Primary kins:
Every individual who belong to a nuclear family finds his primary kins within the family. There are 8 primary kins- husband-wife, father-son, mother-son, father-daughter, mother-daughter, younger brother-elder brother, younger sister-elder sister and brother-sister.
Secondary kins:
Outside the nuclear family the individual can have 33 types of secondary relatives. For example mother's brother, brother's wife, sister's husband, father's brother.
Tertiary kins:
Tertiary kins refer to the secondary kins of our primary kins.For example wife's brother's son, sister's husband's brother and so on. There are 151 types of tertiary kins.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Kinship Usages:
Kinship usages or the rules of kinship are significant in understanding kinship system. They serve two main purposes:
They create groups or special groupings or kin. For example- family extended family, clan etc.
Kinship rules govern the role of relationships among the kins.
Kinship usage provides guidelines for interaction among persons in these social groupings. It defines proper and acceptable role relationships. Thus it acts as a regulator of social life. Some of these relationships are: avoidance, teknonymy, avunculate, amitate, couvades and joking relationship.
Avoidance:
It means that two kins normally of opposite sex should avoid each other. In almost all societies avoidance rules prescribe that men and women must maintain certain amount of modesty in speech, dress and gesture in a mixed company. Thus a father-in-law should avoid daughter-in-law. The purdah system in Hindu family in the north illustrates the usage of avoidance.
Teknonymy:
According to the usage of this usage a kin is not referred directly but is referred to through another kin. In a traditional Hindu family wife does not directly utter the name of her husband but refers to her husband as the father of so and so.
Avunculate:
It refers to the special relationship that persists in some societies between a man and his mother's brother. This usage is found in a matriarchal system in which prominence is given to the maternal uncle in the life of his nephews and nieces.
Amitate:
The usage of amitate gives special role to the father's sister. Here father's sister is given more respect than the mother. Among Todas the child gets the name not through its parents but through the father's sister. Naming the child is her privilege.
Couvade:
The usage of couvades prevalent among the Khasi and the Todas tribes makes the husband to lead the life of an invalid along with his wife whenever she gives birth to a child. He refrains from the active work, takes diet and observes some taboos which are observed by his wife. According to Malinowski the usage of couvade contributes to a strong marital bond between the husband and wife.
Joking relationship:
A joking relationship involves a particular combination of friendliness and antagonism between individuals and groups in certain social situations. In these situations one individual or group is allowed to mock or ridicule the other without offence being taken. The usage of the joking relationship permits to tease and make fun of the other.
They create groups or special groupings or kin. For example- family extended family, clan etc.
Kinship rules govern the role of relationships among the kins.
Kinship usage provides guidelines for interaction among persons in these social groupings. It defines proper and acceptable role relationships. Thus it acts as a regulator of social life. Some of these relationships are: avoidance, teknonymy, avunculate, amitate, couvades and joking relationship.
Avoidance:
It means that two kins normally of opposite sex should avoid each other. In almost all societies avoidance rules prescribe that men and women must maintain certain amount of modesty in speech, dress and gesture in a mixed company. Thus a father-in-law should avoid daughter-in-law. The purdah system in Hindu family in the north illustrates the usage of avoidance.
Teknonymy:
According to the usage of this usage a kin is not referred directly but is referred to through another kin. In a traditional Hindu family wife does not directly utter the name of her husband but refers to her husband as the father of so and so.
Avunculate:
It refers to the special relationship that persists in some societies between a man and his mother's brother. This usage is found in a matriarchal system in which prominence is given to the maternal uncle in the life of his nephews and nieces.
Amitate:
The usage of amitate gives special role to the father's sister. Here father's sister is given more respect than the mother. Among Todas the child gets the name not through its parents but through the father's sister. Naming the child is her privilege.
Couvade:
The usage of couvades prevalent among the Khasi and the Todas tribes makes the husband to lead the life of an invalid along with his wife whenever she gives birth to a child. He refrains from the active work, takes diet and observes some taboos which are observed by his wife. According to Malinowski the usage of couvade contributes to a strong marital bond between the husband and wife.
Joking relationship:
A joking relationship involves a particular combination of friendliness and antagonism between individuals and groups in certain social situations. In these situations one individual or group is allowed to mock or ridicule the other without offence being taken. The usage of the joking relationship permits to tease and make fun of the other.
Books and Authors
Marriage in India - Louis Dumont
Dowry in Hindu marriage - Louis Dumont
Family in India - David Mandelbaum
Polyandry in Kota society - David Mandelbaum
Brahmin Kinship in Tamil Village- Kathleen E Gough
Kinship and social organization - W.H.P Rivers
History of Human marriage - Westermarck
Modern Introduction to the family - Bell and Vogel
The family - W.J Moore
Family and Kinship among pandits of Kashmir - T.N Madan
Marriage and family in India - K.M Kapadia
Rural Family Patterns - K.M Kapadia
Hindu Kinship - K.M Kapadia
The death of Family - David Cooper
Hindu Joint family - K.M Kapadia
Family and kin in Indo-European culture- G.S Ghurye
Traditional Indian family - M.S Gore
Kinship organization in India - Irawati Karve
Elementary structure of Kinship - Levi Strauss
The Family - Burgess and Locke
Dowry in Hindu marriage - Louis Dumont
Family in India - David Mandelbaum
Polyandry in Kota society - David Mandelbaum
Brahmin Kinship in Tamil Village- Kathleen E Gough
Kinship and social organization - W.H.P Rivers
History of Human marriage - Westermarck
Modern Introduction to the family - Bell and Vogel
The family - W.J Moore
Family and Kinship among pandits of Kashmir - T.N Madan
Marriage and family in India - K.M Kapadia
Rural Family Patterns - K.M Kapadia
Hindu Kinship - K.M Kapadia
The death of Family - David Cooper
Hindu Joint family - K.M Kapadia
Family and kin in Indo-European culture- G.S Ghurye
Traditional Indian family - M.S Gore
Kinship organization in India - Irawati Karve
Elementary structure of Kinship - Levi Strauss
The Family - Burgess and Locke
Points to Remember
A person referred to as the parent of his or her child indicates the practice of Teknonymy.
Rivers has given the explanation of kinship terms referring to social usages which are antecedent to their use.
The residence rule which gives choice to the newly -weds to live with the parents of either the groom or the bride is known as biolocal.
When both patrilineal and matrilineal rules apply jointly it is called double descent.
Rivers has defined the clan as an exogamous division of tribe.
Social recognition is important in determining consanguineous kinship.
In double descent system one inherits fathers' patrilineal relatives and mother's matrilineal relatives.
Maclver said that kinship creates society and society creates the state.
Weiser stressed that clan is usually associated with totemism.
Levi Strauss has regarded preferential mating as a device for strengthening group solidarity.
Westermarck has written the history of human marriage.
Westermarck has listed various causes of polygyny including variety of women.
Murdock has distinguished between the family of orientation and the family of procreation.
Morgan suggested historical evolution of the form of marriage and family.
Tribes such as Mundas and Nagas do not permit marriage between persons from the same village.
According to Westermarck marriage is itself rooted in the family rather than family in marriage.
According to D.N Majumdar the Hindu society presently recognizes only two forms of marriage the Brahma and Asura.
A Tarawad splits into smaller units called Tavazhis.
When one becomes the member of the consanguineal relatives of both father and mother, it is known as bilateral descent.
The rule of residence generally followed in India is patrilocal.
When not mutual, a joking relationship assumes the form of social control.
Where father's sister is given more respect than the mother the relationship is called amitate.
Neolocal rule of residence is generally followed in western countries.
People bond together in groups based on reproduction refers to kinship.
Experimental marriage is known as privileged relationship.
Marriage of one man with a woman and her several sisters are called sororal polygamy.
The marriage of a Hindu is illegal if his or her spouse is alive.This restriction is according to Hindu Marriage Act.
Marriage of a man of high caste with a woman of lower caste is called Anuloma marriage.
Levi Strauss believed that no society was perfectly unilineal.
Radcliff Brown introduced the term lineage group to designate the living members of a group.
Morgan believed the earliest form of kin group to be the clan.
Rivers has listed belief in common descent and possession of a common totem as characterizing a clan.
Murdock has called the clan a compromise kin group.
Radcliffe Brown defines sib as a consanguineous group not sharing a common residence.
Horton and Hunt described the marriage as the approved social pattern whereby two or more persons establish a family.
A nomenclature of the family function is symbolic of system to reckoning descent.
Rivers has given the explanation of kinship terms referring to social usages which are antecedent to their use.
The residence rule which gives choice to the newly -weds to live with the parents of either the groom or the bride is known as biolocal.
When both patrilineal and matrilineal rules apply jointly it is called double descent.
Rivers has defined the clan as an exogamous division of tribe.
Social recognition is important in determining consanguineous kinship.
In double descent system one inherits fathers' patrilineal relatives and mother's matrilineal relatives.
Maclver said that kinship creates society and society creates the state.
Weiser stressed that clan is usually associated with totemism.
Levi Strauss has regarded preferential mating as a device for strengthening group solidarity.
Westermarck has written the history of human marriage.
Westermarck has listed various causes of polygyny including variety of women.
Murdock has distinguished between the family of orientation and the family of procreation.
Morgan suggested historical evolution of the form of marriage and family.
Tribes such as Mundas and Nagas do not permit marriage between persons from the same village.
According to Westermarck marriage is itself rooted in the family rather than family in marriage.
According to D.N Majumdar the Hindu society presently recognizes only two forms of marriage the Brahma and Asura.
A Tarawad splits into smaller units called Tavazhis.
When one becomes the member of the consanguineal relatives of both father and mother, it is known as bilateral descent.
The rule of residence generally followed in India is patrilocal.
When not mutual, a joking relationship assumes the form of social control.
Where father's sister is given more respect than the mother the relationship is called amitate.
Neolocal rule of residence is generally followed in western countries.
People bond together in groups based on reproduction refers to kinship.
Experimental marriage is known as privileged relationship.
Marriage of one man with a woman and her several sisters are called sororal polygamy.
The marriage of a Hindu is illegal if his or her spouse is alive.This restriction is according to Hindu Marriage Act.
Marriage of a man of high caste with a woman of lower caste is called Anuloma marriage.
Levi Strauss believed that no society was perfectly unilineal.
Radcliff Brown introduced the term lineage group to designate the living members of a group.
Morgan believed the earliest form of kin group to be the clan.
Rivers has listed belief in common descent and possession of a common totem as characterizing a clan.
Murdock has called the clan a compromise kin group.
Radcliffe Brown defines sib as a consanguineous group not sharing a common residence.
Horton and Hunt described the marriage as the approved social pattern whereby two or more persons establish a family.
A nomenclature of the family function is symbolic of system to reckoning descent.
Some of terms and the theorists
Animism- Tylor
Animatism- Marett
Anomie- Durkheim, Merton
Achieved and Ascribed role- Linton
Barbarism- Morgan
Cultural lag- Ogburn
Cultural Relativism- Herskovitz
Cultural reproduction- Bourdien
Culturalization - Kluckhon
Ethnocentrism-Sumner
Ethnology- J.S Mill
Essentialism- Karl Popper
Eugenics- Francis Galton, Karl Pearson
Gesselschaft and Gemeinschaft- Earl Bell
Quasi Group- Ginsberg
Primary and Secondary group- Cooley
Positive and Negative Group- Newscomb
Membership& Non- membership group- Merton
Marginal Man- Adorno
Status situation- Lockwood
Status Symbol- Pack and Bourdien
Structuralism- Levi Strauss
Structuration- Anthony Giddens
Status Set- Merton
Status sequence- Merton
Relative Deprivation- Stouffer, Merton
Role Distance- Goffmann
Roleset- Merton
Patterns of culture- Ruth Benedict
Ethos- Kroeber
Primary and Secondary deviance- Lemert
Theory of Moral development- Piaget
Social distance- Bogardus
Social Position- A.R.Brown
Societal System- A.G Keller
Sociography- F.Tonnies Sociometry- J.L Moreno
Spiralist- Bell
Social Character- Eric Fromm
Social Fact- Durkheim
Differential Association Theory- Sutherland
Animatism- Marett
Anomie- Durkheim, Merton
Achieved and Ascribed role- Linton
Barbarism- Morgan
Cultural lag- Ogburn
Cultural Relativism- Herskovitz
Cultural reproduction- Bourdien
Culturalization - Kluckhon
Ethnocentrism-Sumner
Ethnology- J.S Mill
Essentialism- Karl Popper
Eugenics- Francis Galton, Karl Pearson
Gesselschaft and Gemeinschaft- Earl Bell
Quasi Group- Ginsberg
Primary and Secondary group- Cooley
Positive and Negative Group- Newscomb
Membership& Non- membership group- Merton
Marginal Man- Adorno
Status situation- Lockwood
Status Symbol- Pack and Bourdien
Structuralism- Levi Strauss
Structuration- Anthony Giddens
Status Set- Merton
Status sequence- Merton
Relative Deprivation- Stouffer, Merton
Role Distance- Goffmann
Roleset- Merton
Patterns of culture- Ruth Benedict
Ethos- Kroeber
Primary and Secondary deviance- Lemert
Theory of Moral development- Piaget
Social distance- Bogardus
Social Position- A.R.Brown
Societal System- A.G Keller
Sociography- F.Tonnies Sociometry- J.L Moreno
Spiralist- Bell
Social Character- Eric Fromm
Social Fact- Durkheim
Differential Association Theory- Sutherland
Custom
Once a habit is established, it becomes a role or norm of action. Customs often involve binding reciprocal obligations. Also, custom supports law, without which it becomes meaningless. In the words of Maclver and Page, custom establishes a social order of its own so that conflict arising between custom and law is not a conflict between law and lawlessness, but between the orders of reflection (law) and the order of spontaneity (custom).
In general, customs regulate the whole social life of man. Law itself cannot cover the whole gamut of social behavior. It is the customary practices that contribute to the harmonious social interactions in a society which normal times of peace and tranquility. The influence of custom, at times, extends beyond one's own community. In certain communities custom determines the relations between two communities at war. The Bedouins of the African desert will never destroy a water-well of the enemy.
Some of the customs do not play any role in social control. They just exist because of their ancient nature just as all people bathing in an unhygienic tank or a lake just because of an established religious custom. Even the custom of performing Shradha in India has no meaning if people do not know how to respect what the past has given us as well as accept our moral obligation to the future generations. However, in most of the traditional societies the customary practices are all emptied of their meaning.
In brief, although custom is regarded as one of the less formal types of control like public opinion, its influence on social life is very significant as it alone contributes to the textual part of social behavior.
In general, customs regulate the whole social life of man. Law itself cannot cover the whole gamut of social behavior. It is the customary practices that contribute to the harmonious social interactions in a society which normal times of peace and tranquility. The influence of custom, at times, extends beyond one's own community. In certain communities custom determines the relations between two communities at war. The Bedouins of the African desert will never destroy a water-well of the enemy.
Some of the customs do not play any role in social control. They just exist because of their ancient nature just as all people bathing in an unhygienic tank or a lake just because of an established religious custom. Even the custom of performing Shradha in India has no meaning if people do not know how to respect what the past has given us as well as accept our moral obligation to the future generations. However, in most of the traditional societies the customary practices are all emptied of their meaning.
In brief, although custom is regarded as one of the less formal types of control like public opinion, its influence on social life is very significant as it alone contributes to the textual part of social behavior.
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