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Kinship
Culturally recognized biological ties.
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kinship norms
The kinds of social relationships a people believe they should have with
various kinds of relatives. Vary from people to people. Social
behaviours toward relatives that members of one culture regard as normal
are different in other cultures.
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Classification of Relatives
Except for fictive kinship, kinship relationships are created through biological production. Kinship relationships between any two people depends on how these people are related biologically. HOWEVER anthropologists claim kinship is a cultural phenomenon, classifying relatives of various kinds differently than "we" are used to.
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Forms of descent
Kinship relationships are defined by how people trace their descent from previous generations. How people in a given culture trace their descent.
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Unilineal Descent
Cultures which people trace relationships through only one sex. Either mother's ancestoral side, or father's, not both.
Two categories - Patrilineal & Matrilineal
Patrilineal is most common. 3x as many patrilineal as matrilineal cultures.
- Two categories of Unilineal Descent
- 1. Patrilineal Descent - trace primary kinship connections to the ancestors and living relatives of their father. Likely to live among the father's kin, most property is inhereted by sons from fathers.
- 2. Matrilineal Descent - trace primary kinship relationships to the ancestors and living relatives of their mother. Likely to live among mother's relatives and usually inherit property from mother or mother's brothers.
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Ambilineal descent (Kwakiutl)
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lineages
unilineal groups composed of several unilineally extended families whose members are able to trace their descent through males or females through a common ancestor who typically lived four of five or more generations in the past.
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clans
unilineal descent groups whose members believe they are descended from a common ancestor through either the male line or the female line. Among many, clans are totemic - symbolically identified with supernatural powers associated with particular animals, plants, and natural forces such as lightning, the sun and the moon.
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Cognatic descent
no formal principle or rule about whether individuals join the group of their mother or father. People amke choices about the groups tehy want to join. People can join any cognatic group or groups to which they can trace ancestory. Everyone potentially belongs to several groups. Have overlapping membership.
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Bilateral kinship
traced through both genders. Relatives through both parents are equal in importance. All cousins are the same type of relative. Exists in most contemporary Western countries. No large, well defined, property holding groups exist.
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Kindred
network of relatives. Consists of all the people that a specific person recognizes as relatives through both sides of the family.
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Kin terms
Labeled categories describing the types of relatives. Goes with Kinship terminology - people classify their relatices into these categories.
Reflects the various norms, rights and duties and behavioural patterns that characterize social relationship among kinfolk.
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Cultural construction of Kinship
as children grow up in ceratin communities, they socially learn the logic by which their culture classifies "relatives" into categories. Those categories do not simply reflect biological/genetic relationships. Every kin has a reciprocal - grandfather:grandaughter/grandson, mother:son/daughter.
Some terms the gender to who the term applies makes a difference. Father/Mother, Uncle/Aunt, Sister/Brother
Gender is irrelevant with Cousin.
Reflect generation in relation to "Ego" - ascending generations and descending generations
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enculturation
(Socialization) the process by which newborns learn the cultural knowledge needed for physical survival, getting along with others, and interpreting the world around them.
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kachinas
masked dancers impersonating spritual beings whom Hopi believe live in the mountains to the west of their villiage. Sometimes used as "scared straight" tactic of misbehaving children, and reward "deserving" children with gifts of toys or food during the dances.
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Aka
One of several short statured (pygmy" groups living in Aftrican rain forests. Mainly foragers, they do not plant gardens for themselves, for three or four months of the year Aka trade with and work in the fields of their agricultural neighbor in excahnge for manioc (cassava) and other cultivated foods. Parents are indulgent towards children, great value on autonomy, striking an infant is grounds for divorce. Fathers are heavily involved in care of infants and young children. Higest degree of father participation and involvement in infant care of any known human group.
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Gusii
Childcare beliefs and behaviours often contrast with Aka. Gusii mothers are diligent in providing physical needs of infants, but little beyond that. Older sisters are responsible for socialization, language, work skills and social development. Authoritarian. Gusii men are barely involved in caring for children and seldom around. Patrilineal, polygynous, patrilocal and decentralized tribal people with high fertility and child mortality rates. Wife obeys husband but delegates tasks and responsibilities to the children. Hierarchial and authoritarian. No formal chiefs or other political authority.
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life course
consits of the culturally defined age categories through which he or she passes between birth and death. infancy, childhood, sexual maturation (puberty) adulthood and old age.
Biologically similar throughout the world, but how people define and treat changes in life varies.
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Rite of passage
public ceremony that marks, recognizes, celebrates or is believed to actually cause a change in a person and her or his status, usually brought about or related to increasing age. Birth ceremonies, birthday celebrations, graduation ceremonies, weddings, funerals, etc.
Maturation is a cultural as well as a biological process so details of the life course vary from people to people.
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neonate
GUESSING - (pre-birth, post conception period?) Neonatal...
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infancy
Social birth and social person - to recognize that not all newborns are viewed as completely human in some cultures.
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Childhood
the period when people begin to aquire technical and mechanical skills.
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Adolescence
Intermediate stage of transition from childhood to adulthood.
For males in many cultures, adolescence is a period when they prove their worth and establish their reputation.
Margaret Mead - Coming of Age in Samoa... problems Americans associated with adolescence were the result of cultural factors, not physiological changes.
Derek Freeman - Margaret Mead in Samoa - Samoan adolescents have about as much trouble and conflict as do American teenagers. Physiological changes that occur during adolescence have similar effects among all peoples, so this stage of the life course is always stressful no matter what the cultural context.
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