Some groups live in a special way.
They call their group a House. A House is more than a building. It is a group of people. They share names and things. This helps the group stay strong. Do you have a special group?
Some groups live in a special way.
They call their group a House. A House is more than a building. It is a group of people. They share names and special things. This helps the group stay strong.
The group shares wealth and titles. This lasts for a long time. People join the House in different ways. Some people live in the House. Others come for special days. These groups can also compete with each other. They may fight to be leaders. It is a very busy way to live.
Some groups live in a special way. They call their group a House.
A House is more than just a building. It is a group of people. They share names and special things. These things can be objects or titles. This helps the group stay strong for a long time.
Different people join a House in different ways. A few top members live in the House. Other members only come for special days. These people may also have ties to other Houses. They might join a House by helping to care for it. They can also join by taking part in rituals.
Houses can also be part of politics. Some Houses compete to be leaders. They may fight for control of a state. In places like Bali, noble Houses did this.
In these groups, people have different ranks. Some people are very high in rank. Others are commoners or slaves. These lower groups may not be able to form their own Houses. This can happen if they lose their property. It can also happen if leaders use rules to keep them apart.
A house society is a very special way for people to live together. Most groups are organized by family lines or blood. In a house society, people organize themselves around a House instead. This House is more than just a building with walls. It is a group that holds wealth and special names. This wealth can be real things like goods or titles.
The House acts like a single person to keep the group going. It passes its name and its things down through many years. This helps the group stay connected to its very first beginnings.
Being part of a House works in a few different ways. Only the highest members usually live in the actual building. Other members are part of the group but live elsewhere. These other members might only meet for special rituals or ceremonies. They are sometimes called a server group. People can join a House if they help care for it. They can also join by taking part in important traditions.
Membership can change because people have ties to many different Houses. They might belong to their mother's House and their father's House too.
An expert named Claude Lévi-Strauss first shared this idea. He called these groups "sociétés à maison" in his work. He wanted a new way to describe groups in the Pacific region. He saw the House as a way to bridge different ideas. It brings together many different rules for family and living. These rules might include how people marry or where they live.
This concept helps us understand many different places in history. It can apply to North Africa or even medieval Europe. It even helps us look at groups in Mesoamerica.
There are many interesting facts about how these Houses act. In the kingdom of Luwu in Sulawesi, noble Houses were very powerful. These Houses often competed with each other to lead the state. In places like Bali, these Houses were also very important. Some Houses used a system called the Potlatch to trade. This can involve a type of competition between different Houses.
In some cases, like the Kwakiutl Indians, the House was tied to slavery. This means the House's property included other people. These facts show how different the Houses can be.
House societies show us how people create order in their world. They use ranks to decide who is a leader. This is different from just being the oldest in a family. In a House, leaders often win their status through competition. This can happen inside one House or between two rival Houses.
Some groups, like commoners, might find it hard to form Houses. They might lose their property through special exchange systems. This shows how much the House matters for a person's place in society. It is a way to turn family and property into a strong group.
In the study of anthropology, a house society is a unique way of organizing people. Most societies use kinship, or family bloodlines, to create social groups. However, in a house society, membership is organized around a corporate dwelling. This means the group is built around a "House" rather than just a family tree. The House acts as a single, corporate body. It is often described as a "moral person." This metaphor means the House itself has a social identity. It is a group that holds an estate of both material and immaterial wealth. Material wealth includes physical goods and property. Immaterial wealth includes things like titles, names, and sacred origins.
To keep itself going, a House must perpetuate itself over many generations. It does this by transmitting its name, its goods, and its titles. This transmission follows a line that is considered legitimate. This line can be real or it can be imaginary. The continuity of the House is expressed through the language of kinship or affinity. A House society is a hybrid or transitional form. It sits between kin-based orders and class-based social orders. It is not one of the "elementary structures" of kinship described by scholars. Instead, it brings together many different social principles. These include rules about where people live and how they marry.
Membership in a House can be quite complex and variable. The House is often an "occasional kinship group." This means members do not always stay together. The highest-ranking members are the core group. They are usually the only ones who live in the actual residence. Other members are known as the "server group." These members might only come together for special ritual occasions. Most members have overlapping ties to many different Houses. They track their kin bilaterally, meaning through both the mother and the father. A person can claim membership in a House through several criteria. They might show they can contribute to the House's upkeep. They might also participate in its important rituals. Successful members may gain the right to use House resources.
The concept of the House society was originally proposed by Claude Lévi-Strauss. He called these groups "sociétés à maison." He developed this idea as an alternative to "corporate kinship groups." He used it to explain the organization of groups in the Pacific region. Since then, the concept has been applied to many different parts of the world. It helps researchers understand societies in Mesoamerica and the Moluccas. It is also used to study North Africa and medieval Europe. Scholars like Rosemary A. Joyce and Susan D. Gillespie have helped expand this study. They look at how social and material reproduction works within these groups.
House societies are often organized around social ranks rather than feudalism. While some scholars once thought these societies were always feudal, others disagree. For example, the scholar Schrauwers argues they are based on social ranks. A House might be a noble group, but it is not necessarily an economic class. In some cases, the House is tied to systems of slavery. Among the Kwakiutl Indians of the North-west coast of Canada, the House property included slaves. In these societies, the House's property consists of another social rank of individuals. This makes the idea of class and rank synonymous. Because slaves are considered property, they are prevented from forming their own Houses.
Politics plays a major role in how House societies function. There are three distinct types of political engagement. First, there is intra-House politics. This happens inside a single House to decide leadership and how to use resources. Second, there is inter-House politics. This involves competition between rival Houses. These rivalries can be connected through "agonistic exchange" institutions. One example of this is the Potlatch. Third, there is a politics of struggle between different classes. This involves the struggle between noble Houses and groups like commoners. Commoners often lack the resources to maintain their own House organization.
Leadership in a House is rarely decided by simple birth order. In many lineages, the oldest child might automatically become the leader. This is called primogeniture, but House societies often work differently. Instead, leadership is gained through status competition. This means people must prove their worth to gain power. In some Southeast Asian kingdoms, noble Houses competed for state control. This happened in the kingdom of Luwu in Sulawesi. It also happened in traditional kingdoms in Bali. These types of political structures are sometimes called "mandala states." The way Houses compete can shape the entire history of a region.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (1)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🔬 Go deeper
More advanced topics to explore
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.