Lakota=>Siouan polyandry inquiry

[Mary C Marino]

Walker doesn't say anything about the 'buried man' being the woman's 
brother-in-law.  He says that this arrangement could only happen with 
the husband's consent, seldom given, which argues against any sort of 
customary right.  What Walker describes in this passage doesn't sound 
like marriage at all: he does not say anything about coresidence, 
economic obligations between the 'buried man' and the couple, or any of 
the other concommitants of marriage, except for parentage of children of 
the relationship, which was assigned to the original pair.   I suspect 
that Walker was of the view that the only socially-approved sex 
relations a woman could have were marital: polyandry would exist if a 
woman could have such relations with more than one man at a time.  Put 
simply:  if a woman has sex with a man, he's her husband, otherwise 
she's an adultress.

Mary


On 23/09/2011 1:53 PM, Greer, Jill wrote:
>
> Aloha Mark, Mary, and All,
>
> Might the practice of the levirate and institutionalized joking 
> between a woman and her husband's brothers be related to a potential 
> sexual relationship there (especially if the brother's wife were to die)?
>
> Outside the realm of Siouan-speaking groups,  I do recall E. Adamson 
> Hoebel's work on the Cheyenne mentioning that the legal punishment for 
> adultery was NOT enforced for one's wife sleeping with one of a man's 
> brothers because in fact,  a brother had the traditional right of 
> sexual access to his brother(s)' wife.  Since the traditional 
> anthropological explanation of polyandry emphasizes fraternal 
> examples,  it really seems to fit with the concept of temporary or 
> sporadic wife sharing.  When would you decide where the former 
> stopped, and actual polyandry began?   It was a long time ago when I 
> was asked to teach someone's course on Social Control and Law,  so I 
> could be misremembering a detail,  but the shock value  of that 
> scenario made an impression on my then-youngish mind.
>
> This recollection comes especially from the book he wrote about law 
> and legal systems -  sorry the exact reference is at home,  and my 
> brain is hoping for the weekend to begin soon,  but it's an 
> interesting discussion.   Naturally,  it fits better with a 
> patrilineal descent reckoning, which makes me wonder if it is totally 
> unheard of in Crow?
>
> Best,
>
> Jill
>
> Dr. Jill D. Greer
>
> Associate Professor
>
> Social Science Department
>
> MSSU
>
> 3950 E. Newman Road
>
> Joplin, MO  64801
>
> 417.625.9795
>
> Greer-j at mssu.edu
>
> *From:*Siouan Linguistics [mailto:SIOUAN at listserv.unl.edu] *On Behalf 
> Of *Mark J Awakuni-Swetland
> *Sent:* Friday, September 23, 2011 8:01 AM
> *To:* SIOUAN at listserv.unl.edu
> *Subject:* Re: Lakota=>Siouan polyandry inquiry
>
> Aloha Mary,
> Thanks for the 'fertility expedient' idea.
> Walker does not provide a Lakota expression in the surrounding text.
> He does not expand on the term "buried man" either.
> Mark
>
> *Mary C Marino <mary.marino at USASK.CA <mailto:mary.marino at USASK.CA>>*
> Sent by: Siouan Linguistics <SIOUAN at listserv.unl.edu 
> <mailto:SIOUAN at listserv.unl.edu>>
>
> 09/22/11 10:28 PM
>
> Please respond to
> Siouan Linguistics <SIOUAN at listserv.unl.edu 
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> Re: Lakota=>Siouan polyandry inquiry
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>
> Hello Mark
>
> I have never heard of this before regarding either the Lakota or the 
> Dakota, and I think this is a questionable use of the term 
> 'polyandry'.  It sounds more like an expedient to address infertility 
> in a marriage otherwise satisfactory to the husband and wife.  Does 
> Walker further describe this concept of the 'buried man'?  Does he 
> give a Lakota expression?
>
> Mary
>
>
> On 22/09/2011 8:13 AM, Mark J Awakuni-Swetland wrote:
> Aloha All,
> My Anthropology Department Chair Ray Hames brought me a copy of James 
> Walker's LAKOTA SOCIETY with an inquiry.
>
> He and a student are preparing a journal article describing polyandry 
> (a woman having more than one husband).
>
> They are finding accounts of this practice in groups outside of the 
> regularly cited groups known to use this strategy.
>
> In the Walker case, there is no reference or citation as to the source 
> of his statement regarding polyandry among the Lakota.
>
> I have included the paragraph that mentions polyandry from page 55 of 
> Walker's book for your reference.
>
> Ray Hames also inquired as to the meaning of the second husband being 
> considered "buried"
>
> Does anyone know of this practice among the Lakota or other Siouan 
> groups?
>
> I am not aware of it among the Omaha.
>
> I would presume that if such a practice existed there would be a term 
> for that names this arrangement, the second husband, terms of 
> relations, etc.
>
> Thanks
> Mark
>
>
>
>
> Mark Awakuni-Swetland, Ph.D.
> Associate Professor of Anthropology & Ethnic Studies
> Native American Studies Program Liaison
> University of Nebraska
> Department of Anthropology
> 841 Oldfather Hall
> Lincoln, NE 68588-0368
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