Classless societies have a special place in the anthropological imagination. Whether the result of inherent sympathy for tribal societies falling victim to colonial expansion or an attempt to grapple with the effects of empire back home, anthropological writing has been concerned with the nature of egalitarian social formations. The issue is not momentary existence of hierarchies or differentials in wealth and power during the given year of fieldwork. Rather it has to do with the maintenance and reproduction of an egalitarian ethic in populations where sex, age, household wealth, and a number of other characteristics can create differentials in power and status. How is it that some differences remain temporary? What processes sweep aside potential status markers and prevent "the hardening of firm and enduring social strata"? What timescale and which cycles must we isolate to examine these issues?
This paper examines the maintenance of equality among an agro-pastoral people of north central Nepal. It does so by first showing how the household processes are a function of demographic processes and culturally structured behaviours. The possibilities for ramifying differentials across generations are then examined, by showing how marriage timing is itself a strategic decision with consequences for women's fertility and their household developmental cycles. Finally the larger context of these decisions is looked at through some patriline histories and the pattern of marriages and household development these engendered.
