Understanding Kinship and Descent

Kinship

• Kinship is a social relationship forming a key part of most human lives.
• Anthropologist Robin Fox defined kinship study as examining human actions related to mating, gestation, parenthood, socialization, and siblingship.
• It can organize people into social groups and categories using kinship terminologies.
• Affinity signifies kinship via marriage.
• Descent describes relationships from one's origin group.

Kinship by Blood

• Families are categorized by descent rules.
• Descent signifies group members believing they share common ancestors.

Rules of Descent

• Unilineal descent affiliates individuals through one gender, either male or female.

Types of Unilineal Descent

• Matrilineal descent involves joining the mother's group at birth and remaining a member throughout life.
  • Common in Native American societies (Crow, Cherokee).
  • Children belong to women, tracing kinship through the mother, grandmother, etc.
• Patrilineal descent involves joining the father's group at birth, remaining a member throughout life.
  • Seen in rural China and India where only males carry the family surname, giving them permanent family membership prestige.
  • Females are seen as temporary members.
• Ambilineal descent allows children to choose lineage from either the father's or mother's family group.
  • Frequent in Southeast Asia where parents can associate children with either parent's kinship.
• Bilateral decent considers both paternal and maternal ancestors part of the family.
  • Sixty percent of societies, commonly modernized nations, follow this pattern.

Kinship by Marriage

• Marriage is a socially recognized or legal union establishing rights/obligations between spouses, their children, and in-laws.
• Marriage represents behaviors, norms, roles, expectations, and values linked to a legal union.
• It is at the core of any kinship system.

Types of Marriage

• Marriage selection can be influenced by:
  • Endogamy, marrying within one's group/clan.
  • Exogamy, marrying outside one's clan/ethnic group.
• Monogamy is having one spouse at a time or for life.
• Polygamy is the practice of multiple marriages.

Types of Polygamy

• Polygyny is one man having multiple wives/sexual partners, the most common form of polygamy.
• Polyandry is one woman having multiple husbands, a less common form of polygamy.

Post-Marital Residency Rules

• Residency after marriage typically aligns with descent rules.
• Patrilocal residence is where the wife lives with or near her husband's family.
  • A married couple moves to the husband's father's community, allowing children to grow up in their father's location.
• Matrilocal Residence is where the husband lives with his wife's family.
  • The husband may feel isolated.
• Neolocal Residence allows the couple to live separately, common in modern Western societies.
• Bilocal residence allows the couple to choose to stay with either the groom's or bride's family side based on wealth, status, and parental wishes.

Kinship by Ritual (Compadrazgo)

• Compadrazgo is kinship through godparenthood.
• Parents choose godparents at baptism, confirmation, and marriage.
• Parents often select close relatives as grandparents, strengthening kinship ties.
• A godparent ensures the godchild's upbringing if the parents cannot.
• Upper/middle-class urbanites choose friends/relatives as godparents.
• Those with limited financial means emphasize the child's economic benefits, not friendship.

Family and the Household

• The UN distinguishes between household and family.
  • A household can be one person, whereas a family needs at least two.
  • Household members do not need to be related, while family members must have a familial link.
• A family includes members connected by birth, marriage, co-residence, and/or shared consumption.

Functions of the Family

• Families regulate sexual behavior and enable reproduction.
• Families performs biological maintenance.
• Serves as the primary means of socializing children.
• Gives its members status.
• Functions as an important means of social control.
• Performs economic functions, typically in simpler societies.
• The family functions to produce and reproduce people biologically and socially.

Types of Families

• Nuclear Family is the core family unit, made of a married couple and children, forming an independent household.
• Extended Family contains other relatives like uncles, grandparents, and cousins.
• Reconstituted Family describes families with mixed parents where one or both parents remarried and bring children from the former family.
  • Separated Family involves married people living apart informally or sharing residence without intimacy.
  • Transnational Family members live apart yet maintain a sense of unity, called a "familyhood," extending across countries.

Based on Authority

• Patriarchal authority resides with the eldest male, usually the father.
• Matriarchal authority resides with the mother or her relatives.
• Egalitarian authority occurs when both the husband and wife exercise equal authority.
• Matricentric authority is in places where the father commutes or is frequently absent.

Politics of Kinship

• Political Dynasty is relatives with the same last name being repeatedly elected to local/national positions.
• Relatives appear to monopolize political power, disadvantaging rival leaders.
• Political dynasty members use wealth/access to public resources to favor themselves and keep followers loyal.

Alliances

• Alliances are formal agreements between countries for mutual support during war.
• Alliances provide combined action between independent states and are defensive, necessitating allies to join forces if attacked.
• They are created to maintain balance of power.