[The importance of context. Cultural references and family structure within the Yans society in Zaïre.].
Traditional descriptions of the structure of relations between father, mother and child make difficult a realization of the impact of current transformations of family structure on the development of the child. Referring to the concept of instituted filiation developed by Guyotat, the author proposes that greater importance be accorded to the manner in which positions in present society are in the process of redefining themselves, and that our analytical and observational schemata be "culturally contextualized". Data concerning the manner in which the institution of filiation operates in a society of matriarchal lineage, the Yans society of Zaïre, highlights the influence of cultural context on the mechanism which establishes filiation. Proceeding from analyses of rituals, institutions and beliefs, the article analyzes the way in which Yans society marks, in a specific and differentiated manner, the relation to the mother, to the maternal uncle and to the lineage, the relation to the father, and the relation to the grandfather, and between alternate generations. The analysis sheds light on the mediating role of the two latter relational registers with regard to the hold of the clan, and shows the importance of this mediation in relation to the development of an individual dimension to existence. The text opens itself to a questioning directed at the place of mediation in new forms of family structure.
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