#kinshipsystem

[gwanth1002]

As defined by Miller, a kinship system is “the predominant form of kin relationships in a culture and the kinds of behavior involved (177). Kinship systems can be determined through markers such as descent (tracing of kinship relationships through parentage [Miller, 180]) and social activities such as food sharing. The latter is common in mainland Southeast Australia and Pacific island cultures (Carsten 1995), nurturing the kinship between women and children. The picture above is some homemade egg noodles, made and mailed to me by my Nanna. This is an example of a kinship system as by sending me the noodles, she is linking me to my family, in spite of the great physical distance between us. Additionally, the noodles have nurtured the kinship beyond between my Nanna and my generation of children through her teaching us how to make them (the recipe has been in my family for about five generations). The food sharing is an extension of the already established kinship system based on descent – she recognizes me as her legitimate grandchild – but still goes further to maintain the emotional bond between us. 

Miller defines marriage as “a union, usually between two people who are likely to be, but are not necessarily coresident, sexually involved with each other and procreative”. Details of marriage surrounding courtship, ceremonies and the dynamics between partners have evolved drastically. Below is a picture of the wedding dress (taken August 2018) I purchased for the Beautillion: a presentation of outstanding black men to the community, in which I was an escort. Although the Beautillion celebrates black young men; the idea of the ceremony is derived from the cotillion or debutante ball which presents young women to high society who are now accepting marriage proposals. Additionally, the idea of a “white-wedding”, named after the white dress worn by brides, has risen in popularity globally. First popularized by the white wedding dress worn by Queen Victoria of England, this custom now co-exists or displaces other wedding customs. For example, a bride of East or Southeast Asian descent may choose to wear a traditional western gown for the ceremony and a red dress for the ceremony, as the color symbolizes good luck. (Rohrlic 2017).

New York Times - “The Dress: Honoring Tradition” 

[gwanth1002]

Kinship System, Bilineal Descent, and Nuclear Household

A kinship system is the predominant form of kin relationships in a culture and the kinds of behaviors involved. As we live in a western culture here in America, we primarily think of kinship as relations through birth. We have a system of bilineal descent, in which descent is traced through both parents. Pictured above is my friend Glen with his parents Glen and Kerri. His parents visited this weekend to watch his lacrosse game. These three individuals, along with his sister Ashley (not pictured) represent a nuclear household comprised of two married adults and two children. This is a very common way of setting up a household in the US. In other cultures, however, there are many more variations of the way families are set up. 

In my high school Spanish classes, we compared some hispanic cultures with our own. We found that it was much more common for these cultures to have extended households (more than one set of parents and children living together) because it is common to live in a house with extended family, and not just the nuclear family. In these cultures, the responsibility of raising children can be more shared among different family members, not just the parents.

There are laws as well as customs in the US that make Glen’s family a common example of a typical family. American law prohibits polygamy, so each marriage can only involve two spouses. While seemingly obvious in America, other countries allow for multiple spouses, which changes the way families are organized and responsibilities distributed. In addition to laws, it is typical of US culture to have a family unit comprised of two parents and children. However, as mentioned in Chapter 8 of Miller’s Cultural Anthropology, changes in laws concerning who can be married legally have expanded, along with our culture’s tendency to accept non-”typical” family structures, both in terms of marriage and children.