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Chapter Two. The Social Structure and its Units |
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acceptance of rank in Wakching : rules of polygyny and monogamy |
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Though neither the village chief nor the members of other clans of chiefly rank enjoyed positions comparable to that of the aristocrats in such villages as Chi, Mon, and Niaunu, the status difference between commoners and aristocrats was never disputed by the commoners who formed the majority of the people of Wakching, and among whose ranks were some of the richest and most influential men of the village. They conceded without hesitation the right of the members of chiefly clans to marry several wives, while accepting that monogamy was mandatory for commoners. Thus, double standards of morality appeared even to commoners as a natural concomitant of a society structured on hierarchic lines. |
