Lesson 11 - Kinship and Descent

3 most common systems of kinship terminology?

1) American or eskimo 2) Hawaiian 3) iroquis

6 systems of kinship terminology?

1) American or eskimo 2) Hawaiian 3) iroquis 4) crow 5) Omaha 6) Sudanese

advantages of exogamy in lineages?

1) curbs competition; promotes solidarity 2) marriages unites groups and creates alliances 3) maintains open communication within a society

functions of descent groups

1) maintaining integrity of resources that cannot be divided without being destroyed 2) providing work forces for tasks that require a labor pool larger than households can provide 3) allowing members of one independent local group to claim support and protection from members of another.

how do clans differ from lineages?

1) unable to trace/prove precise genealogical roots 2) noncorporate descent group (as opposed to lineage being corporate) 3) it lacks the residential unity generally - although not invariably - characteristic of a lineage's core members. however, as with lineages, descent in clan may be patrilineal, matrilineal, or ambilineal.

kinship terms are based on what criteria?

1. Sex 2. Generation 3. Descent (lineal-straight line vs. collateral-branching) 4. Consanguinity vs. affinity 5. Bifurcation (sex of linkage)(4) 6. Sex of speaker 7. Age of speaker

example of matrilineal society

Hopi Indians in Arizona. assigned to mother's clan at birth.

describe the American or eskimo kinship terminology?

In the American or Eskimo kinship terminology, there is equal tracing on both sides or lines. Separate terms are used for father and mother. Father's brother and mother's brother are merged (the same for father's sister, etc.). Children of parent's siblings are also merged into one term. Additional terms are used informal.

example of bifurcation in njamal?

Maili is the term for father's father. Mabidi is the term for mother's father.

example of sex of speaker in njamal

Maili is the term for son's son when the speaker is male. Kabali is the term for son's son when the speaker is female.

example of age of speaker in njamal?

Maraga is the term a younger sister would use for her sister. Turda is the term an older sister would use for her sister. At the same time, no distinction is made for sons and daughters. Tjilja is the term used for both sexes of offspring.

describe the crow and Omaha systems?

The Crow and Omaha systems also recognize cross and parallel cousins. They are more complex than the Iroquois system in that cross cousins are treated differently. In the matrilineal Crow system, cousins on the father's side are merged with father's sister. Cross cousins on the mother's side are viewed from ego's perspective as niece and nephew. The reverse is true of the patrilineal Omaha system.

describe the Hawaiian kinship terminology?

The Hawaiian kinship terminology is more common than the Eskimo system and is found among the Samoans, Shoshone, and others. No distinction is made between maternal and paternal lines. There are relatively few kinship terms. Discrimination is made only on the basis of sex and generation—males of the parental generation, females of the parental generation, males of ego's generation, and females of ego's generation.

describe the iroqois kinship terminology?

The Iroquois kinship terminology is the most common and is found among the Navaho, the Dobu, and the Nayar. It is typical of societies that practice matrilineal or double descent. Parallel and cross cousins are recognized. This creates a large number of kinship terms based on sex and the sex of linkage. Examples include father, father's brother, mother, mother's sister, father's sisters, mother's brothers, brother, father's brother's son, mother's sister's son, sister, father's brother's daughter, mother's sister's daughter, father's sister's son, mother's brother's son, father's sister's daughter, and mother's brother's daughter.

describe the Sudanese kinship terminology system?

The Sudanese kinship terminology is the least common. It has the most kinships terms. Cross and parallel cousins are identified and kept separate from ego siblings(6). A differentiation also exists for ego's father, father's brother, and mother's brother. The same goes for the females of ego's parent's generation. In each of the other systems, some common grouping exists (i.e., father and father's brother are equated in the Iroquois system).

kindred

The kindred is similar to a lineage in that it exists by tracing to a known, living, kin member. It is not corporate, because it will dissolve once the living link is broken through death(3). Most American kinship groups (i.e., family reunions) are examples of kindreds.

phratry

The phratry is a close association of two or more clans that form an exogamous kin group. a unilineal descent group composed of 2 or more clans that assume they share a common ancestry but do not know the precise genealogical links of that ancestry. if only 2 such group exist, each is a moiety.

what 2 things do kinship terms accomplish?

They categorize relatives and they define roles or behaviors for those relatives.

clan

This is a group of kin related to one another through one or more distant (possibly mythical) common ancestors. Clans commonly identify with animate and inanimate objects called totems. These are usually associated with the clan's mythical origins and serve as the common unifying identity.

example of kin-ordered social structure moiety system

Winnebago Indian Nation. organized in 12 patrilineal clans.

example of society with double descent

Yako of eastern Nigeria.

bilateral kinship

a characteristic of western society as well as a # of food foraging societies. affiliates a person with close blood relatives, but not in-laws, through both sexes. the individual traces descent through both parents, all 4 grandparents, and so forth, recognizing multiple ancestors. relates an individual lineally to 8 great-grandparents and to all 3rd and 4th cousins. usually this huge group is reduced to a small manageable group of people, called the kindred.

lineage

a group of consanguineal kin related to one another through one or more recent and traceable common ancestors. The lineage is described as being corporate. This means that the lineage continues on even after individuals die.

descent group

a kind of kinship group in which being in the direct line of descent form a particular real or mythical ancestor is a criterion for membership. kinship may be reckoned exclusively through men or women, or through either at the discretion of the individual.

njamal, Australian aborigine group, employ what kinship terms?

all 7 (list them)

double descent

also "double unilineal descent" descent is reckoned both patrilineally and matrilineally at the same time. it's very rare. descent is matrilineal for some purposes and patrilineal for others. usually where double descent is reckoned, the matrilineal and patrilineal groups take action in different spheres of society.

moiety

an equal division of clans into two exogamous groups. Members of phratries and moieties view themselves as kin and therefore seek mates from outside of the kin group.

kindred

an individual's close relatives on the maternal and paternal sides of his or her family. laterally rather than lineally organized. ego or focal person is in the center of the group. not a true descent group therefore. "kindred" in north America = "relatives". not disctinct as unilineal or ambilineal relatives are. because of its bilateral structure, kindred is never the same for any two people except siblings. kindred cannot function in group except in relation to ego.

how do descent groups arise and develop?

arise from extended family organization. with the passage of time, first to develop are localized lineages, followed by larger, dispersed groups such as clans.

how do clans arise?

as legal fictions to integrate otherwise autonomous units. extended family organization, so long as organizational problems exist that such groups help solve. in societies with small domestic units - nuclear families or single-parent households - are of primary importance, bilateral kinship and kindred organization is likely to result. (modern post-industrial, developing and food-foraging societies

functions of phratries and moieties

bound together by marriage between groups provide members rights of access to other communities; hospitality

major kinship units in HOPI society

clans and phratries

which of the two types of cousins (parallel/cross) are considered marriageable?

cross

how does matrilineal descent differ from patrilineal descent?

descent does not automatically confer authority. patrilineal societies are patriarchal, but matrilineal societies are not always matriarchal.

ambilineal descent

descent in which the individual may affiliate with either the mother's or father's descent group. also known as "cognatic". provides more flexibility than unilineal descent. each individual has the option of affiliating with either the mother's or father's descent group. individuals allowed to be in only one at a given time, even if eligible for several.

unilineal descent

descent that establishes group membership exclusively through either the male or female line

common feature of lineages?

exogamy. must find marriage partners in other lineages.

in which society does marriage work > descent groups to integrate individuals within communities?

food foraging societies

lewis henry morgan (1818-1881)

founder of kinship studies.

Because kin terms define behavior as well as biological relationships, a common occurrence is fictive kinship. example?

godparents

where are matrilineal societies usually found in terms of subsistence pattern?

horticultural in which women perform much productive work

in which societies do descent groups provide a structural framework?

horticultural, pastoral, intensive agricultural

in societies without descent groups, such as food foraging and industrial societies, people rely instead on ___

kindred, a group of people related by birth with a living blood relative in common. the kindred, however, does not endure beyond a single generation, nor is its membership as clearly and explicitly defined. hence, it is generally a weaker unit than a descent group.

the most basic social distinctions made by society are those which involve __

kinship

kinship

kinship is a network of relatives within which individuals possess certain mutual rights and obligations. one's place in this network, or kinships status, determines what these rights and obligations are.

in a ___ system, brothers and sisters belong to the descent group of their mother, their mother's mother, their mother's siblings, and the mother's sister's children.

matrilineal

matrilineal and patrilineal descent (differentiations of unilineal descent)

matrilineal descent - descent traced exclusively through the female line to establish group membership. in matrilineal societies, the responsibility of continuing group existence falls on the female members of the group, whose importance is thus enhanced. patrilineal descent - through the male line. in patrilineal societies, the males are far more important than the females, for they are considered responsible for the group's continued existence.

the feelings of kinship among members of lineages and clans are stronger than those of __ and ___

members of phratries and moieties

parallel cousins

members of your kin group and related through relatives of the same sex

describe descent groups in nonindustrial societies

more than emotionally supportive groups of relatives. they are tightly organized working units providing security and services in what can be an uncertain, hard life. source of religion and marriage.

why are lineages like corporations?

operates as a collective entity that endures after the death of members, with new members continually born into it, it has a continued existence that enables it to act like a corporation. owns property, organizes productive activities, distributes goods and labor power, assigns status, regulates relations with other groups. strong and effective.

china's kinship pattern

patrilineal. members of the same surname consider themselves to be members of a great patrilineal clan. with surname comes exogamy.

china's residence pattern

patrilocal

tsu

primary social unit = lineage, or "tsu" in china. in addition to economic/ritual purposes, the tsu also functioned as a legal body, passing judgment on misbehavior.

examples of ambilineal societies

samoans of the south pacific jews of nyc

which kinship criteria does America use?

sex, generation, descent, consanguinity vs. affinity

totemism

the belief that people are related to particular animals, plants, or natural objects by virtue of decent from common ancestral spirits

fission

the splitting of a descent group/lineage into 2 or more new descent groups/lineages

kinship terminology symbols

triangle - male •circle - female •square - either sex •&νβσπ; = - marriage •vertical line - descent •horizontal line - siblings •ego - central reference individual

common feature of matrilineal societies?

weak tie between wife and husband. the wife's brother, and the husband's, distributes goods, organizes work, settles disputes, administers inheritance, supervises rituals. the husband is not an accepted authority of the household, but rather he is in the household of his sister. his property and inheritance are for his sister's son rather than his own. unsatisfactory marriages are ended easily.

cross cousins

who are not members of your kin group and related through relatives of the opposite sex

how to divorce in Hopi society

woman places men's belongings outside door