Kinship

• Kinship


  The web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of most humans in most societies
• Anthropologist Robin Fox: 'The study of kinship is the study of what man does with these basic facts of life - mating, gestation, parenthood, socialization, siblingship etc.'
• Affinity


  The human kinship relations through marriage, where no biological relationship is present but two people from different families marry and become one family
• Descent


  The relationships that arise in one's group of origin, where a biological relationship is present and it traces down the family's origin
• Kinship can also refer to a principle by which an individual's or groups of individuals are organized into social groups, categories and genealogy by means of kinship terminologies
• Kinship by blood


  • Families can be classified according to their basic rules of descent
  • Descent - group members believe they share and descend from common ancestors
• Rules of Descent


  • Unilineal - affiliates an individual through the descent of one gender only, either through males or through females
  • Matrilineal Descent - people join the mother's group automatically at birth and stay members throughout life
  • Patrilineal Descent - people join the father's group automatically at birth and stay members throughout life
  • Ambilineal - the children can opt to claim lineage on either their father or their mother's family group
  • Bilateral - both paternal and maternal ancestors are considered part of one's family
• Marriage


  A socially or ritually recognized union or legal contract between spouses that establishes rights and obligations between them and their children, and between them and their in-laws
• Types of Marriage


  • Endogamy - refers to the norm which dictates that one should marry within one's group/clan
  • Exogamy - prescribes that one can marry outside one's clan or ethnic group
  • Monogamy - the practice of having only one spouse at one time or for an entire life span
  • Polygamy - the practice of multiple marriage, where an individual is married to more than one person at a time
  • Polygyny - the practice of one man having more than one wife or sexual partner at a time
  • Polyandry - the less common form of polygamy, involving one woman having multiple husbands
• Post-Marital Residency Rules


  • Patrilocal Residence - the customary system for the wife to live with (or near) her husband's blood relatives (or family of orientation), where the married couple moves to the husband's father's community so children will grow up in their father's village
• Matrilocal Residence


  A system where it is customary for the husband to live with his wife's blood relatives (or her family of orientation), the husband can feel disconnected and can be labeled as an outsider
• Neolocal Residence


  The couple have the freedom and option to live separately and independent to their respective families. This is more common in modern Western societies
• Bilocal residence


  Gives the couple the choice of staying either with the groom's or the bride's side/parents (due to wealth, status, wishes of the parents, certain personal preferences)
• Kinship by Ritual (Compadrazgo)

  • A kinship in the form of godparenthood (compadrazgo)
  • Parents selected godparents for a child at his or her baptism, confirmation, and marriage
  • Often parents asked a close, important relative to serve as grandparent. The tie between co-parents reinforced that of kinship
  • A godparent was expected to see to his or her godchild's upbringing should the parents be unable to do so
  • The urban upper and middle class select friends or relatives as a godparents of their child
  • For those of limited means, the emphasis was less on the feeling of friendship the co-parents shared and more on the potential economic benefits that the child might enjoy
• Household


  May consist of only one person but a family must contain at least two members and that the members of a multi-person household need not be related to each other, while the members of a family must be related
• Family


  A group of people affiliated by consanguinity (by recognizes birth), affinity (by marriage), or co-residence, and/or shared consumption
• Functions of the Family

  • Regulates sexual behavior and is the unit of reproduction
  • Performs the function of biological maintenance
  • Serves as the chief agency of socializing the child
  • Gives its members status
  • Serves as an important mechanism for social control
  • Performs economic functions, especially in simple societies
• Primary functions of the family


  Providing a framework for the production and reproduction of persons, biologically and/or socially
• Types of Families


  • Nuclear Family - is the most basic family form and is made up of married couple and their biological or adopted children. It is a family pattern where married couple establish an independent household
  • Extended Family - a family that includes the other members of the kinship group such as uncles, grandparents and cousins
  • Reconstituted Family - describes families with mixed parents; one or both parents remarried, bringing children of the former family into the new family
  • Separated Family - Married persons living apart, either informally by one leaving the home or agreeing to "separate" while sharing a residence without intimate relations
  • Transnational Family - families that live some or most of the time separated from each other, yet hold together and create something that can be seen as a feeling of collective welfare and unity, namely, 'familyhood', even across national borders
• Types of Family Authority

  • Patriarchal - authority is vested on the eldest male in the family often the father
  • Matriarchal - authority is vested in the mother or the mother's kin
  • Egalitarian - both the husband and wife exercise a more or less equal amount or degree of authority
  • Matricentric - this type of authority is usually found in places where the father commutes and is out for the greater part of the day, or with prolonged absence
• Political Dynasty


  The repeated election and reelection of close relatives with the same surname to offices in the local and national governments. The relatives appear to enjoy a monopoly of political power to the disadvantage of rival leaders. Political dynasty members are seen to use their superior wealth, following and access to public resources to favor themselves. They attract their followers and keep them loyal with patronage
• Alliances


  In international relations, a formal agreement between two or more states for mutual support in case of war. Provide for combined action on the part of two or more independent states and are generally defensive in nature, obligating allies to join forces if one or more of them is attacked by another state or coalition. Alliances arise from states' attempts to maintain a balance of power with each other