From Neighborhood to Kinship: The Effect of Social Change on the House-Centered Inheritance System in the Rural District of Aurignac

By Anne Sourdril, Georges Augustins
English

The inheritance principles of the house-centered system in rural south west France led to strong intergenerational solidarity between parents and heirs. As part of the KASS program we have shown that, although family solidarity is important, if we are to understand the system of mutual aid between the inhabitants of this rural area, we must also consider the role played by neighbors. In spite of the changes brought about in the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, agricultural decline and an influx of newcomers, the house-centered system has managed to adapt and maintain its characteristic solidarity.

Keywords

  • House-centered system
  • Impartible inheritance
  • Stem Family
  • Neighborhood
  • Kinship
  • South West France
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