In her study of domestic organization in Gonja, a formerly important
West African state, now part of Ghana, Esther Goody has concentrated on
tracing the interrelationships between political and domestic
institutions in a bilateral kinship system, untypical of the area. After
outlining the problems which she is seeking to solve and describing the
domestic, political and economic context of life in central Gonja, the
author examines the several aspects of marriage fundamental to the
establishment of domestic groups and their development. The practice of
sending children to be reared by kin is then discussed and is related to
the strong ties binding kin together however far apart they may live. Dr
Goody examines patterns of residence through time, and seeks to relate
these to both the political context and the form taken by authority in
the kin group. The study concludes with a comparison of the Gonja system
with other bilateral and unilineal African kingdoms, and the book is
completed by appendices presenting the statistical material gathered
during research.