The Yomut Turkmen : a study of a social organization among a central Asian Turkic-speaking population

The Yomut Turkmen of Central Asia are a nomadic people who migrate seasonally with their flocks. They live in the region where northern Iran, Afghanistan, and southern Turkmenistan meet, east of the Caspian Sea. In this monograph, William Irons describes the Yomut Turkmen's political structure, kinship system, and social organization. Contents Preface List of Tables List of Figures List of Plates I. Introduction The kinship system and its environment The ethnographic setting The recent history of the Turkmen Data and research methods II. Ecology Traditional ecology and economy Recent changes The current ecology of Aji Qui III. Political Structure Descent groups Residence groups The relationship between descent groups and residence groups Peace, war and feud Sacred lineages Relations with the Kajar government The office of thaqlau Nomadism and politics Nomadism and feud Nomadism and relations with the state The recent political history of Aji Qui IV. Domestic Groups The normal developmental cycle Exceptional patterns of household development Household types in a particular oba Inheritance V. Kinship Norms and Categories Parent-child Grandparent-grandchild Siblings Husband-wife Affines Uterine relatives The contrast between agnatic and non-agnatic kinship The extension of kinship The place of deceased ancestors in the kinship system Slavery and kinship The prominence of the father-son relationship Kinship norms and domestic groups VI. Marriage Choice of marriage partner Endogamy and agnation Marriage negotiations The development of a marriage Widows, widowers, remarriage and polygyny Divorce The demographic context Population regulation through social conventions: an hypothesis VII. Domestic Organization and Economics Differential productivity and the distribution of wealth Livestock as a form of capital Shepherding contracts Agriculture Carpet weaving Other secondary sources of income Wealth profile in a particular community The relationship between family size and wealth Leveling institutions Bridewealth Other leveling institutions The overall effect of economic leveling institutions Household size and economic viability VIII. Overview Appendices I. The Wealth Profile of Aji Qui II. Income of a Pastoral Family of Median Wealth III. Notes on the Transliteration of Turkmen Words Bibliography