Kinship and Family Lecture Notes March 5th

Anthro 101 Kinship & Family Organizations Kinship ? complex family system of culturally defined social relationships based on: marriage, (affinity), blood/birth (consanguinity) and descent (cultural rules that tie people together based on ancestry Kinship Diagramming Genealogical Chart Begins with ?Ego?, the self (whose perspective the chart is from) Patrilineal descent ? tracing lineage through the fathers line Matrilineal descent ? tracing lineage through the mothers line Bilineal Descent ? tracing lineage through both the mother and fathers lines Cognatic Decent ? kids are members of both the mothers and fathers sides equally, don?t feel as close to the in-laws Family: Important kinship group based on the type of structures (6) Nuclear families ? immediate family ? parents and kids Polygynous families ? one man has multiple wives Extended family ? 3 Generations Matricentric family ? People of importance (widows) are emphasized in running with the family Kin Naming Systems: names for specific categories of relatives varies cross culturally Eskimo System: 10% of all societies aunts/uncles ? separated by gender not side of the family all cousins lumped together in one group American style Hawaiian System: 1/3 of all societies less importacnce on nuclear family all men and women share the same kin term on every generation level father and father/mother?s brothers are called ?father? and visa versa Cousin marriage discouraged Cousins: Parallel Cousins ? fathers brothers kids and mothers sisters kids Cross Cousins ? fathers sisters kids and mothers brothers kids Gender of cousin makes no difference Omaha System: Patriineal Descent ? only importance in fathers line Siblings and parallel cousins of same gender are given the same term of reference Father and fathers brothers have same kin name Mother?s patrilineage are lumped together Reflect the unimportance of the mothers side Crow System Matrilineal descent Same as Omaha system but through female Unimportance of the male lines Show variety of cultural groups that existed between the Native Americans Marriage: Socially approved union of man and woman that legitimizes rights for sexual behavior and children Nuclear Families of Orientation (Born into) Nuclear Families of Procreation (married into) Functions of Marriage: New nuclear families No sex conflicts Enculturation of kids Relations between kin groups Exchange of domestic services Cross Cousin Marriage marries women from father and mothers side partilineal/matrilineal Exogamous Rules ? rules of marrying out of Endogamous ? rules of marrying into DeFacto Endogamy ? race, class, caste, social rank Lineage Endogamy ? marrying within the family. Good and inheritance stay within the family Levirate ? husband dies and the widow is expected to marry the husband?s brother Monogamy, serial monogamy Polygamy Polyandry ? wife takes many husbands Polygamy ? husband takes many wives Neolocal ? Americans, after marriage become independent and live apart from family Patrilocal ? Live near husbands family Matrilocal ? live near mothers family