Once a girl has left her natal household, her brother's contact with her diminishes sharply. Her welfare and that of her children is very much his concern, but there is no intimacy, no grounds for conversation, no seeking each other's company. If a woman is ill, a brother will be troubled. Bektes (V) suddenly disappeared from Sakaltutan late one evening, and I discovered that word had come that his sister, who was married in another village four hours away, and whom he had not seen for years, was seriously ill. He had set out immediately. On the other hand, he seldom spoke to another sister who lived quite close to him in Sakaltutan. From the sister's point of view, her brothers succeed her father as the point of refuge and defence against her husband and his kin. If this need does not arise she will have little or nothing to do with them.
The contrast between men and women is sharply emphasised in every way. They are separate in work and leisure. The division of labour is clear, and in full households is strictly observed. Men do the heavy work in the fields, control all transport, and conduct all relations with the outside world, including almost all buying and selling. They make all major decisions, at least ostensibly, and defend the household and its honour.
Women carry out all domestic tasks, manure fields near the