topic 6

Kinship

The system of meaning and power that cultures create to determine who is related to whom and to define mutual expectations, rights, and responsibilities.

Fictive Kin

People who are recognized as kin despite not being related by blood or marriage.

Kinship System

An organizing principle in societies that determines relationships, marriage arrangements, moral rules, and economic responsibilities.

Kinship Diagram

A schematic way of presenting kinship relationships of an individual using a set of symbols.

Kinship Terminology

A classification system that organizes relatives based on cultural perceptions of similarities and differences.

Descent

A kinship group in which primary relationships are traced through certain blood relatives.

Lineage

A descent group that traces genealogical connections through generations linked to a founding ancestor.

Clan

A descent group based on a claim to a founding ancestor but lacking genealogical documentation.

Ambilineal Descent

A descent system that traces kinship through both the mother's and father's lines.

Bilateral Descent

A kinship system where descent is traced equally through both parents.

Neolocal Residence

A post-marital residence pattern where a couple establishes an independent household separate from both sets of parents.

Patrilocal Residence

A post-marital residence pattern where a couple lives with or near the husband’s family.

Matrilocal Residence

A post-marital residence pattern where a couple lives with or near the wife’s family.

Matrilineage

A lineage or descent traced through the female line.

Marriage

A socially recognized relationship that may involve physical and emotional intimacy as well as legal rights to property and inheritance.

Arranged Marriage

A marriage in which family members, rather than individuals, select spouses.

Companionate Marriage

A marriage based on love, intimacy, and personal choice.

Incest Taboo

Cultural rules that forbid sexual relations between certain close relatives.

Endogamy

Marriage to someone within a specific kinship group, social class, or community.

Exogamy

Marriage to someone outside a specific kinship group, social class, or community.

Levirate

A cultural practice in which a widow marries the brother or close male relative of her deceased husband.

Sororate

A cultural practice in which a widower marries the sister of his deceased wife.

Ghost Marriage

A marriage in which one spouse is deceased, but the family maintains the marital alliance.

Monogamy

A marriage system in which an individual has only one spouse at a time.

Serial Monogamy

A pattern of marriage in which a person has multiple spouses over a lifetime but only one at a time.

Polygyny

A marriage system in which a man has multiple wives simultaneously.

Polyandry

A marriage system in which a woman has multiple husbands simultaneously.

Fraternal Polyandry

A form of polyandry in which brothers share a wife.

Bridewealth

The transfer of goods or money from the groom’s family to the bride’s family as part of the marriage process.

Dowry

The transfer of goods or money from the bride’s family to the groom’s family as part of the marriage process.

Nuclear Family

A kinship unit consisting of a mother, father, and their children.

Extended Family

A family unit that includes relatives beyond the nuclear family.

Family of Orientation

The family into which one is born and grows up.

Family of Procreation

The family formed when one marries and has children.

Chosen Family

A non-biological family formed through emotional bonds rather than blood or marriage ties.

Multigenerational Household

A family household consisting of more than two generations living together.

Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART)

Medical advancements such as IVF, sperm/egg donation, and surrogacy that assist with reproduction.