The alliance school

The alliance school

Titre de l'ensemble: Incest

This chapter discusses the theories of alliance schools. The alliance school is completely group oriented. Its basic argument is that incest prohibitions serve the social function of compelling the young to look for mates outside the nuclear family. Such marriages create alliances between family groups, a network that constitutes basic social order. Although Tylor was not concerned with incest, he is widely quoted by his successors as the originator of the alliance theory of incest. Tylor finds only one problem with his explanation—that alliance does not always prevent strife or bloodshed. In its implicit assumption that incest regulations coincide with regulations governing exogamy, Tylor's initial statement differs significantly from the theories developed by his successors. Because incest was culturally created, it is culturally variable, with each culture defining incest differently. White repeatedly emphasizes that incest must be culturally defined. However, White himself claimed that incest prohibitions preceded the recognition of paternity.