ABSTRACT
In this chapter the author discusses the connection between the family and the flock, showing how the family treats the flock as having an identity of its own. Preparation of the food by the women had special significance because it gave them power and authority vis-a-vis the rest of the members of the family. Thus, clearly, the focus of the family's life was the flock. In this chapter, the author shall review the bond between the Hamza family and its flock, analysing how the flock serves both as a uniting factor and as the cause of differences of opinion among members of the family. In January 1984 the Hamza family owned thirty-five ewes, twenty-nine of which had had lambs, thirty-six older female goats, twenty-four of which had had kids, and twenty young female goats, three of which had had young. The ownership of the animals reflected the tissue of relationships among the members of the family.
