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Kinship and Domestic Life (Chapter 6)
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The BIG Questions How do cultures create kinship ties through descent, sharing, and marriage? What is a household and what do anthropologists study about household life? How are kinship and households changing?
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What is Kinship Cross-Culturally?
Kinship is a sense of being related to another person or persons A family is a group of people who consider themselves related through kinship (can be by blood, marriage, or adoption) A kinship system is the combination of rules about who are kin and the expected behavior of kin
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What is the importance of kinship?
Is a main way that social life is organized in all cultures The kinship group has a variety of functions… Ensures the continuity of the group by arranging/supporting marriages Strives to maintain social order by setting moral rules and punishing offenders Provides for the basic needs of members by regulating production, consumption, and distribution Ideally provides psychological support
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What is the importance of kinship?
Especially in societies where other institutions such as centralized government, a professional military, or financial banks are absent or do not function effectively, in such societies individuals must depend on a wide network of kin for support and protection Need kin to secure food, shelter, and other necessities
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Depicting Kinship Kinship diagram Genealogy
A schematic way of presenting the kinship relationships of a particular individual Starts with a particular individual (ego) Genealogy A schematic way of presenting a family tree, constructed by beginning with the earliest ancestors that can be traced, then working down to the present Does not begin with ego
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Drawing a Kinship Chart: Symbols for Individuals
female male deceased female deceased male female “ego” of the diagram male “ego” of the diagram
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Kinship Relationships
is married to is cohabiting with is divorced from is separated from adopted-in female adopted-in male is descended from is the sibling of
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Three Ways of Being Kin Descent Sharing Marriage
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Descent Descent is the tracing of kinship relationships through parentage Bilateral descent system A child is recognized as being related by descent to both parents Most associated with foraging and industrialism/informatics modes of production Unilineal descent system Recognizes descent through only one parent, either the father (patrilineal) or the mother (matrilineal) Most common form of descent (60 percent of the world’s cultures) Most associated with pastoralism, horticulture, and agricultural modes of production
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Descent Which descent system do we have in the U.S.?
Bilateral descent system or Unilineal descent system
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Descent Which descent system do we have in the U.S.?
Bilateral descent system Socially related to both our parents Trace ancestry through both our parents Some aspects of a patrilineal system Women taking on husband’s last name when they marry Children receiving father’s last name Father giving away daughter at the wedding Some aspects of a matrilineal system High divorce rates or female-headed households Children often live with mother, take on mother’s last name
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Bilateral Descent Traces kinship from both parents equally to the child Socially related to both the mother and father Found in about 40 percent of the world’s cultures Most common among foraging societies and industrial/informatics societies Both rely on a flexible gender division of labor in which both males and females contribute to production and exchange relatively equally Small family units in these environments are adaptive and more mobile – more opportunities for surviving and making a living U.S. Ju/’hoansi Inuit/Eskimo
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Patrilineal Descent Kinship is traced through the male line
Socially related to father Found among 45 percent of all cultures Common in a variety of different modes of production Most common in areas where men play the primary role in the production of food and other resources Men are the primary decision makers and have the most power Property is passed down through the male line
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Patrilineal Descent Found among 45% of all cultures
Kinship is traced through the male line Males dominate status, power, and property Patriline = purple color in this diagram
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Patrilineal Descent
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Matrilineal Descent Kinship is traced through the female line
Socially related to mother Found among 15 percent of all cultures Exists in a variety of modes of production but is most commonly found in horticultural societies in which females play a large role in the production and distribution of food and other resources Often associated with public leadership positions for women Women often control land and resources
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Matrilineal Descent Found among 15% of all cultures
Kinship is traced through the female line Women control land and products Found in Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, and in some parts of Europe and North America Example: the Minangkabau of Indonesia Matriline = purple color in this diagram
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Matrilineal Descent
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Example of a matrilineal culture: the Minangkabau of Indonesia
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Residence Rules Refer to where a couple moves to after they decide to cohabit or get married Patrilocal Matrilocal Neolocal Ambilocal or Bilocal Often follows the prevailing direction of descent rules, but not always Have political, economic, and social implications
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Residence Rules Patrilocal (or virilocal) – marital residence with or near the husband’s family Often occurs in patrilineal societies Patrilineal descent and patrilocal residence promote the development of cohesive male-focused lineages that are associated with frequent local warfare, which requires the presence of a force of fighting men on the home front Often occurs in societies where men own/control land and resources
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Residence Rules Matrilocal (or uxorilocal) – martial residence with or near the wife’s family Often occurs in matrilineal societies Matrilineal descent and matrilocal residence is often found among groups that engage in long-distance warfare Strong female household bonds maintain the domestic scene while the men are absent on military campaigns (e.g. precolonial Iroquois of upstate New York) Often occurs in societies where women own/control land and resources
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Residence Rules Neolocal
Marital residence in a place different from either the bride’s or groom’s family Common in Western industrialized society Small family units in these environments are adaptive and more mobile – more opportunities for surviving and making a living
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Residence Rules Ambilocal or bilocal
Marital residence in a place near either the bride’s or groom’s family Get to choose which side of the family to live near Common in foraging societies Genders have relatively equal power More adaptive depending on the available environmental resources
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Kin through Sharing Many cultures emphasize kinship ties based on acts of sharing and support May be either informal or formally certified Godparents Adoption Fostering a child Food sharing Rice-sharing in Malaysia – people who eat cooked rice together may be viewed as kin although they are not blood relatives
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Kinship Through Sharing
In many cultures people create kinship through sharing Food sharing Adoption and fostering Godparents
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Two Kinship Naming Systems
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Eskimo Kinship Naming System
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Iroquois Kinship Naming System
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Marriage - Definition Marriage exists in all cultures, though it may take different forms and serve different functions. Marriage is defined as a more or less stable union, usually between two people, who may be, but are not necessarily, co-residential, sexually involved with each other, and procreative with each other.
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Some Functions of Marriage
To form alliances between or within different groups or families Establish social and economic contracts To rear children To define social identity of children To regulate sexual activity
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Marriage Preferences and Rules
All cultures have preferences about whom one should and should not marry and with whom one should and should not have sexual intercourse All cultures have some sort of rules of exclusion or incest taboo - a rule prohibiting marriage or sexual intercourse between close relatives
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Marriage Preferences Also preferences about marrying within or outside of a particular group Endogamy – marriage within a particular group Exogamy – marriage outside a defined group A society that practices exogamy at one level may practice endogamy at another.
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Two Forms of Cousin Marriage
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Is first cousin marriage legal in the U.S.?
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Is first cousin marriage legal in the U.S.?
It is in many states!
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But – oh no, you say! If I do that my children will be horribly deformed!
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But – oh no, you say! If I do that my children will be horribly deformed!
But not so fast… That depends largely on the genetics of the family A number of research studies show that risks of genetic problems are only slightly increased with first-cousin marriage
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Marriage Preferences What are some factors involved in spouse selection in your culture? What characteristics would your ideal spouse have? How do you think your family’s idea of an ideal spouse for you would compare/contrast with your idea of the ideal spouse? Would you be open to the idea of your family arranging a marriage for you? Why or why not? What do you think of arranged marriages based on your previous knowledge and the NPR articles? How are these ideas influenced by your culture?
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Marriage Preferences Preferences
Features such as age, height, looks, wealth, education, personality characteristics Romantic love in some cultures Spouse’s ability to bear children, physical strength, clan membership, etc. in other cultures
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Status Considerations in Partner Selection (Heterosexual Pairing)
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Marriage Gifts Most marriages are accompanied by exchanges of goods or services between the partners, members of their families, and friends Dowry – transfer of goods and sometimes money from the bride’s side of the family to the new married couple for their use Brideprice (bridewealth) – transfer of goods or money from the groom’s family to the bride’s family Bride-service – a type of brideprice which includes the transfer of labor from the groom to his parents-in-law for a designated time period
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Major Types of Marriage Gifts and Exchanges
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Forms of Marriage Monogamy – a marriage between two people
Heterosexual monogamy is the most common form of marriage cross-culturally In many countries monogamy is the only legal form of marriage Polygamy – a marriage involving multiple spouses A pattern allowed in many cultures Are two forms of polygamy… Polygyny – marriage of one man with more than one woman Polyandry – marriage of one woman with more than one man
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Forms of Marriage Monogamy: marriage between two people
Most common form of marriage cross-culturally Polygamy: marriage with multiple spouses Polygyny: one man and more than one woman Polyandry: one woman and more than one man
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Polygamy Videos Polygamy in the U.S. Polygamy amongst the Maasi
(polygamy family interview 4) Estimated between 30,000 and 100,000 polygamists living in the U.S. Polygamy amongst the Maasi
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Polygamy Article The positive effects of legalizing polygamy: "love is a many splendored thing". Author(s):Emily J. Duncan. Source:Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy 15.2 (August 2008): p315(23).
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Forms of Marriage What are some drawbacks and advantages of polygamy?
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Households A household is a person or persons who occupy a shared living space and who may or may not be related by kinship Can be made up of families but not always Residential unit that carries out economic production and consumption, co-ordinates work, inheritance, child rearing, provision of shelter Household is often the first place we turn to have our physical, economic, social, and psychological needs fulfilled
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Household Types Nuclear household Extended household
Domestic group that contains one adult couple, with or without children Most characteristic of the foraging and industrial/informatics mode of production Extended household Domestic group that contains more than one adult married couple Constitute a substantial proportion of households in horticultural, pastoralist, and agricultural economies
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Household Types Single-person or single-parent household
Single-person household One person living alone Single-parent household One person living with his/her children
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Household Types What are some advantages and drawbacks of each household type?
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Changing Kinship and Household Dynamics
Change in descent Decline of matrilineal descent due to colonialism and globalization Males were named as household heads, and land was registered in their names
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Changing Kinship and Household Dynamics
Change in marriage Decrease in arranged marriages and increases in elopements Age at time of first marriage is increasing Increasing number of marriages between people of different nations and ethnicities
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Changing Kinship and Household Dynamics
Change in marriage Marriage crises Situations in which people who want to get married cannot do so for one reason or another Increasing desire for the ideal, western-like, fairy tale wedding ceremonies
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Changing Kinship and Household Dynamics
Changing households Possibility for decline in extended families in industrializing areas Less nuclear families in the U.S. and increased diversity in households forms In 1950, 60% of U.S. households were nuclear families with dependent children Today only 24% of U.S. households are nuclear families with dependent children
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Changing Kinship and Household Dynamics
Changing households International migration Increasing intra-household conflict with international migration Or one household member lives and works abroad temporarily and semi-permanently (often a male)
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The BIG Questions Revisited
How do cultures create kinship ties through descent, sharing, and marriage? What is a household and what do anthropologists study about household life? How are kinship and households changing?
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