Running Head: Iroquois and Modern America
The Iroquois and Modern America
Jennifer Barnette
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (ANT101)
Professor Chad Goings
August 17, 2013
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IROQUOIS AND MODERN AMERICA
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The Iroquois and Modern America
Kinship is a very important part of studying the cultures of human society. Some cultures
value men higher than women, some value women higher, and some see their people as truly
equal. Before the Code of Handsome Lake, the Iroquois were a matrilineal society, meaning that
family ties, social status, and physical possessions flowed from mother to daughter through the
generations (Nowak & Laird, 2010). After European contact, the Iroquois people lost their way
and suffered a catastrophic identity crisis. Handsome Lake (Ganioda’yo) turned the Iroquois
from alcoholism and laziness, but in doing so, he also turned the Iroquois from matrilineal to
patrilineal (Nowak & Laird, 2010, section 4.7). The matrilineal kinship arrangement affected the
Iroquois greatly, as evidenced by their usage of both general and balanced reciprocity, the
women’s control mechanism over the warriors, and their marriage rules. In modern America, we
claim to be equal between the sexes, though in practice, it is still “a man’s world.” We are
bilateral, though we lean patrilineal, since the “family name” is typically carried from father to
son. In practice, we also find a father-son relationship in carrying on a family business more
frequently than father-daughter or mother-child.
In the majority of horticultural societies, the tribes are large, compared to foraging bands,
and consist of several nuclear families, sometimes many extended families (Nowak & Laird,
2010, section 4.2). In these larger societies, vast generalized reciprocity is less feasible, but it
still exists in smaller quantities, usually with direct kin (Nowak & Laird, 2010, section 4.2).
Generalized reciprocity in Iroquois society is seen in the way mothers and daughters have rights
to the fields and tools used to grow the food (Nowak & Laird, 2010, section 4.5). In our own
society, we also see a mix of generalized and balanced reciprocity, also based on kin and
proximity. Family, as far as parents, grandparents, and siblings, usually falls into generalized
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reciprocity. My parents would not think twice about buying me dinner, even if I was broke; my
great-uncle paid for my grandfather’s final costs because my grandmother could not afford it.
My grandmother and her neighbor share the fruits of their gardens with each other. There is also
balanced reciprocity. Value is calculated whenever a “trade” occurs, even when it is the trade of
money. My mother gave me two thousand dollars to reclaim my truck when it was repossessed
early in my adult life, and I told her I would pay her back. Typically, though, in America we see
negative reciprocity: how much can I get for the least amount of work.
In the matrilineal culture of the Iroquois, women own the food and the means of
production of the food. If the women do not agree with a raid or act of war, they simply refuse
to give the food to the warriors to stop the action (Nowak & Laird, 2010, section 4.2). In our
culture, the warriors are given an allotted budget, and the overwhelmingly male government
officials argue and deliberate over whether to grant authorization for any attacks. The only
courses of action we have to refuse war are to protest and to vote for people we think will be less
likely to send in the troops. Imperialist societies are typically patrilineal, or at least lean farther
in that direction, with the testosterone-driven leadership always demanding more from the
societies around them.
Finally, kinship in Iroquois culture is a large determinant of marriage material. Since the
Iroquois are matrilineal, cross-cousin marriages are not only acceptable, but encouraged (Nowak
& Laird, 2010, section 4.5). Once a male has been introduced into the line, his offspring now
belong to the family of his wife. Since those children are considered to be in another family,
they are acceptable marriage material. These marriages are encouraged because it reinforces
family ties and keeps power within the family. In America, it is only legal for first cousins to
marry in twenty states. In an additional six states, it is allowed as long as the couple cannot
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reproduce (Issues & Research, n.d.). America is bilateral, and as such, we do not distinguish
between parallel cousins and cross-cousins. Without that distinction, marrying your first cousin
tends to be taboo, and even where it is not illegal, it is still looked down upon by the majority of
our culture.
In conclusion, the matrilineal Iroquois and the bilateral modern American cultures share
little in the areas of reciprocity, ability to prevent war, and marriage between cousins. The
Iroquois show more balanced reciprocity than any other, where Americans in general deal in
negative reciprocity. Both cultures use generalized reciprocity with close kin and balanced
reciprocity with distant kin. Iroquois women are able to prevent war action they do not agree
with by withholding food, where the average American citizen has no ability to do so, whether
male or female. Finally, Iroquois allow, and even encourage, their children to marry their crosscousins, whereas in America it is generally frowned upon, and is even illegal in most states.
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References
Issues & Research, Human Services. (n.d.). State laws regarding marriages between first
cousins. Retrieved April 29, 2011, from http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=4266
Nowak, B., & Laird, P. (2010). Cultural Anthropology (S. Wainwright & D. Moneypenny,
Eds.). Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUANT101.10.2/sections/ch00