Kinship and Descent

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Kinship and Descent

• Part III

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Kindred

• A small circle of paternal and maternal
  relatives.
• A kindred is never the same for any two persons
  except siblings.
• EGO is the central person from whom the degree of
  each relationship is traced.

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The Kindred

• Kindred an individuals close blood relatives on
  the maternal and paternal sides of his pr her
  family.
• Kindreds are not clearly bounded and lack the
  distinctiveness of the lineage.
• Since the kindred is laterally rather than
  lineally organized (that is, EGO, or the central
  personal from whom the degree of each
  relationship is traced, is the center of the
  group) it is not a true descent group.

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Kindred

• Unlike a decent group, the kindred is not
  self-perpetuating (it ceased with EGOs death).
• It has no constant leader, nor can it easily
  hold, administer, or pass on property.
• Because of its vagueness, temporary nature, and
  changing affiliation, the kindred cannot function
  as a group except in relations to EGO.
• It can, however, be turned to for aid.
• Kindreds also can regulate marriage through
  exogamy

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Question

• When the membership of a descent group grows too
  large, ___________ may occur, creating two new,
  smaller lineages.
• fusion
• lineal decrease
• fission
• exogamy

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Answer C

• When the membership of a descent group grows too
  large, fission may occur, creating two new,
  smaller lineages.

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Question

• Membership in a __________ is determined not by
  descent from a common ancestor (as in descent
  groups) but by the fact that they share a living
  relative (ego).
• clan
• lineage
• phratry
• kindred

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Answer D

• Membership in a kindred is determined not by
  descent from a common ancestor (as in descent
  groups) but by the fact that they share a living
  relative (ego).

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Clans and Kinship

• Lineages arise from extended family organization.
• Lineages will develop, and these may with time
  give rise to clans and ultimately moieties.
• Another way that clans may arise is as fictive
  kin groups to politically integrate otherwise
  autonomous ethnic groups.
• Over time, economic and social changes may weaken
  descent groups, or they may persist, due to
  integrative functions.

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Kinship Terminologies

• Kinship terminology is related to the kinds of
  kinship groups that exist in a society.
• All terminologies both classify and separate
  different kinds of individuals, emphasizing sex,
  generational differences, or genealogical
  differences.
• Regardless of the factors emphasized, all kinship
  terminologies accomplish two important tasks.
• First, they classify similar kinds of individuals
  into single specific categories
• Second, they separate different kinds of
  individuals into distinct categories.

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Eskimo System

• Kinship reckoning in which the nuclear family is
  emphasized by specifically identifying the
  mother, father, brother, and sister, while
  lumping together all other relatives into broad
  categories such as uncle, aunt, and cousins.
• comparatively rare among all the worlds systems
• is used by Euramericans, as well as by a number
  of food-foraging peoples
• Unlike other terminologies it provides separate
  and distinct terms for the nuclear family members
• is referred to as the lineal system

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Eskimo System
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Hawaiian System

• Kinship reckoning in which all relatives of the
  same sex and generation are referred to by the
  same term.
• the least complex system, in that it uses the
  fewest terms
• reflects the absence of strong unilineal descent,
  and members on both the fathers and mothers
  side are viewed as more or less equal
• is referred to as the generational system

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Hawaiian System
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Hawaiian System

• Polynesian societies throughout the Pacific Ocean
  are traditionally structured conforming to the
  Hawaiian system of kinship terminology.

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Iroquois System

• Kinship reckoning in which a father and fathers
  brother are referred to by a single term, as are
  a mother and mothers sister, but a fathers
  sister and mothers brother are given separate
  terms.
• parallel cousins are classified with brothers and
  sisters
• cross cousins are classified separately, but not
  equated with relatives of some other generation
• very widespread and is usually found with
  unilineal descent groups

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Iroquois System
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New Reproductive Technologies

• Kin terms are challenged in the age of new
  reproductive technologies
• Beyond transforming our sense of being human,
  they force us to redefine established ideas about
  the status of relatives, challenging us to
  rethink what being related to others is about,
  and specifically, what our rights and obligations
  are toward such unfamiliar categories of kin.