Hi there,


can anyone explain to me what a post-partum taboo is? I only found postpartum depression in the dictionaries, but that seems to make no sense.
The context: It's a paper by Greenberg about kinship terminology. He tells the reader about another paper by Nerlove/Romney - they examined sibling typologies and tried to explain, why some languages have cross-sex terms:

Quote:

By a cross-sex term is meant one which is used by males to refer to females and vice versa. They suggest two hypotheses. One is that cross-sex terminology is associated with sibling avoidance, presumably a cultural trait. This turns out to be significant just short of .05 level. A second hypothesis, association with the post-partum taboo turns out to be much stronger, being significant at the .001 level.

I would appreciate any help!
Kristin.


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Here's what I found on Google to explain what a "post-partum taboo" is:

http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:eECYpk2ioCQJ:www.uic.edu/classes/osci/osci590/9_4%2520The%2520Anthropology%2520of%2520Breast%2520Feeding.htm+%22post-partum+taboo%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us


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Proficient: Spanish
Relearning: German
Early Beginner: Koine Greek, Classical Hebrew
Interested in: Dutch, Arabic, Icelandic

Thanks a lot! This is strange, why should a society that has a post-partum taboo employ cross-sex terms for siblings? Looks as if I have to get the original paper ...


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Rose Immortal wrote:

Here's what I found on Google to explain what a "post-partum taboo" is:

http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:eECYpk2ioCQJ:www.uic.edu/classes/osci/osci590/9_4%2520The%2520Anthropology%2520of%2520Breast%2520Feeding.htm+%22post-partum+taboo%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

Page widener.

Kristin wrote:

Thanks a lot! This is strange, why should a society that has a post-partum taboo employ cross-sex terms for siblings? Looks as if I have to get the original paper ...

Um… If I'm understanding the quotation you posted correctly, the cross-sex terms are for all members of the other sex, not just for siblings. The existence of such terms just may be related to sibling avoidance - or to the post-partum taboo.

Hum ... as the Nerlove/Romney paper is about sibling terminology, I thought the cross-sex terms were, too. But anyway, what could the post-partum taboo possibly have to do with cross-sex terms, even if applied to all kins(wo)men?


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