The Dynamics of Clanship Among the Tallensi

Meyer Fortes was a South African-born anthropologist, best known for his work among the Tallensi and Ashanti in Ghana. Originally trained in psychology, Fortes employed the notion of the "person" into his structural-functional analyses of kinship, the family, and ancestor worship setting a standard for studies on African social organization. His famous book, Oedipus and Job in West African Religion (1959), fused his two interests and set a standard for comparative ethnology. He also wrote extensively on issues of the first born, kingship, and divination.

1. Introductory 2. The Meaning of 'Tallensi' 3. Paradigm of the Lineage System 4. Clanship: The Namoos 5. The Distribution of the Namoos 6. The Structural Relations of the Talis 7. Clanship and Ritual Collaboration 8. Totemism Among the Talis and Other non-Namoos 9. The Place of Women in the Clan Organization 10. The Social Structure of a Settlement 11. Land, Locality and the Earth 12. The Lineage in the Local Community 8. The Form of Tale Society