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Desines demonstrated and stipulated descent; lineages, and clans; looks at descent units and groups; defines the attributes of corporate kin groups
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Kinship Units and Groups
Cultural Anthropology
Demonstrated and Stipulated Descent: Lineages and Clans
Demonstrated Descent: Descent is traced through all linking males/females to the ancestor.
Stipulated descent: Descent from ancestor is assumed and cannot be traced through linking kin.
Generally, groups with demonstrated descent are
smaller than those with stipulated descent. Lineages are unilineal descent units whose members
demonstrate, or trace their ancestry Clans are unilineal descent groups that assume, or
stipulate, their ancestry
Lineages Lineages are unilineal descent
units whose members can demonstrate their descent to a common ancestor
Lineages divide or segment into smaller ones
This model of a segmentary lineage shows how it works
The minimal lineage is the smallest lineage (3-4 generations)
It can be a part of ever larger lineages: minor segment, major segment up to the maximal lineage
Principles of Lineage Formation and Segmentation The preceding diagram illustrates this process: Suppose an extended family gets too large; the family
divides into two. These families may still retain their ties as lineages When lineages get large, they divide into two, as the
preceding diagram shows. They may retain affiliation as even larger lineages, such
as the maximal lineage in the diagram. This process can continue indefinitely or even evolve
into clans; see next diagram.
Clans Clans are unilineal descent
unitsw hose members can only stipulate their descent to a common ancestor
Clans tend to include smaller lineages and extended families, as shown here.
So over time, the process can go from extended families to lineages to clans.
Descent Units and Descent Groups Descent organizes larger kin as well Descent units that encompass members,
but do not necessarily organize their members; Navajo clans are not
Descent groups are organized around particular functions, especially assets.
Descent Units A group of kin descended unilineally or bilaterally
who reckon their descent for some purpose but who are not necessarily organized
Example: Navajo are members of matrilineal clans that are dispersed throughout the countryside.
Their main function is hospitality, which is obligatory—you must put up a fellow clan member who happens by for the night.
Descent Groups (Corporate Groups) Are organized descent units with the following
characteristics First, it own an estate: land, cattle, or
fishing/hunting ground The estate may be owned by group or it may be
owned by their constituent families Masai of East Africa are corporate lineages and
clans even though it’s the extended families who own their cattle herds.
Descent Groups: Rights and Obligations Estate entails rights and obligations Examples: a man may have rights to cattle of other
families in the clan for bridewealth But he also has the obligation to provide cattle for the
bridewealth of other kinsmen. He also has the obligation to defend herds (or add to
them), as was true of the Masai, Among the Fulani, if one descent group loses its cattle
herd due to disease, other descent groups contribute to the replenishment of the first group;s herd
Descent Groups: Perpetuity The lineage or clan is sociocentric; it outlasts the life
span of individuals, not unlike corporations, whose loss of staff through downsizing does not kill the company.
Lineages and clans contrasts with kindreds, which are egocentric, or centered in particular persons.
A bilateral kindred comprises full brothers and sisters, which overlaps with other kindreds with different sets of full brothers and sisters.
When full siblings die, the kindred itself dies
Legal Persons Corporations are defined as legal persons similar to descent
groups. Among the Kwakiutl of the Northwest Coast, murder of a noble of
one clan by a commoner of another requires death of noble of commoner’s clan, or bloodwealth as compensation.
Responsibility for the murder is thereby collective In New Guinea: murder requires revenge--regardless of the
circumstance. Collective responsibility is a hallmark of groups defined as a legal
person.
Patrilineal Descent Units/Groups Patrilocal extended families undergo
division, as you have seen. They can keep ties through lineages as
they segment and form larger lineages The process continues indefinitely, and at
the end, they may form clans.
Matrilineal Descent Units/Groups Matrilineal segmentation is somewhat similar to patrilineal
segmentation. Matrilocal extended families undergo similar division and keep ties
again through lineages Process continues indefinitely and may also form clans over the long
term. Main difference is the conflict in the role of the brother and that of the
husband The two male authority figures compete for power within the
matrilineage, and often the brother wins out Usually, therefore segmentation involves two persons; the brother who
wields authority and the sister who provides the matrilineal affiliation.
Nonunilineal or Ambilineal Descent Groups
Ambilineal descent groups develop from ambilocal extended families--whose descent is bilateral
Each couple chooses residence based on economic advantage, as we saw among couples in the Gilberts
Both husband and wife belong to separate kaingas The kainga is a landholding unit When the couple chooses residence, the spouse leaving
her/his residence retains rights to her/his kainga, but these rights do not pass to his/her child
Ambilocal Descent Group: Conditions
Ambilineal groups are usually found are usually where land is circumscribed by geography, such as islands or restricted mountainous regions, and where populations shift rapidly from one region to another
In fact, Scottish clans are actually ambilineal groups. There, arable land is restricted in the highlands of Scotland
Marriage as Alliance Another function of marriage is alliance formation between
lineages, clans, tribes, or even nations. In European history, peace between nations was sealed by
monarchial marriage. Yanomamo: highest alliance is sealed by marriage outside the
village. Women marry their cross-cousins, affording her some kind of
protection against an abusive husband. She has no such protection if she marries outside; marriage outside
the village must reflect high degree of trust. The main ways to secure alliance are bridewealth and exchange
marriage
Bridewealth More than a marriage transaction Loss of daughter: loss of reproductivity Loss must be compensated. Bridewealth Entails payment by groom’s kin to wife’s kin Ensures that wife’s kin attracts wives for its sons Strengthens bond of kin through network of
obligations
Bride Labor and Dowry Theme and variation: son proves his worth
Ensures that wife will be looked after
Dowry (p. 252) Transfer of wealth from wife’s family to husband Condition: he looks after wife’s welfare even after
his own death An assurance that woman’s status is on par with
husband’s
Exchange Theory: Mauss’s Analysis of the Gift Exchange Creates and maintains ties between two groups Three obligations To give: to form ties To receive To cement ties Failure: creates hostilities To repay Failure makes the recipient a beggar Results in his/her inferior status
Parallel and Cross-Cousin Marriage Parallel cousin marriage Father’s brother’s child or Mother’s sister’s child Cross-cousin marriage Sister’s brother’s child Mother’s brother’s child
Patrilateral Parallel Cousin Marriage Father’s brother’s children belong to same
patrilineal descent unit Practiced among Arab nomadic peoples Example: Rwala Bedouin Serves to preserve wealth within extended
family or lineage Disadvantage: limitation on alliance/network
Cross-Cousin Marriage Partner is always outside one’s own lineage or
clan Illustration Mother’s brother’s daughter: belongs to lineage
or clan of the brother Father’s sister’s daughter: belongs to lineage or
clan of sister’s husband Conclusion: cross-cousins always belong to
different lineages or clans
Matrilateral Cross-Cousin Marriage Definition: marriage of man to his mother’s brother’s
daughter Man is woman’s father’s sister’s son Reference point is always male What happens when everyone practices matrilateral
cross-cousin marriage There are at least 3 groups They marry in a circle Diagram illustrates why
Matrilateral Cross-Cousin Marriage: Alliance Patterns Effects on social status Group B takes wife from Group A Group B can never return favor with wife from own
group Why: man from Group A would marry father’s
sister’s daughter “Violates” matrilateral cross-cousin rule Result: B is “beggar” to A: likewise C to B Has effect in stratified states, as will be seen
Patrilateral Cross-Cousin Marriage Woman is man’s father’s sister’s daughter But man is woman’s mother’s brother’s son Again, male is reference point Pattern is somewhat more complicated and rarer in occurrence Structural implications will be bypassed
Bilateral Cross-Cousin Marriage Two definitions Man marries either Mother’s brother’s daughter or Father’s sister’s daughter OR He marries both Mother’s brother’s daughter or Father’s sister’s daughter This diagram shows how
Alliance Patterns: Bilateral Cross-Cousin Marriage Results If you have only two lineages And everyone does it You have only one choice: cross cousin An ideal type Only one male and only one female Applied to Yanomamo, every marriage Involves a cross-cousin tie (p 146. 148) Strong because it involves future spouses
Bilateral Cross-Cousin Marriage: Results Fissioning village, Villages always divide in pairs Two kinds of people: your kin and your future spouse’s kin Kin terms Iroquois cousin terminology: Parallel cousins: same as brother and sister Cross-cousin: Suaboya: female cross cousin and wife Hearoya: male cross-cousin and husband
Importance of Kin Terms: Bilateral Reflect how cousins are to behave toward
each other Hawaiian: all cousins merge siblings with
cousins Bilateral: marriage outside kin Eskimo: our own: immediate siblings
separated from cousins Often found with nuclear families
Importance of Kin Terms: Unilineal Iroquois: Parallel cousins merged with siblings Separated from cross cousins Yanomamo: give indication of marriageable
partners Guinea: Cross-cousins separated from immediate
siblings and parallel cousins, Matrilateral and patrilateral cousins also separated Suggests matrilateral or patrilateral cross-cousin
marriage is preferred
Kinship Terminology Much more could be said Omaha and Crow reflect Patrilineal and matrilineal relations,
respectively Main point: terms are “markers” of basic
relationships
Conclusion: Value of Marriage and Kinship Involves how gender relations are managed Sexual relations Division of labor Marriage and childbirth Involves relations outside immediate realm of
kin Economic rights and obligations (next) Social control through other institutions
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