Gururumba - Marriage and Family

Marriage. Marriages are most importantly arrangements between clans rather than individuals, and residence is patrivirilocal. From the point of view of a male clan member it is important to send one's sisters and daughters as wives to as many other clans as possible to establish a network of reciprocities based on the obligations of kinship that develop through the joint responsibilities for children produced by these unions. Such networks were one of the main bases of political alliance among sovereignties. Divorce, then, most often involved negotiation between the two clans involved rather than between the individuals.

Domestic Unit. Because of residential segregation of the sexes, the domestic unit was not a residential unit. A woman, her unmarried daughters, and her sons who were too young to be taken into the men's house all lived together. The father/husband visited occasionally in their house but never slept there. He joined them on an almost daily basis to plan and carry out various tasks, but he spent most of his other time with the men's group.

Inheritance. Since males have ultimate control over land and its products, upon death claims to garden land would revert to the clan. Personal movable property might be claimed by the children of the deceased.

Socialization. Children have a variety of caretakers and Socializing agents including older siblings, any adult of the same lineage, and peers. The latter are especially important as prepubescent males often form their own dwelling and eating groups.