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Kinship

Kin -

Kin are people who see themselves as relatives and who share an identity based on those relationships

Different than a family or a domestic group, as no common household is characteristic, and economic interdependence is not necessarily present.

 

Consanguines - are people who see themselves as related by blood, or biologically, or genetically.

Affines - are people who are related through marriage or other formal explicit bonds (eg the poorly named 'blood-brothers')

Kinship usually stands as model of and model for social functioning and understanding in small more-or-less independent societies. In complex societies often enough the ideology of kinship is stretched to try to make sense, and to offer a template in the construction, of ties that are not based on blood or marriage.

Descent

Kinship is often recognized through descent groupings - the Biblical who-begat-whom should come to mind - relationships are determined via connection to common ancestor. Some societies reckon descent from both mother's and father's side; some from mother's side, some from father's side. Such matters have significant correlations with inheritance of property, powers, title or social status.
There is matrilineal descent - when descent is recognized through the mother's maternal ancestors - this might accompany matrilocality - newly married live with wife's family. It may also be associated more frequently in societies that are closer to being accurately called 'matriarchies' (most anthropologists know of none).

Matrilines, Patrilines

Patriarchial, patrilocal and patrilineal descent groups are less rare. People are aware of their parentage, its just that in some societies the organization of work, politics, economy is comprehended by mapping those relations onto forms of kinship. You have eight great-granparents; it is likely that your surname is the same as your father's, father's father. Don't be surprised if you don't know what your mother's mother's mother's maiden name was. If your father inherited the family business, be surprised if he inherited from your mom's mother.

Kin-ties among Foragers

Among foragers - families assemble, disassemble in contect of more permanent band. Fictive family ties across bands - eg people with same first name eg.John, count as brothers those named John in another band.

Kin-ties among Agricultural Societies

In societies with surpluses (horticultural/agricultural) family is productive unit, here marriage correlates with distrubution of property/goods/inheritances and means of alliances/mergers, children are appreciating assets. Ancestry becomes the rationale and claim for distribution of social goods.

Ref - corporate law of NY state in 1812 and its correlation with family formation - average ages of first marriages, primogeniture, rates of second son/datr marriages.

Social function of lineages and descent groups. Contrast with neolocal, congugal marriage and brief families (avg US marriage last <7 years.)

Roman "famiglia' ( mom and dad, but also chickens, goats, slaves, fields - what was 'familiar'). Distinct from 'gens', a Roman descent grouping.

Matri -archial, -local, -lineal, -mony,

 

drawing from B. Terry
 
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