Colactation and fictive kinship as rites of incorporation and reversal in Morocco

Abstract

Based on anthropological research in an oasis community in Pre‐Saharan Morocco, this article examines the contemporary practice of colactation and milk kinship. It is argued that the creation of colactation or bilateral milk kinship arrangements was, and still is, a significant mechanism for the creation of lasting multi‐stranded exchange relationships between people of unequal status. Besides acting as a rite of incorporation, the gift of mother's milk may be applied as a prophylactic or curative substance in a rite of reversal. In both senses, milk kinship testifies to the double‐bonded relationship between people of unequal status.

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