Structural Statistics and Structural Mechanics: The Analysis of Compadrazgo

Abstract

In an exploration of the structural implications of the selection of compadres in a Middle American town, two formal models are constructed from statistical data obtained from a random sample of informants. These models, derived from set theory and information theory, respectively, provide alternative frameworks for making explicit inferences about the underlying mechanical properties of the selection system. It is noted that there is a significant relationship between compadrazgo and kinship obligations, specifically as reflected in postmarital residence patterns. In formalizing this relationship beyond the level of classic statistical analysis, it is suggested that structural statistics and structural mechanics may be productively related in an operational fashion by specifying the formal properties and theoretical implications of an empirical order of phenomena.