W urban, national, or continental entities; of the bourgeoisie, the working

Transcription

1 The Inirect Social Structure of Eurobean Village Communities' ROBERT T. ANDERSON Mills College AND GALLATIN ANDERSON bngley Porter Neuropsychirk Instile HEN one thinks of European classes, one tens to think in terms of W urban, national, or continental entities; of the bourgeoisie, the working class, an the aristocracy; of interest groups an power politics. But hierarchical strata are also a part of the social structure of the small rural community (cf. Pitt-Rivers 1960). The purpose of this paper is to explore the structure of these European village classes. Methoologically, our approach is to stuy village classes in their total context. For this purpose, holistic information of the type supplie by community stuies is require. The analysis, therefore, is base upon the comparison of ifferent communities, numbering 11 in all. Selection of the subject villages was base upon the availability of suitable monographs, with restrictions limite to the elimination of a Russian (Fenomenov 1925) an a Welsh (Rees 1950) stuy, which were unavailable to the authors, an of two of the three available French stuies (Bernot an Blancar 1953; Wylie 1957) in orer to prevent unue emphasis on Gallic materials. The range of variability of rural social structures is great; our materials are sufficiently iverse to suggest that they represent the range. Geographically, representation inclues the Scaninavian an lowlan Northwest, the Atlantic West, the Meiterranean South, an the Balkan Southeast. Four major linguistic areas are involve, namely, the Germanic, Romance, Slavic, an Celtic. All of the villages are rural, although at present they are in varying stages of urbanization an inustrialization. Other basic information is summarize in Table 1. Every sample European village is characterize by a hierarchical stratification escribable in large part, though not entirely, in terms of economic inequalities. Class ifferences in some cases aitionally reflect a istinction of local-village from national-nonvillage orientations. In other cases, stratification essentially istinguishes only wealthy from poor villager. The important fact, in terms of social organization, is that some form of heirarchy subivies each community. For the purposes of this stuy, it suffices to note the presence of an upper class separable from the rest of the population. Whether the remaining part of the population is further ivisible has been consiere irrelevant in orer to facilitate comparison. The types of stratification are inicate in Table

2 [ANDERSON AND ANDERSON] European Village Social Structure 1017 I TABLE 1. THE COMMUNITY SAMPLE Country 1 Village I Population I Economic Base Major Source Englan Gosforth 82 village 21 scattere Williams 1956 Irelan part of County Communities of Claire 60,65, 130,1200 Arensberg 1937 Wales Pentre 600 village 200 hamlet lo00 scattere mining Frankenberg Denmark Dragor 1850 (year 1900) fishing, sailing Anerson (fiel notes) Netherlans 1 Aneren I 280 Keur 8z Keur 1955 Belgium France Chateau-GCrar 877 Wissous 800 (year 1900) AlcalL 205 village 170 scattere , inustry Turney-High 1953 Anerson 1957-;9 (fiel notes) Pitt-Rivers 195 Montegrano 300 Banfiel 1958 Bulgaria Orahk Dragalevtsy 2182 ~ _ 1669 Halpern 1958 Saners 199 As a social group, class iffers from other kins of groups in a funamental way: it is the only one that has no authority structure to provie for leaership nor an institutionalize setting for convocation of its membership, There is no such thing as a social class heaman or a stratum chairman, as a class meeting or a stratum union. On the other han, the community has a local government with various kins of village meetings an the leaership of a mayor, eler, or heaman. The church meets regularly in its builing an has its hierarchy, with

3 -_c_ - ~~ 1018 American Anthropologist [6, 1962 TABLE 2. BASIC TYPES OB COMMUNAL STRATIFICATION' Country3 I I I Village, Nonvillage hierarchy In travillage hierarchy I Source Englan I Williams 1956 : Irelan I 1 21' I Arensberg 1937:lOl-2 Wales 1 Frankenberg 195F11-12 Denmark Anerson & Anerson 1059 : Netherlans Belgium France Bulgaria Keur an Keur 1955:18 Turney-High 1953 : Anerson (fiel notes) Pitt-Rivers 195: Banfiel 1958: 19, Halpern 1958: 166 Saners 199 : 7-9

4 ANDERSON AND ANDERSON] European Village Social Structure 1019 TABLE 3. THE INTERRELATIONSHIP OF LOCAL CLASS AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT Country The highest class controls government A lower class controls government Source Englan l Williams 1956: 128 Irelan c/ Arensberg 1910: 279 Wales Frankenberg 1957: Denmark \/ Anerson (fiel notes) Netherlans Keur an Keur : 75 Belgium v Turney-High 1953 : France Anerson (fiel notes) Pitt-Rivers 195: , 32 Banfiel 1958: 20 Bulgaria I t Halpern 1958: 169 Saners 199:9-13, Political structuring of classes is incomplete in a secon way. While proviing at least one stratum with leaership, it oes not provie for lower level organization. There is no chain-of-comman that permeates the class boy, nor any means other than informal for the boy of the class to evelop programs an announce them. As with the absence of heaship, this eficiency in structure is met inirectly an incompletely, though less universally. The institutions thus utilize for class structure are variable. In weakest form, class boies may separate out in the context of village activities. Although this is probably rather common, it is escribe for only three members of our sample. In the English village it was note that the front row of seats at public meetings was always left to members of the upper class, while People from the other social classes prefer to stan at the back of the hall if necessary, even when there are still vacant seats when the meeting begins. These seats then remain empty throughout the evening (Williams 1956: 10). In County Claire, wherever groups form, the oler lanowners form a core of active conversationalists aroun which silently gather younger men an those of less prestige an power. At such times the important news of the country-sie isseminates itself. Political jugments are forme, an the ephemeral ecisions of aily life are

5 1020 A merican A nthropologist [6, 1962 mae (Arensberg, 1937: 121). The Danish village provies the sharpest picture of this kin of organization. In the afternoons, when the men of the villagc clustere in conversational groups at the harbor, these groups were rigily confine to single strata, so that upper class clusters of, respectively, ships masters, ships officers, an ships pilots were balance by still other groups of orinary sailors an fishermen. In these clusters, each group habitually talke over subjects an establishe opinions on whatever questions were currently of interest (Anerson an Anerson 1960a: 100). This separating out of class boies may go beyon subivisions within village groups to comprise class-constitute groups that stan apart. In five of the sample villages, local taverns ha this effect. In the Danish village, for example, the so-calle Ol Inn ha a Skippers Room for upper-class men an a Cellar Room for those of the lower class. In aily meetings thus convoke, each group coul crystallize class fellings on any subject of interest. Institutions other than taverns also function this way. In the Welsh village the men work away from the settlement, leaving women much more prominent in local affairs than is orinarily the case in Europe. Hence it is the workingclass women who form a class entity in the form of a sewing group.6 We rea of them that: These sewing-group meetings gave the women an opportunity for iscussion an argument that was not parallele in any male institution. Consequently the women were sometimes able to reach unanimity in their attitue to certain matters before they ha even been iscusse in open committee. Other coicts were resolve uring the iscussion of this informal work group an never came into the open at all (Frankenberg 1957:132). In County Clare, the eler lan-owing family heas, representing the higher peasant stratum, meet regularly in the home of one of the members to form what in one community was lightly calle the D&il or parliament, an what is more properly known as the ol men s house or cuair. The whole range of topics of importance to the farm-owning stratum is ebate. In aition: Much of the community s relation to the outer worl takes its form here, etermine in the ol men s argument an agreement. In late years this has come to be calle politics. Petitions for relief roa work, for expansion of agricultural prize schemes, most, in fact, of the business of the County Council an its committees originates on the sie of the local community in the iscussions of the ol men s czlair. It is here, too, that the community reaches unanimity in party voting. In Rynamona, for instance, it is felt that the interest of all emans that there shoul be no issension on the score of politics. Consequently, even O Halloran, the rawer own, whose private views leane in a Berent irection from those of the villagers, begge that no wor of his heterooxy be allowe to reach the e m of Rynamona. I wouln t want them to think I wasn t with them, he put it. No woner, then, that the political allegiances of whole countrysies are constant factors in Irish politics (Arensberg 1937: ).0 In it is the meeting of friens, the tertia, that constitutes a classrepresentative boy. Thus we learn of the upper class that: The institutions which comprise the political structure all epen upon a small number of persons in the pueblo. These are the core of what I have esignate the ruling group.... The group, as an actual reality rather than an abstract concept, is visible in the latia, the group of friens sitting aroun a table, an it is generally recognize that the realities of local politics are to be

6 ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~ ~ ANDERSON AND ANDERSON] European V&!Uge Social ~tructure 1021 sought not in formal eclarations in offi contexts but in the inforaal talking among friens. The priest hols a krtulia on summer evenings outsie the church. The mayor hols one sometimes in the town hall at the en of the morning... (Pitt-Rivers 195:13). The institutionalize meetings of class elimite groups is summarize in Table. In two villages no class representation of this nature was recore, an in the Netherlans village it was very weak. In Wales, the Netherlans, an perhaps, only one class appears to have ha overt ientity of this type. For the most part, however, there were both lower an upper class occasions for grouping apart: where there are upper class taverns there are lower class ones, an the ol men houses of Irelan coexist with groupings limite to members of the nonlanowning stratum. TABLE. INSTITUTIONALIZED OCCASIONS FOR THE MEETING CLASS-DELIMITED GROUPS OF Country Class segrega- Class segregation tion occurs in separate groups OCCUrS in the context of larger Taverns Other meetings Englan --- Irelan Wales --- No class segregation of any kin Source Williams 1956: 103-, Arensberg 1937:121,125-26, Frankenberg 1957: 132 Denmark --- Netherlans --- Belgium France Anerson & Anerson 1960a: Keur & Reur 1955 : 19 Turney-High 1953: 112 ~ ~ - - Anerson (fiel notes) Pitt-Rivers 195: 13 Bulgaria ~ Saners 199 : 7-8, 11

7 ~~ ~ ~~~ ~ 1022 A merican Anthropologisl [6, 1962 A special form of soality, the form generally meant when the term voluntary association is use, is part of Western urban rather than peasant culture. Deriving historically from Roman cities an persisting an eveloping in urban areas, it is a well efine institution with a leaership structure (i.e,, a presient, secretary, treasurer, an the like) an statutory provisions for regular meetings of the membership. Now, peasant-urban interrelations have increase an strengthene in recent ecaes. Asphalt, bicycles, motorize vehicles, briges, an ferries have rapily reuce the oler isolation of the European rustic, especially in western regions. A to this mass meia of communication, plus political an social evelopments that inclue the nee to organize an influence the rural component of society, an the stage is set for the intrusion into the countrysie of this sophisticate institution, the voluntary association. An inee, as shown in Table 5, throughout rural Europe toay one fins village affiliates of larger associations as well as purely local examples. (For the Danish an French villages Table 5 inicates the growing prominence of associations uring the course of the last century.) The presence of these TABLE 5. THE NUMBER OF VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATIONS IN THE VILLAGE^ - - Country I IO+ -6 One I None Source Englan Irelan Wales v I Williams 1956: 121 Arensberg 190 : Frankenberg 1957: 17, 31,1-2 79, 8, 108, 132 Denmark 2/ / / / 1800 Anerson & Anerson 1959: Netherlans 1.\/ Belgium France Bulgaria (i 2/ 1900 Keur & Keur 1955:13&3 Turney-High 1953: , 157, 159 Anerson (fiel notes) Pitt-Rivers 195: 13 Banfiel 1958 : 16 Saners 199:151-59, 170, 176

8 ANDERSON AND ANDERSON] European Village Social Structure 1023 urbane institutions oes not preclue a village way of life. On the contrary, they are present in part because they are capable of fitting into the rural social structure with a minimum of isorganization (cf. Anerson an Anerson 1962). In fact, they may even function to reinforce an bolster the existent social system by proviing a further inirect means for structuring the inigenous hierarchy of classes. Voluntary associations reify the class boy in a very ecisive way. In every society but the n one, where no associations are reporte, we foun that at least one voluntary association ha a class-elimite membership. A glance at Table 6 will show that while only one class was thus represente in Country Englan Irelan At least one lower-class assn. At least one upper-class Source assn. Williams 1956: 121-2, 126 l0 Arensberg 1937 : Wales Denmark Netherlans Belgium France Frankenberg 1957:31, 66, 131 Anerson &Anerson 1959: Notes Keur & Keur 1955: 19 Turney-High 1953 : 112 1/ Anerson (fiel notes) Pitt-Rivers 195: 13 Banfiel 1958:16 - Bulgaria I I 1/ I Saners 199:lSl-71 five villages, in another five, there was at least partial representation for both upper an lower classes. Associations thus provie new occasions for the meeting of class-segregate groups. The effectiveness of voluntary associations as eliberative boies for their affiliate classes is irectly relate to the nature of the leaership. All upper class associations, of course, ha upper class officers. As summarize in Table 7, in five villages, at least one lower class association ha a leaership electe

9 ~~ 102 American A nthropologisl [6, 1962 from its own ranks. On the other han, all of these latter villages plus one other also ha lower class memberships le by upper class leaers. When this is the case, the effect of the association as a representative an action-taking boy for its associate class appears to be intensifie, since the effectiveness of the sociopolitically least effective class is enhance by rawing its leaership from the class most experience in the art. In all cases, however, we have here the most complete an powerful structuring of the village social strata, for TABLE 7. THE LEADERSHIP OF VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATIONS Country At least one lower-class assn. with lower class leaership At least one lower class assn. with upper class leaership Source Englan Williams 1956:121-2, 126 Irelan Arensberg 1937: Wales 2/ Frankenberg 1957:31, 66, 131 Denmark Anerson & Anerson 1959 : Notes Netherlans 2/ Keur & Keur 1955: 19 Belgium Turney-High 1953 : 112 France Anerson (fiel notes) Pitt-Rivers 195: 13 Banfiel 1958: 16 - Bulgaria Saners 199: voluntary associations alone have a facility for proviing in one institution both a formal class leaership an a convocation of class members in a context that permits the working out of group opinion. It is interesting to note here that this striking reinforcement of class organization came at an opportune time, for the introuction of voluntary associations is a part of the larger process of urbanization. This process is often one of rapi an extreme change, requiring maximum organizational activity in the village. It thus brought at once a challenge to the classes to maintain an aapt their rustic patterns, an a means whereby they coul better organize to o it.

10 ANDERSON AND ANDERSON] European Village Social StYUCtUre 1025 In the Danish village, for example, the ships captains an owners met the threat of moern steamships an eep harbors to their ol sailing craft an shallow harbor by founing the Skippers Society, an in both the French an Danish villages, the lanless, nonprofessional class forme insurance societies to secure wages in times of ill-health an eath. In these ways, as well as less irectly, the social strata utilize voluntary associations to meet the very problems that were introuce concomitants of associations. In all, then, various institutions give an inirect structure to the hierarchy of social strata in the rural village. Taken together, they can combine to give numerous an variable occasions for the breakown of the community into ientifiable class groups. In the Danish village, for example, the separateness of the classes crystallize out in the taverns, in the leisure-time groups at the harbor, an in the meetings of the associations, incluing relate parties an ances (cf. above an Anerson an Anerson 196Ob395-96). Class leaership, too, coul be reinforce by reappearing in various institutions. Thus, in the English, Welsh, Danish, Dutch, Belgian, French, an Bulgarian villages, one commonly foun that the same small number of village leaers reappeare as officers in one association after another, as well as in local government. This serve to reinforce their authority as representatives of class-elimite groups. It also reinforce their statuses as community leaers. In various ways, then, we fin that the European village, in which class ivisions are the least manifest of all institutions, has a tenency to be at its heart a social group ominate by the relations of superorinate an suborinate strata. Beyon this, one is tempte to consier the potentialities of this approach to class behavior for further work in European villages, as well as in rural communities elsewhere. It is perhaps useful in this respect to think in terms of a continuum ranging from stratification systems with no structure as herein unerstoo to those with a evelope formal structure. One pole woul accommoate a hypothetical society of completely amorphous strata having no capacity for irecte class activity. The other pole woul contrast a system such as that of South Asia. Inian village castes or subcastes have a formal structure with recognize heamen an a legislative-juicial council (panchayat) (Mayer 1960: ; Dube 1955:&9, 55), structural features which go far to explain the capability of castes to mobilize themselves, as when group status is raise by the formal ecision of a caste panchayat to ecree an enforce the abanonment of egraing occupational, social, or religious practices. Between poles thus efine, the variously evelope inirect structures woul range from those without meaningful action potential to those perhaps as effectively organize as the Inian caste. The European sample itself ranges from the n case, where inirect structuring is limite to local political ominance by the highest class, to the Danish, where local classes, thoroughly structure in an inirect way, were ominant effective groups. These consierations, however, are only meant to be suggestive. The broaer utility of the concept of an inirect social structure an of a continuum remains to be teste. Specialists in other areas will recagnize the nee to consier

11 1026 A merican A nlhropologisl [6, 1962 application in non-western regions, an even in Europe its significance for pointing up ifferences in the functioning of village communities calls for further investigation. NOTES 1 The authors are happy to acknowlege their ebt to several groups of scholars. First, to the stuents of the Peoples of Europe class (1960) at Mills College for preliminary exploration of European class structure. Aitionally, for valuable comments an criticisms, to the anthropology faculty iscussion group of the University of California, Berkeley. Research on the Danish village was finance by a Research Training Fellowship ( ) of the Social Science Research Council. The French village fielwork was supporte by postoctoral fellowships ( ) of the National Science Founation. The paper itself was written as part of a project finance by a National Science Founation grant (1961). * Speaking of his Serbian village, Halpern notes that clearly efine class istinctions have no traition in OraSac, since a man of moest means may have some of the moral istinction accore a wealthy man, an, above all, because family fortunes change too fast for the maintenance of permanent wealth-group membership (Halpern 1958: ). For purposes of the present analysis, however, it is sufficient to note that at any given time, a boy of peasants is istinguishe from their fellows by greater wealth, schooling, an moral stature with corresponing ifferences in their interests an activities. a Designation is by country rather than village for facility of reference only. It is possible for more than one class to have a simultaneous political leaership. This woul only occur, however, in a larger context such that one class can control extra-local offices while another controls those of the community. This happene in the Welsh village, where the Parish Council belongs to the locally oriente lower class, while the County Council, Rural District Council, an the Bench of Magistrates are hel by the nationally oriente upper class. 6 The class composition of the sewing group is inferre since it is not clearly state in the text. 6 For a iscussion of the role of soalities in minimizing class friction by a similar process of achieving overt unanimity, cf. Barnes (195). 7 It is possible that the electe council that manages church affairs, which unites a limite number of peasants, is a class-representative group (cf. Halpern 1958: 13). 8 Number of associations is only a rough inication of the extent of associational activity. In the Belgian an French villages especially, membership participation is restricte (Turney-High 1953: 12628). 0 For the purposes of this paper, no attempt is mae to istinguish those associations with a small membership from those that attract a larger participation. 10 Apparently the new creamery association is mae up of lan-owning farmers. REFERENCES CITED ANDERSON, ROBER T. an GALLATIN ANDERSON 1959 Voluntary associations an urbanization: a iachronic analysis. American Journal of Sociology 65 : a Changing social stratification in a Danish village. Anthropological Quarterly 33 : b Sexual behavior an urbanization in a Danish village. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology 16: Ukranian peasant-urban change. Anthropological Quarterly. (In press) ARENSBERG, CONRAD 1937 The Irish countryman: an anthropological stuy. New York, Macmillan. ARENSBERG, CONRAD an SOLON T. KIMBALL 190 Family an community in Irelan. Cambrige, Massachusetts, Harvar University Press.

12 ANDERSON AND ANDERSON] European v&ge SOC& StrUCtUre 1027 BANFIELD, EDWARD C The moral basis of a backwar society. (Research Center in Economic Development an Cultural Change, the University of Chicago.) Glencoe, The Free Press. BARNES, J. A. 195 Class an committees in a Norwegian islan parish. Human Relations 7: BERNOT, L. an R. BLANCARD 1953 Nouville: un village francais. Universit e Paris, Travaux et MBmoires e 1 Institut Ethnologie, 57. DUBE, S. C Inian Village. Lonon, Routlege & Kegan Paul. FENOMENOV, M. IA Sovremennaia erevnia. Moscow-Leningra. 2 vols. FRANKENBERG, RONALD 1957 Village on the borer, a social stuy of religion, politics an football in a North Wales community. Lonon, Cohen & West. HALPERN, JOEL MARTIN 1958 A Serbian village. New York, Columbia University Press. KEUR, JOHN Y. an D. L. KEUR 1955 The eeply roote, a stuy of a Drents community in the Netherlans. Monographs of the American Ethnological Society 25. MAYER, ADRIAN C Caste an kinship in central Inia. A villgage an its region. Lonon, Routlege & Kegan Paul. PITT-RIVERS, J. A. 195 The people of the Sierra. Lonon, Weienfel & Nicolson Social class in a French village. Anthropological Quarterly 33: REEF,, A. D Life in a Welsh countrysie. Cariff, University of Wales. SANDERS, I. T. 199 Balkan village. Lexington, University of Kentucky Press. TURNEY-HIGH, H. H Chateau-GCrar: the life an times of a Walloon village. Columbia, University of South Carolina Press. WILLIAMS, W. M Gosforth: the sociology of an English village. Glencoe, The Free Press. Wylie, Lawrence 1957 Village in the Vaucluse. Cambrige, Harvar University Press.