Matries and subsections: Bodies and social personae in northern Australia

There is extensive research on the range of ways in which kinship is constituted, but little research on the coherence between the various domains which are grouped together as “kinship.” Understanding the linkages and differences between domains is central to advancing analysis of kinship. This article examines the domains of “matry” and “subsection” in northern Australia. These share principles of descent-based recruitment, but differ in their classificatory bases. Matries are classifications of the body, whereas subsections are classifications of social personae. The two domains group as kinship only from a recruitment perspective. From other perspectives, they do not group together.