Ch 9 Kinship,Family, and Marriage

China One Child Policy

strictly limited each family to one child; lead to preference of male children, infanticide of females, and later economic/care economy turmoil

Kinship

the system of meaning and power created to determine who is related to whom and to define their mutual expectations, rights, and responsibilities

nuclear family

a kinship unit of a mother, father, and their children

descent groups

a kinship group in which primary relationships are traced through certain consanguineal (blood) relatives

• most European/North American cultures do not use descent to organize social groups

lineages

a type of descent group that traces genealogical connection through generations by linking persons to a founding ancestor

clan

a type of descent group based on a claim to a founding ancestor but lacking genealogical documentation

matrilineal

constructing a descent group though female ancestors

patrilineal

tracing kinship through male ancestors

unilineal descent

build kinship though either one line (females or males) or the other

ambilineal/bilateral

descent groups that trace kinship through both mother and father

• ex: samosas,maori, Hawaiians, etc

patrilineal descent group

a kinship group in which membership passes to the next generation from father to son

• ex: The Nuer( E.E.Evans-Pritchard)

ego

the central character and starting point in tracing kinship relationships

Inuit Kinship

Only members of the nuclear family are given distinct terms, aunts and uncles are distinguished from parents but not by side of the family, all cousins are lumped together

• most common in Europe and North America

Hawaiian Kinship

the nuclear family is deemphasized, and relatives are distinguished only by generation and gender( least complicated)

sudanese kinship

Each category of relative is given a distinct term based on genealogical distance from ego; eight different cousin terms which are distinguished from ego’s brother and sister ( most complex)

Omaha kinship

Tracks kinships through patrilineal descent (distinguishing between cousins takes importance)

Crow Kinship

Tracks kinships through matrilineal descent (distinguishing between cousins takes importance)

Iroquois Kinship

system can be traced either matrilineally or matrilineally. Same term is used for father and father’s brother and for mother and mother’s sister, reflecting shared membership in lineages

The Nuer

follow Sudanese kinship system and patrilineal descent.

• bilateral kinship relationships creased by marriage are often just as important as those created through descent

affinal relationships

a kinship relationship established through marriage and/or alliance, not through biology or common descent

marriage

socially recognized relationships that may involve physical and emotional intimacy, sexual pleasure, reproduction and raising children, mutual support/companionship, and shared legal rights to property and inheritance.

• may also serve to create connection, communication, and alliance between groups

arranged marriages

marriage orchestrated by the families of the involved parties; marriage is a social obligation and symbol of commitment larger kinship group

• still common in Asia, the Pacific, Middle East, and Africa

Companionate marriage

Marriage that’s foundations are in love, intimacy and personal pleasure, not social obligation

polygyny

several marriages involving one man and two or more women

• Nuer of Sudan and Brahmans of Nepal

Polyandry

marriages between one women and two or more men

• Nayar of India and Nyimda of tibet and Nepal

Monogamy

marriage between one man and one woman, or two people of the same sex.

serial monogamy

when monogamous marriages follow one after the other

incest taboo

rules that forbid sexual relations with certain close relatives( nuclear family members)

• universal but origins are unclear(instinctive horror or biological repercussions)

cross-cousins

children of a mother’s brother or a father’s sister

parallel cousins

children of a father’s brother or a mother’s sister

exogamy

marriage to someone outside the group

endogamy

marriage inside the group

kindred exogamy

avoidance, either by law or power of tradition, with certain relatives

bridewealth

the exchange of cattle, cash, or other goods as a gift from the groom and his kin to the bride’s kin

seen as compensation to the brides family; also to establish reciprocal rights and obligation, give legitimacy to children, etc

• popular in Middle East and africa

dowry

the bride’s family gives gifts to the groom’s family on the occasion of marriage

often used to establish a household and as compensation to husband for taking on the responsibility of a wife(women have lower social status)

• common in India

the langkawi of Malaysia

example of how kinship can be acquired throughout life as eating and living together, in the house and hearth, builds kinship

fictive kin

members of close interpersonal circles that become kin as they are willing to participate in a system of mutual support

ex: Carol Stack’s The Flats African American community in Chicago

family of orientation

the people with whom we grow up and develop life skills with

family of procreation

the people in which we reproduce and raise our own children with

Chosen families

the decision of whether or not to have children, creating family when one can’t biologically produce offspring due to infertility or sexuality

phratry

a unilinear descent group of three or more clans that supposedly share a common ancestry

moieties

the two major descent groups formed when a society is devised into two halves where each had consist of one or more clans

kindred

a large group that is reduced to a small circle of paternal and maternal relatives

bride service

groom provides fixed services to his wife’s family for a fixed period of time, compensation for the loss of her labor

neolocal residence

when bride/groom establish a new residence/household

matrilocal residence

when the bride/groom live with the bride’s family

patrilocal residence

when the bride/groom live with the groom’s family