are descended patrilineally i.e., strictly through males only, from a common ancestor generally three or four generations back. These households normally form local clusters. The rights and duties of membership are not precisely defined, and the degree to which members are committed varies greatly between individuals. The main function of the lineage is the protection of members from aggression by supporting them in quarrels. Yet not all household heads are members of lineages, nor do all lineages that could be defined genealogically constitute significant social groups. Most of those who are not committed lineage members are among the poorer and less powerful stratum of village society.
Apart from membership of these groups, a person's position in the network of interpersonal relationships is mainly determined by the obvious factors - sex and age, kinship, occupation and wealth; and to a lesser degree by piety and learning, by personal honour, and for a man, by the range and strength of his urban contacts.
The sexual distinction is, as one would expect in an Islamic society, strongly emphasised, and for most normal social life the sexes are sharply segregated. Age is not a criterion for any formal groups, but it carries respect and authority.
Kinship relations are both the most intimate and intense and the commonest type of social relations. The personal kin ties of men through men form the core of the lineage groups. Extra lineage kin ties form strong and numerous relationships between both households and individuals. This kinship network extends from village to village and provides vital channels for all sorts of activities - economic, political, religious - and for the arranging of marriages which will in turn forge new kin ties.
Distinctions of wealth are not conspicuous. All households in both villages appear at first sight to live in much the same way. All who can, work. There are no permanent rentier households, though one or two elderly men are supported largely by their sons, womenfolk and share-croppers. The wealthiest and most urbanised households have a comfortable sufficiency, while the
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