Dynamics of macedonian kinship in a mediterranean perspective: Contextualizing ideologies and pragmatics of agnation

Abstract

Most studies of south Slav and Macedonian kinship continue to draw on the zadruga to highlight or compare contemporary agnatic structures and sentiments. There are certainly some continuities between past and present forms, and in the case of Macedonia, an ongoing emphasis on agnation. However, the inherently dynamic and fluid forms of kinship relations emerging in practice highlight the bilateral tendencies entailed in any kinship system. Thus, the problematic nature of the rigid classification of patrilineal kinship systems becomes apparent. Copyright © 2005 Mediterranean Institute.