There are different societal relationships that are present in different communities based on the different beliefs that the societies hold. Kinship involves the study of socialization processes and the different actions that a person does when in a certain community. The action involves the requirements of a person in a community. The relationships are based on the position that the particular person holds in his family. The study clearly identifies the duties and roles that are expected of a particular person depending on the status and title that the person holds in the said society. There are several dominant kinship systems that are used to explain the difference between communities around the world. The different kinship systems explain the different requirements that are expected of different people in communities around the world for certain societal actions such as marriage and inheritance.
Kinship ties are developed both biologically through descent as well as culturally through ties such as parenthood even when the parent is not the biological father. In real sense, there are infinite numbers of classifications that different societies use to categorize relatives. However, there are six widely used categorizations that are widely seen all over the world. The six categorizations mostly use the lineage of a person as a measure of categorizing the person into a kinship system. The lineage traces the descent of the person. The first type of the kinship system is the Sudanese Kin Terms. The Sudanese system is unique in that each distinct relative is assigned a unique kin term. There are different terms for the mother’s brother of a person different from the father’s brother of the same person. The Hawaiian kin system is least descriptive in that it holds the different relatives into small number of categories that are based on the sex of the individual as well as the generation that the person is born from.
The Eskimo system is different from the rest of the systems in that different the main focus is on the difference in kinship distance and that the nuclear family is mostly emphasized. Here the parental siblings are grouped into one and are only grouped according to the sex of the individual. The system is bilateral in that there are no differences recorded between he patrilineal relatives and the matrilineal relatives. The Iroquois system identifies the ties between same sex matrilineal as well as patrilineal relatives. In the end, cross and parallel group of cousins are formed. In this system, individuals are encouraged to marry from their cross cousins and not their parallel cousins. The Crow system is unique in that it emphasizes on matrilineal descent rather than patrilineal descent that is recognized by most groups. The Omaha system is characterized by grouping relatives according to descent as well as gender. The cross cousins in this system are differentiated by generational divisions where the matrilineal cross cousins are raised a generation higher while those in the patrilineal side are lowered a generation.
The different kinship systems give rise to difference in the cultural institutions that are present in the societies that practice the kinship systems. Whereas more systems will encourage exogamy outside the family, there are systems such as the Crow system that emphasizes on endogamy when allowing the marriage between cross cousins. The different systems define the nature of the bride-wealth that will be made by the different groups that seek marriage unions. There are instances where the men who are marrying the women will be required to pay the bridal fee while in other systems it is the brides who pay the dowry to the groom’s family. The system that a particular culture follows determines the nature of residence that the family will have. There are those couples who will reside in their father’s residence. The residence will thus be referred to as a patrilocal residence. If they choose to reside in their mother’s residence thus the residence will be referred to as a matrilocal residence.
In conclusion, the different systems that exist in different groups define the relations that exist between the relatives of a person. The number of categories through which the relatives are grouped depends on the individual characteristics of the community that an individual is from. The different kinship systems have been used all over the world for many years to create distinct demarcations between communities.
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References
Farber, B. (1968). Comparative kinship systems: A method of analysis. New York: Wiley.
Morgan, L. H. (1997). Systems of consanguinity and affinity of the human family. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Rivers, W. H. (2011). Kinship and social organisation. Oxon: Routledge.
