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The Andaman Islanders
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Historical SummaryAside from mere repulsion, avoidance in general contains attitudes of fear and respect. The avoidance of names, for example, illustrated in the chapter on language, is a negative aspect of the positive forms of etiquette mentioned in the same connection. Avoidance is also employed by primitives in directions and to extremities unknown to us. It might, for example, excite unfavorable comment among ourselves if a married man associated freely with unmarried girls or young wives. Among the Andamanese the feeling of propriety in such a situation has taken the following exaggerated form:
A married man may not and will not have any close dealings with the wife of a man younger than himself. It is not considered fitting that he should speak to her. If he wished to have any communication with her, he would do so through some third person. It would be regarded as a wrong thing to do if he were ever to touch her. The only
explanation that the natives give of this custom is by saying that a man feels "shy" or "ashamed" towards his younger brother’s or friend’s wife. The custom is exactly the same with respect to the wife of any younger man, whether a brother, a cousin, or a stranger.
This custom depends on the distinction between older and younger. A man may be on terms of familiarity with the wife of a man older than himself, whom he would treat much as he would an elder sister.1
1Radcliffe-Brown, A.R.n/an/an/an/a, , 80 (Cambridge University Press. By permission).
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Chicago:
"The Andaman Islanders," The Andaman Islanders in Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences, ed. Thomas, William I. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1937), Original Sources, accessed July 12, 2025, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=AH8NB8V76W7XVZU.
MLA:
. "The Andaman Islanders." The Andaman Islanders, in Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences, edited by Thomas, William I., New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1937, Original Sources. 12 Jul. 2025. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=AH8NB8V76W7XVZU.
Harvard:
, 'The Andaman Islanders' in The Andaman Islanders. cited in 1937, Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences, ed. , McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York. Original Sources, retrieved 12 July 2025, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=AH8NB8V76W7XVZU.
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