Kinship is arguably the most complicated avenue of human sociology currently known to man. This is because kinship systems transcend general knowledge and even delve more into a cultural and even spiritual realm. Kinship is by all means a contentious issue in any culture currently in the world. The interesting thing about kinship systems all over the world is that they tend to dictate the role and behavior of every member of the kinship. Every individual therefore has a role to play and the acceptability of that individual depends greatly on the level of perfection to which the individual performs their predetermined role. The following essay is an analysis of different kinship systems in the world. The essay analyses how these kinship systems affect members of the societies in which the systems are applied. Also of great importance are the implications that these kinship systems have on men and women under their firm grip. The essay especially focuses on kinship systems as explained by Levi Strauss.
In many kinship systems the role of women is pretty much predetermined. In most cultures the woman is owned exclusively by the man. Even if the ownership is not obvious it is greatly exercised through the actions of the woman to the man and vice versa. An important aspect alluding to this fact is the incest taboo. In most cultures of the world incest is not acceptable. It is a taboo that is frowned upon by the entire society and deemed as completely unacceptable and pretty much just insulting. Thus with incest being outlawed people have to search for their spouses elsewhere. This means that a person cannot marry his own sister but can by all means marry the sister of another person. In order for this system to work people have to give their female family members up for marriage. Thus an individual gives up their female relatives for marriage and in the process also gets another female to in turn marry. The cycle therefore continues. This cycle alludes to the concept of procurement of women. The sheer way in which men get women to marry alludes to their traditional roles in society as far as kinship is concerned (Overing, 2001, p.8098-8105). When heading into a marriage a woman barely ha any bargaining power. This is clearly evident by the fact that the family of the woman gives the woman up for marriage. In other words the women are being traded or rather treated as elements of trade. Thus the woman moves from her family which she has known her entire life and joins another family, her new family. The man however remains in close contact with his original kin. The woman therefore becomes the new member of the family ad as such has minimal bargaining power if any at all. This fact further alludes to the fact that the roles of the woman heading into the marriage were long predetermined. The woman enters her new family and is subject to her husband. This is due to the fact that her husband procured her, for lack of a better term. The husband therefore owns the woman and according to traditional kinship systems is by all means in charge of the woman. This concept is especially brought out by Levi Strauss in his explanation of kinship systems and their corresponding gender roles.
The roles of men are also very interesting especially when analyzed under the paradigm of kinship systems. This is because in most societies the men are mostly dominant over the women. Even in societies where the women pay dowry for their husbands the system always finds a way to get the man back on top. A good example is the Hindu society. In this society it is the wife who pays dowry for the husband. Society however considers the marriage as a favor to the woman. Thus the paying of dowry by the woman is by all means a sign of the appreciation she has for a future husband and a way of enticing him to marry her and enticing his family to sanction the marriage and give the man the go ahead to marry the woman. Even in modernist kinship systems the men always domineer over the women this is because of the pre determ9nedd gender roles associated with kinship systems which date back to time immemorial. Thus the man is always considered the head of the family. Levi Strauss explains that even in situations where the woman is better off than the man in terms of her mental faculties or even more financially stable than the man, society or rather kinship systems still demand that the man be the head of the family and the woman be placed a distant second to the man (Serena, 1991, p.102). This assumption is reflected especially in the Arab world. In this society the birth of a male child is met with celebration and is seen as a blessing while the birth of a female child is a lackluster event that barely garners any hype or critical acclaim across the community in the immediate proximity. Such a situation is reflected across most of the kinship systems in the world and even in the modernist world of the west.
Culture is also very important especially in the contest of kinship. This is because different cultures have different kinship organizations and values. This means that kinship beliefs vary from culture to culture with each being as unique as the other. In some cultures kinship ties are very important while in some they are negligible. This means that culture by all means dictates all issues kinship. According to Levi Strauss in his kinship systems culture is the cornerstone of any kinship system in the world.
Inheritance is also a very contentious issue that pertains to kinship. This is because kinship dictates by all means all forms of inheritance. As a result kinship connections determine exactly who inherits what. In Africa for example boys inherit everything while girls get nothing. In the modern world however the law takes precedence while kinship ties are relegated to the sideline as far as matters inheritance is concerned. Despite this system kinship ties however still play a large part in matters inheritance. If a person for example leaves a will then it is more likely than not that this will was motivated by factors kinship. It is therefore very rare for a person who is not connected through kin to a given individual to get anything in form of inheritance from the individual in question.
Dowry giving also varies with reference to kinship traditions. The modes of dowry payment are often determined by kinship relations. In some cultures dowry payment is the responsibility of all kin members while in some systems it is the responsibility of an individual. This means that the community does not offer any aid as far as dowry payment is concerned. Dowry payments also allude to traditional gender roles that can be traced back to kinship ties. Africa for example is the perfect specimen for this illustration. Traditionally in Africa the wife is the property of the husband. As such the men pay the dowry during a marriage. This dowry is paid to the father of the bride or the leading male figure in the family given a situation where the father of the bride is not present. This dowry is never paid to the mother of the bride. Thus it is very clear that matters kinship dictate dowry payment.
Works cited
Overing, J. 2001 Kinship in Anthropology. In International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences Pp. 8098–8105. Elsevier. Eriksen, Thomas H. 2010. Kinship as Descent (Chapter 7) Marriage and Relatedness (Chapter 8). Small Places, Large Issues an Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology. 3rd ed. Anthropology, Culture, and Society. New York: Pluto Press. Nanda, Serena. 1991. “Kinship” AND “Marriage, Family
