In
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
, a joking relationship is a relationship between two people that involves a
ritual
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...
ised banter of teasing or mocking.
In Niger it is listed on the
.
Structure
Analysed by British social anthropologist
Alfred Radcliffe-Brown in 1940,
it describes a kind of
ritual
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...
ised banter that takes place, for example between a man and his maternal mother-in-law in some South African indigenous societies. Two main variations are described: an ''asymmetrical'' relationship where one party is required to take no offence at constant teasing or mocking by the other, and a ''symmetrical'' relationship where each party makes fun at the other's expense.
The joking relationship is an interaction that mediates and stabilizes social relationships where there is tension, competition, or potential conflict, such as between in-laws and between clans and tribes.
Extent
While first encountered by Radcliffe-Brown in the 1920s, this type of relationship is now understood to be very widespread across societies in general. In West Africa, particularly in
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
, it is regarded as a centuries-old cultural institution known as ''
sanankuya Sanankuya (also sanankou(n)ya, sinankun, senenkun, senankuya) refers to a social characteristic present especially among the Manding peoples as well as many West African societies in general, often described in English with terms such as " cousinage ...
''.
Antithesis
This type of relationship contrasts strongly with societies where so-called
avoidance speech
Avoidance speech is a group of sociolinguistic phenomena in which a special restricted speech style must be used in the presence of or in reference to certain relatives. Avoidance speech is found in many Australian Aboriginal languages and Aust ...
or "mother-in-law" language is imposed to minimise interaction between the two parties, as in many
Australian Aboriginal languages
The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...
.
Donald F. Thomson's article "The Joking Relationship and Organized Obscenity in North Queensland" gives an in-depth discussion of a number of societies where these two speech styles co-exist.
['']American Anthropologist
''American Anthropologist'' is the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association (AAA), published quarterly by Wiley. The "New Series" began in 1899 under an editorial board that included Franz Boas, Daniel G. Brinton, and John W ...
'', 37:3(1) pp. 460–490, 1935 The joking relationships which are most unconstrained and free are between classificatory Father's Father and Son's Son—which appears to be the same situation in the
Plains cultures
Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of ...
of North America.
Sources
Further reading
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*
{{refend
External links
Alfred Radcliffe-Brown Biographyfrom
Answers.com
Answers.com, formerly known as WikiAnswers, is an Internet-based knowledge exchange. The Answers.com domain name was purchased by entrepreneurs Bill Gross and Henrik Jones at idealab in 1996. The domain name was acquired by NetShepard and sub ...
Interpersonal relationships
Social anthropology