Marriage and Family

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Marriage and Family

• How do Anthropologists study Marriage and Family?

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Marriage and Family

• Anthropologist have traditionally studied
  non-industrial societies
• In non-industrial societies the study of marriage
  and family is often discussed in terms of
  kinship and descent

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KIN GROUPS AND KINSHIP CALCULATIONS

• Anthropologists study the kin groups that are
  important to a population as well as kinship
  calculation (the system by which people in a
  society reckon kin relationships)

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How do anthropologists determine kinship patterns?

• During fieldwork, anthropologists learn about
  significant groups by observing their
  activities and composition. People often live in
  the same village or neighborhood or work, pray,
  celebrate together because they are related in
  some way.

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Studying kinship calculation

• To study kinship calculation, the anthropologist
  must first determine the word or words for
  different types of relatives used in a particular
  language-she does this by determining through
  questioning
• Kinship is a lot like notions of race and gender
  in that they are culturally constructed-some
  biological kin may be considered relatives
  whereas others are not

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Kin Types and Kinship Calculation

• Anthropologists distinguish between KIN TERMS
  (words used for different relative in a
  particular language) and BIOLOGICAL KIN TYPES

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TERMS- DESCENT GROUP

• DESCENT GROUPS-composed of people claiming common
  ancestry, these groups are basic units in the
  social organization of non-industrial food
  producers
• Descent Groups are permanent social units whose
  members claim common ancestry membership is
  determined at birth and is lifelong

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DESCENT GROUPS-TERMS

• Descent Groups are typically exogamous (meaning
  members must seek their mates from other descent
  groups
• There are 2 rules of admittance in Descent
  Groups (1) matrilineal descent(2) patrilineal
  descent
• These are examples of unilineal descent

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DESCENT GROUPS -TERMS

• Descent Groups can be referred to as lineages(
  which use demonstrated descent in which members
  can recite names of forebears in each generation
  to single ancestor) or clans (which use
  stipulated descent in which members simply say
  they descend from a single ancestor)

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Kinship charts
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NUCLEAR FAMILY

• A nuclear family is different from a descent
  group in that a descent group is permanent
• Descent group membership often is set at birth
  and lasts a lifetime whereas in a nuclear family
  people typically belong to at least two at times
  in their lives
• Family of orientation
• vs.
• family of procreation

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IMPLICATIONS OF INDUSTIALISM

• NEOLOCALITY
• In 1970 married couples with kids were 40 of
  households in 1995 25
• In 1970 56 million families were maintained by
  women in 1995 122 million

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Nuclear family

• Among foraging populations the nuclear family is
  often the most significant kin group but it is
  never the only significant kin group
• While neolocality is the rule in the western
  world, more common is virilocality (living with
  husbands relations vs. uxorilocality (living
  with wifes relatives)

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MARRIAGE

• PLURAL MARRIAGES (polygamy)
• Fraternal polyandry

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Marriage-Nuer of African Sudan

• A Nuer woman can marry a woman if her father has
  only daughters but no male heirs-this is a
  symbolic and social relationship rather than a
  sexual one

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Universal definitions of marriage

• MARRIAGE CAN
• establish the legal father of a womans children
  and legal mother of a mans children
• Establish monopoly on sexual congress
• Give rights to labor of other spouse
• Give property rights
• Establish joint fund of property for children
• Establish social relation of affinity between
  spouses

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EXOGAMY AND INCEST TABOO

• EXOGAMY-practice of seeking a mate outside ones
  own group
• INCEST-sexual relations with a close relative
  there is a taboo against incest in all cultures
  however, people define their kin and therefore
  incest as well
• Example of Lahker of Southeast Asia

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ENDOGAMY

• ENDOGAMY rules of marriage that keep group
  members within their defined group
• Rules of endogamy exist in most cultures
• Example of caste (stratified groups in which
  membership is ascribed at birth and is lifelong)
  in India

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ADDITIONAL TERMS

• Bridewealth-customary gift before or after
  marriage from husband and his kin to wife and her
  kin
• Dowry-marital exchange in which wifes group
  provides substantial gifts to husbands family
• Polygyny-man has more than one wife
• Polyandry-woman has more than one husband
• Sororate-female substitute for deceased spouse
• Levirate-male substitute for deceased spouse

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Additional Terms

• Polygyny form of polygamy within which man has
  more than one wife
• Polyandry-form of polygamy within which woman has
  more than one husband