Kinship By: Adam, Hunter, Nicole, Simhran

Kinship is Important Kinship- a culturally defined relationship established on the basis of blood ties or through marriage Kinship is important economically because “family money” and inheritances are decided by kinship Kinship is politically significant because of lines of succession that follow blood ties, like the English monarcy A person’s kin forms a group of people that that person can usually rely on Kinship norms govern the relationships of people Your kin provide a connection to your family's past A child’s kin teach and enculture them

Kinship Varies Between Cultures Some cultures classify kinship by affinal (marriage) ties, some by consanguineal (blood) ties, and others through social ties (genitor, pater) Genitor- biological parent Pater- socially recognized and established parent Descent is either bilateral or unilineal Bilateral ties are through both sides of the family Unilineal are either matrilineal (mother’s side) or patrilineal (father’s side), but never both Bilateral kinship systems are usually found in Western societies Unilineal kinship systems are used more than bilateral systems in other cultures due to how easy it is to follow

Unilineal Descent Lineage- a group of kin whose members trace descent from a common known ancestor Clan- a unilineal kinship group whose members believe themselves to be descended from a common ancestor but who cannot trace this link through known relatives Phatry- a unilineal descent group composed ofa number of clans whose members feel themselves to be closely related These groups form political and social ties due to their similarities and form a mini culture of their own

Patrilineal and Matrilineal Descent In patrilineal descent, the lineage is traced back through the male members of the family The inclusion of women in a patrilineal descent group is up to the leaders of that descent group

Rules and Realities: Article Conflict over Inheritance in a Korean Village the classic picture of kinship in East Asian villages is focused on rules of patrilineality, primogeniture, seniority, Confucian ethics, and patriarchal authority. Chong is compassionate generosity that requires the elder sons to provide for their younger siblings and they face community disapproval if they fail to do so. Education is very important in Korea, families feel a sense of pride if they have an educated son. This can cause resentment between siblings and favoritism plays a role here. Cultural rules can be broken to satisfy demands Kinship rules are important in order to smoothly transfer property between generations

Matrilineal Descent Groups Males gain rights over a woman after they are married but he doesn’t gain rights over her children. Many rights over the children go to the mother’s brother rather than the father. The inclusion of a husband in a household is less important than it is in a patrilineal system. The male with the most power is the brother; they control authority over their sister’s children.

Hopi Tribe revolves around a central continuing core of women the bond between sisters is the strongest the role of the sister’s brother is extremely important to her children Hopi father’s have the role of supporting their children economically rather than disciplinarily

Double Descent double descent: the tracing of descent through both matrilineal and patrilineal links, each of which is used for different purposes. this occurs in 5 percent of the world’s cultures Paternity and maternity can be equally important because they both contain different qualities that ensure the continuation of a society

Nonunilineal Kinship System Nonunilineal descent: Any system of descent in which both fathers and mothers lineages have equal claim to the individual cognatic: Any nonuilineal system of decent Bilateral decent: system of descent under which individuals are eually affilated with their mothers and their fathers decent group Kindered: a unique kin network made up of all the people related to a specific individual in a bilateral kinship system. Rammage: A kinship group produced by an ambilineal descent system Ambililneal decent: A form of biliateral descent in which an individual may choose to affilate with either the fathers or mothers descent group.

The classification of Kin Kin are referred to by special terms. There are different terms for each kinship Kin is classified by associating with the roles they play in society. Kinship classification system are related to other parts of culture In some cultures it is normal and natural to use our kin system. Kinship system does not have to follow biologically Types of kinship The nine principles are combined to create six kinship systems. All of the systems were described by Lewis Morgan. The systems include the Hawaiian, Eskimo, Iroquois, Omaha, Crow, and Sudanese.

Ethnography summary An anthropologist went to northern India to study the relationship of kinship between her husbands family. This area has 45 different terms to classify the kinship. The anthropologist had to learn what terms she must use and how to treat that person. For example she had to call her husband older brother bhai, and she had to show a lot of respect towards him, but with her husband younger brother she still had to call him bhai but their relationship was more casual then the other relationship. She also had to respect her elders by covering up her hair. There are some American terms that do not translate in Indian. Some statuses are higher then others.

Principles of classifying kinship Kinship can be described using abstract logical principles. There are nine properties of kinship; Generation, Relative age, Lineal kin, Collateral kin, Gender, Consanguineal, Affinal, Sex of linked relative, and side of the family Generation-distinguishes by ascending and descending generation Relative age-distinguishes between age in a generation Lineal kin-single line Collateral kin- not direct ancestor Gender-distinguishes by sex (Male or female) Consanguineal-related by blood (Born into a relation) Affinal-related by marriage Sex of linked relative-distinguishes between sex of related person (Someone's father, sister, etc.) Side of the family-distinguishes between mothers and fathers side