Le gendre lao. Essai d’anthropologie du pouvoir féminin dans la société traditionnelle de Louang‑Phrabang

Abstract

This paper analyzes gender relationships in the traditional society of Luang Prabang, Laos. It stresses that, in contrast to the ideological image of man as the privileged holder of authority, and due to traditional dispositions favoring female power, the son-in-law’s situation appears in many respects similar to that of the “captured man,” of which the New Year rites still bear witness. Nevertheless, one particular type of gender relationship, viewed as the ideal pattern of marriage, constitutes the son-in-law’s “escape lane.”