ABSTRACT
In 1936 Professor Firth emphasized the plasticity of Polynesian kinship and pointed out: The extent to which recognition of the tie through the mother is incorporated into the scheme of social institutions, particularly into principles of group membership, is to be correlated especially with variations in the economic structure of the community. This chapter highlights that the degree of adherence to a principle of agnatic descent and inheritance can be explained in terms of one factor alone, i.e. effective density of population per square mile. Studying societies with patrilineal descent, one must analyse both the ideology and operation of the principle of patrilineal descent within the context of the political, economic, and ritual institutions of the society concerned. What is important is that the Abelam themselves were aware of the complexities of existence, and that if the village, which was the focal point of activities, was to hold together as a corporate unit there must be some fluidity in affiliation.
