Representing a departure from traditional studies of social organization, this book asserts that a kinship system is best understood as a system of concepts rather than as a set of empirical relationships. Three aspects of life in the Panamanian community of Los Boquerones are described.

Representing a departure from traditional studies of social organisation, the book asserts that a kinship system is best understood as a system of concepts rather than as a set of empirical relationships. Three aspects of life in the Panamanian community of Los Boquerones are described First published in 1976.

1. The country, people and problem 2. Village life and ties to the larger society 3. Economic organization 4. God, the devil and the saints 5. The individual 6. The
household 7. The household and the elementary family 8. From natal to conjugal household 9. Forms of conjugal relations
10. Conjugal instability 11. Extra-domestic
kinship and affinity 12. Forming the 'compadrazgo' 13. The structure of 'compadrazgo' 14. Relationships, residence, religion and the individual