Australian Aborigine: Transition in Family Grouping
Author(s)
Hufferi, Virginia
Abstract
In the brief period of fifty years, under the tutelage of the missionaries, there has been a marked transition of family structure in one group of Australian Aborigines from polygynous to monogamous. Those who are now middle-aged have lived as man and wife in Western-style nuclear families. Presently, however, there is a tendency for the youth not to marry but for the young women to incorporate their offspring into the household of their monogamous parents. A matrilocal pattern is developing that has the potential for matriarchal dominance. Some of the forces contributing to these changes are discussed. Several parallels with transitions in American minority family groupings are presented.
