1. Kinship and Descent

2. Chapter Outline  What are descent groups?  What functions do descent groups serve?  How do descent groups evolve?

3. Descent Groups  Members share descent from a common ancestor through a series of parent- child links.  Unilineal descent establishes kin group membership exclusively through the male or female line.

4. Patrilineal Descent Groups  Male members trace their descent from a common male ancestor.  A female belongs to the same descent group as her father and his brother.  Authority over the children lies with the father or his elder brother.

5. Sources of Tension in Patrilineal Descent Groups  The requirement for younger men to defer to older men.  Requirement for women to defer to men, as well as to the women of a household they marry into.

6. Matrilineal Descent Groups  Descent is traced through the female line.  Does not confer public authority on women, but women have more say in decision making than in patrilineal societies.  Common in societies where women perform much of the productive work.

7. Sources of Tension in Matrilineal Descent Groups  Husband’s authority lies not in his own household but in that of his sister.  Unsatisfactory marriages may be ended easily, resulting in higher divorce rates than patrilineal societies.

8. Functions of Descent Groups  Provide aid and security to their members.  Repositories of religious tradition, with group solidarity enhanced by worship of a common ancestor.

9. Lineages  Made up of consanguineal kin who can trace their genealogical links to a common ancestor.  Marriage of a group member represents an alliance of two lineages.  Lineage exogamy maintains open communication and fosters exchange of information among lineages.

10. Clans  Created when a large lineage group splits into new, smaller ones.  Members claim descent from a common ancestor without knowing the genealogical links to that ancestor.  Clan identification is often reinforced by totems.

11. Kindred  A small circle of paternal and maternal relatives.  A kindred is never the same for any two persons except siblings.

12. Kinship Terminologies  The Hawaiian system  The Eskimo system  The Iroquois system  Omaha system  Crow system  Sudanese or descriptive system

13. Terms for the Concepts of “Mother” and “Father” in Western Societies 1. Genetic mother 2. Carrying mother 3. Nurturing mother 4. Complete mother 5. Genetic/carrying mother 6. Genetic/nurturing mother 7. Carrying/nurturing mother 8. Genetic father 9. Nurturing father 10. Complete father