Raiven Bell
ANTH 316
Essay Exam #1

1. A. Ernestine Friedl says that the position of women is higher the more they are involved in primary subsistence (as owners or controllers, NOT merely as laborers). This is true of Kung women because they are equal if not primary contributors to the Kung society as key decision-makers, primary food collectors, domestic leaders, child bearers and child caregivers, and equal distributors of the food and goods to the tribe. Also, Kung women lead the household and all domestic activities and they are responsible for teaching their children how to behave, provide for the group, and contribute to their society. It is an important contribution to an egalitarian society to be diverse in skills and in …show more content…

Both past and present, usually when a man chooses to take a second wife, he feels that he is in the proper place to do so; he is more mature, as is his first wife, and children in his first marriage are growing up nicely. There are both pros and cons to a polygamist marriage, however. Obviously, the man pleased that he is gaining another sexual partner, but the tribe is pleased to be gaining another women to help with hunting, gathering, and keeping up with the other domestic duties that the females are responsible for in the group. Also, having another wife means having more children, which is an obvious investment in the tribe’s future. However, the cons have recently seemed to outweigh the pros for polygamist marriages among the Kung; testimonials revealed that historically Kung women have always been irritated by the their husband taking additional wives, but the Kung men spoke to their wives as if the situation was out of their (the wives) control and that the males were obligated to take additional wives for the sake of contributing to the tribe. Although, the first wives are the ones to have helped their husbands to become the eligible commodity that they have to offer the new wives, the males felt that they should treat their wives equally. This was irritating to the first wives, as they felt as though they had earned more respect and attention; however, modernization