1. KINSHIP

2. What is kinship?
A system of social ties deriving from the recognition of genealogical relations
universally recognized and
universally accorded social importance

3. Who do you consider your kin?
How far do we extend biological relatedness?
Presidents Nixon and Carter were sixth cousins, sharing common ancestors in a Quaker farming couple named Morris who lived near colonial Philadelphia. Were they kin?

4. Do our kin have to be related to us through blood (Consanguineally) or through marriage (Affinally)?
How relatedness is determined is culturally specific
adoption
Blood
food eaten,
suckling of milk etc.
There is something shared

5. Why is Kinship Important to people
It determines
Who they marry
Where to live
How to raise children
Which land to cultivate
Which property to inherit
Who to turn to for help
Provides a sense of belonging and identity
How to behave with respect to others

6. The difference between those who see themselves as related to one another and those who are not so related underlies differentially distributed rights, roles and statuses.
I.e. the difference makes a difference

7. Why is it of interest to anthropologists?
also has political and economic aspects
actors models of kinship relations can be seen as their insights into the workings of society. i.e. a model and explanation of dynamics and relationships.
Kinship is important in understanding how societies are organised and how they worked.

8. A bit of history
19th century anthropologist viewed kinship terminology as a linguistic expression of the type of social organization.
E.g. Henry Morgan and classificatory (lumpers) Vs descriptive (splitters)
Early 20th century an interest in the interrelationship between kinship and other aspects of society, economics, politics, religion etc.
Late 20th century a shift to the processes of social life
look at interrelationships of kinship and its role in ethnicity, social class, gender and person.
Kinship has less of a central focus than it once did
Although now an interest in how kinship is important in forming a sense of identity

9. Kinship Symbols  (Triangle)  (Circle) = (Equal sign)
Means Male Means Female
= (Equal sign)
Means Marriage
| (Vertical line)
Means ancestors or descendents
— (Horizontal line)
Means same generation relationship

10. Genealogical Kin Types and Kin Terms.
Kin terms are the labels given in a particular culture to different kinds of relatives.
Biological kin type refers to the degree of actual genealogical relatedness.

11. Kin Types

12. English Kin Terms

13. Hawaiian Kin Terms
Sudanese Kin Terms

14. Descent Systems Rules that people in different cultures use to:
determine parenthood
identify ancestry
assign people to social categories, groups, and roles on the basis of inherited status.

15. What is a descent group?
A group of people who recognize lineal descent from a real or mythical ancestor - a criterion of membership
Membership needs to be clearly defined so one knows where one's loyalties lie
A publicly recognised social entity
Traced through one sex, everyone is unambiguously assigned to a group
Obligations and roles keeps group together
Citizenship derived from lineage membership and legal status depends on it
Political power and religious power derived from it, cults of gods and ancestors
A strong effective base for social relations
In tribal societies, the descent group, not the nuclear family, is the fundamental unit.

16. How is a descent group like a corporation?
Continues after the death of the members
New members are born into it
A perpetual existence that allows it to take corporate actions
Land owning
Organizing productive activities
Distributing goods and labour
Assigning status
Regulating relationships with other groups

17. If you were a peasant farmer why would your descent group be important to you?
Need for support above the family level
Secure protection of critical resources family can't provide e.g. Land
Share rights in some means of production e.g. horticultural society where land cannot be divided beyond a certain limit
Provide co-operative wok force where tasks require many people
Provide a sense of belonging and identity
Help old and infirm
Find marriage partners
Religious - ancestor worship maintain religious laws
Settle disputes
Economic social, religious, legal functions.
Defence

18. Unilineal descent
People trace ancestry through either the mother's or father's line, but NOT both
About 60% of kinship systems are unilineal.
Generally clear cut and unambiguous social units.
People of same descent group live together, hold joint interests in property.
In many societies descent groups assume important corporate functions such as land holding

19. Patrilineal Descent Most prevalent
Established by tracing descent exclusively through males from a founding male ancestor.
Both men and women are included but only male links are utilized to include successive generations
A woman's children are not included in her paternal group but her brother's are. Her children belong to her husband's group
Property passed through father’s lineage
tends toward male dominated power-structure
often associated with intensive agriculture and pastoralism
© 1995 Brian Schwimmer, University of Manitoba

20. Patrilineal descent Male ego
© 1995 Brian Schwimmer, University of Manitoba

21. Patrilineal descent Female ego
Note that a woman's children are not included in her patrilineal group.
© 1995 Brian Schwimmer, University of Manitoba

22. Patrilineal Kinship - Self Test
For which of the following pairs of relatives are both individuals (highlighted in purple) members of Ego's patrilineage?
A. 7 and 12 B. 13 and 18 C. 23 and 24 D. 30 and 33 E. 36 and 37
© 1995 Brian Schwimmer, University of Manitoba

23. MATRILINEAL DESCENT
Established by tracing only through females from a founding female ancestor
A Man's children are not included in his matrilineal group but his sister's are
This makes him important as an uncle
Property is inherited through females line
Often associated with horticulturalists
Eg. Trobriand islanders and Hopi
© 1995 Brian Schwimmer, University of Manitoba

24. Matrilineal Kin - Female Ego
© 1995 Brian Schwimmer, University of Manitoba

25. Matrilineal Kin - Male Ego
Note that a man's children are not included in his matrilineal group.
© 1995 Brian Schwimmer, University of Manitoba

26. Matrilineal Kinship - Self Test
Which of the relatives indicated in purple are in Ego's matrilineage?
A. 15 only B. 15 and 3 only C. 15, 3 and 23 only D. 15, 3, 23 and 29 only E. All of the above?
© 1995 Brian Schwimmer, University of Manitoba

27. Cognatic descent
People trace ancestry through both parents lines. Three types-Double, Ambilineal, Bilateral.
!Kung are Bilateral
Person related equally to both mother and fathers side of the family. i.e. Canada to some degree.
Treat relatives on one side just like on other-symmetrical.
aunt applies to fathers sister and mothers sister.
doesn't distinguish which side.

28. Bilateral descent
All societies construct their kinship systems and define social relationships and social groups on the basis of a bilateral network
Formed through the combinations of marriage and descent ties
Rarely forms a recognized social group
Usually only one side of the relationship emphasised

29. Bilateral kinship is used by most Canadians and Americans.
Kinship is traced through both male and female lines.
Kin links through males and females are perceived as being similar or equivalent.
In North American bilateral kinship there is often matrilineal skewing, a preference for relatives on the mother's side.

30. What are the Features of a Bilateral Kindred?
Everyone is different, sibs excepted
Changes as grow older
Does not function as a group except at weddings and funerals
Functions in relation to ego
Little generational depth
No leader
Does not hold property, organize work or administer justice i.e. does not function as a corporate group
Besides the recognition of consanguineal kin or blood relatives there are
Affinal relatives or those related by way of marriage

32. Ambilineal descent
lineage traced through one parent or another, but not both
People can choose the descent group that they want to belong to.
Membership is fluid as people can change their descent group membership.
With unilineal descent, membership is ascribed, but for ambilineal descent, membership is achieved.

33. Dual descent lineage traced through both parents equally
In this arrangement Ego is a member of two separate and fundamentally distinct groups: a uterine group through his mother and an agnatic group through his father
Where dual systems are employed, one set of groups will tend to take on complementary functions in relation to the other.
For example, among the Yako of Nigeria, patrilineages are important for the allocation and inheritance of land, while matrilineal groups determine the ownership of movable property such as cattle.

34. Dual Descent

35. Lineage Individuals can trace ties to an actual common ancestor
Economic significance
Property ownership
Labor sharing

36. What is a Clan?
A non-corporate descent group with each member claiming descent from a common ancestor without actually knowing the genealogical links
lacks residential unity of a lineage
may be matrilineal or patrilineal
does not hold tangible property corporately
acts more for ceremonial and political purposes
one is expected to give protection and hospitality to one's fellow clan members
depends on symbols - animals, plants, tartans etc to provide social solidarity and a sense of identity

37. Phratry Moiety Assumed/believed relationship between clans
Ceremonial and political importance
May employ symbols to signify membership
Moiety
A society that has two phratries

38. CROSS COUSINS AND PARALLEL COUSINS

39. Cross Cousins Children of a brother and sister
A Man's children will be of his own lineage and his sisters in her husband’s (in patrilineal case)
A man marries his mother's brother's daughter or his father's sister's daughter and they are in different descent groups or lineages
In matrilineal case a woman's children will be of her own lineage and her brother's in his wife's group
Why is this distinction made?
Serves to maintain alliances between groups and exchanges

40. Parallel cousins Children of same sex siblings
Children of cousins belong to the same lineage
Marriage to parallel cousins is preferred in many societies although less so than cross cousins
It does not widen the sphere of social alliances.
Why is the distinction made?
it keeps the lineage resources from being transferred to other groups through marriage exchange and inheritance
it is important where the continuity of property is important as in the case of pastoral societies where parallel cousin marriages are arranged to maintain the integrity of family herds

41. The Yanomamo Live in Venezuela and northern Brazil
125 scattered villages of between 40 to 250 people average
total population of about 15,000
live in very dense jungle

42. They are horticulturists
Grow plantains, bananas, sweet potatoes sweet manioc (a root crop which is boiled and refined into a flour) biter manioc is poisonous), taro, (root crops), palm trees and maize or corn.
Each man clears his ground, the headman has the largest garden because he must produce large quantities of food to give away at feasts.
The gardens take several months to years to become fully productive and are productive for several years before the soil is exhausted.
Older gardens are abandoned and new ones started - hard work and time consuming

43. Actively conduct warfare, conceive of themselves as being fierce
This is reflected in their mythology, values, settlement patterns political behaviour and marriage patterns.
Most moves are stimulated by warfare
New garden sites are selected for political reasons
the threat of raids from neighbouring villages force them to move
Yanomamo war party scewing up their courage for a raid on a neighboring village

44. Moving gardens to a new area is hard work, and because they take some time before they are productive they form alliances with neighbouring villages
They have to rely on their protection.
The essence of political life is to develop stable alliances with neighbouring villages so as to create a network that potentially allows a local group to rely for long periods of time on the gardens of neighbouring villages

45. These alliances established along kinship basis
Lineage are patrilineal and exogamous
i.e. males and females belong to the lineage of their fathers and must marry people who belong to a different lineage.
Women are very ill-treated and are considered as objects or property and are pawns to be disposed of by their kinsmen.
The Fertility Goddess" Yanomamo indian celebrating her passage to womanhood

46. Ideal marriage is one of sister exchange
A man is under an obligation to reciprocate a woman to a kinship group from which he has taken one.
Because of this, kinship groups become interdependent socially and form pairs of women-exchanging groups.

47. They distinguish between cross-cousin and parallel cousins
Within each generation the males of one lineage call each other brother and all the women sister.
Males of lineage X call males lineage Y brother-in-law and are eligible to marry their sisters whom they call wife, even though they may not marry them.
A man must marry a woman of a category called wife, this is called a prescriptive marriage rule.
This is the ideal what actually happens is far more complicated

48. Ties between partilineally related kinsmen are weaker than that between men of different lineages because the men are drawn into intimate relationships with the kinship groups from which they obtain their wives, and because of the principle of reciprocity, are obligated to reciprocate
In other words the obligations to exchange women can link embers of affinaly related groups to each other more intimately than ties of blood between males of the same lineage.
The relationship between a man and his brother of the same age is generally poor because they are competitors

49. Villages fission when the population has about 150 people because of internal feuds and fighting that peace is difficult to maintain.
The fissoning of a village often results over women
If the village were to fission it would split along lineage lines.
The most bitter fighting takes place between members of different villages who are related to each other.

50. In each village you find local descent groups exchanging wives
Each descent group arranges marriages often for political reasons
A small village may require alliances with larger ones for purposes of defence.
the men of the smaller village may promise to give women to members of the larger villages
Women are promised at a very early age, even before birth
A man has a considerably more say about the disposition of his daughter when he is young and his sons are also young When they grow older they can overrule their father and insist or that their sister be given to a man from some lineage that is likely to reciprocate.

51. The members of a militarily vulnerable village will breach the marriage prescription in order to establish political alliances with neighbouring groups by ceding women to them
They may not get women in return

52. The Yanomamo also practice female infanticide, because they desire a male first.
They also practice polygyny,. The more powerful men may have more than one wife.
The result if this is that there is a shortage of women
This shortage is exacerbated in villages where one lineage dominates, which means that for the men of the village there is a shortage of women.
To compensate for this the men conduct raids on other villages to abduct women t marry.