ABSTRACT
Miriam's network typifies the most basic and central pattern of women's social ties in Tunis: a network centered around kin. In contrast to Miriam's pattern, the other two network patterns described in this study—the "neighbor network" and the "friendship pattern"—include marry nonkin such as neighbors or friends. Like Miriam, the women in the study with kin exclusive networks restricted their interactions almost completely to kin, including at most one or two friends or neighbors in their social circle. Interestingly, marriage to kin was not related to either the husband's educational level or household income. The numerous celebrations, gifts, and ritual visits of the marriage process both create and perpetuate existing social ties in several ways. The central importance of kin in Tunisian women's lives is illustrated not only by the high proportion of relatives in their networks but also by the continued practice of marriage with kin.
