Kinship, Descent, Phratry, Moiety, Clan, and Lineage

< previous page

Kinship

Meaning of Kinship

• Definition: Kinship refers to the social relationships and roles that are based on blood, marriage, or adoption.
• Importance: It plays a crucial role in structuring social groups and influencing individual behavior within societies.

Types of Kinship

1. Consanguineous Kinship:

   • Relationships based on blood ties.
   • Includes parents, siblings, and extended family.

2. Affinal Kinship:

   • Relationships based on marriage or other forms of alliance.
   • Involves in-laws and relationships established through marriage.

3. Fictive Kinship:

   • Non-biological relationships treated as if they were kin.
   • Examples include godparents, close family friends.

Categories or Degrees of Kinship

• Primary Kinship: Direct relationships like parents, siblings.
• Secondary Kinship: Extended family relations like aunts, uncles, cousins.
• Tertiary Kinship: Distant relatives beyond the extended family.

Kinship Terms

• Lineal Terms: Describe relationships in a direct line (parent, child, grandparent).
• Collateral Terms: Describe relationships outside the direct line (uncle, cousin).
• Affinal Terms: Describe relationships by marriage (in-law).

Kinship Usages

1. Ceremonial Functions:

   • Kinship guides rituals, ceremonies, and rites of passage.
   • Examples: weddings, funerals, naming ceremonies.

2. Economic Functions:

   • Influence economic exchanges, inheritance, and property rights.
   • Determines resource distribution within the family.

3. Social Functions:

   • Shapes social roles and responsibilities within the family unit.
   • Establishes norms for behavior and interaction.

Descent

Rules of Descent

1. Patrilineal Descent:

   • Traced through the male line.
   • Inheritance and family name pass through the father.

2. Matrilineal Descent:

   • Traced through the female line.
   • Inheritance and family name pass through the mother.

3. Bilateral Descent:

   • Recognizes kinship through both maternal and paternal lines.
   • Egalitarian in terms of inheritance.

Concepts in Descent Systems

1. Phratry:

   • A grouping of clans based on kinship.
   • Collaborative in rituals, ceremonies, and social functions.

2. Moiety:

   • Division of a society into two complementary parts.
   • Often associated with specific roles or functions.

3. Clan:

   • A group of people with a common ancestor.
   • Shared lineage and often a totemic symbol.

4. Lineage:

   • Direct descent from a common ancestor.
   • More immediate than a clan, often traced through fewer generations.

< previous page