kinship, relationship by blood (consanguinity) or marriage (affinity) between persons; also, in anthropology and sociology, a system of rules, based on such relationships, governing descent descent, in anthropology, method of classifying individuals in terms of their various kinship connections. Matrilineal and patrilineal descent refer to the mother's or father's sib (or other group), respectively.
..... Click the link for more information. , inheritance, marriage marriage, socially sanctioned union that reproduces the family . In all societies the choice of partners is generally guided by rules of exogamy (the obligation to marry outside a group); some societies also have rules of endogamy (the obligation to marry within a
..... Click the link for more information. , extramarital sexual relations, and sometimes residence. All societies recognize consanguineal and affinal ties between individuals, but there is great divergence in the manner of reckoning descent and relationship. Kinship patterns are so specific and elaborate that they constitute an important and independent field of anthropological and sociological investigation. In many societies the concept of kinship extends beyond family family, a basic unit of social structure, the exact definition of which can vary greatly from time to time and from culture to culture. How a society defines family as a primary group, and the functions it asks families to perform, are by no means constant.
..... Click the link for more information. ties, which vary in breadth and inclusiveness, to less precisely defined groupings such as the clan clan, social group based on actual or alleged unilineal descent from a common ancestor. Such groups have been known in all parts of the world and include some that claim the parentage or special protection of an animal, plant, or other object (see totem ).
..... Click the link for more information. , where consanguinity is often hypothetical if not actually mythological. As a rule, however, these groups maintain incest incest, sexual relations between persons to whom marriage is prohibited by custom or law because of their close kinship . Ideas of kinship, however, vary widely from group to group, hence the definition of incest also varies.
..... Click the link for more information. taboos as strict as those for close biological relatives.

Bibliography

See R. Fox, Kinship and Marriage (1967); I. Buchler and H. A. Selby, Kinship and Social Organization (1968); B. Farber, Comparative Kinship Systems (1968); J. R. Goody, Comparative Studies in Kinship (1969).

kinship

Socially recognized relationship between people who are or are held to be biologically related or who are given the status of relatives by marriage, adoption, or other ritual. Kinship is the broad term for all the relationships that people are born into or create later in life that are considered binding in the eyes of society. Every person belongs to a family of orientation (e.g., mother, father, brothers, and sisters); many adults also belong to a family of procreation (which includes a spouse or spouses and children). Familial bonds of descent and marriage may be traced through a genealogy, a written or oral statement of the names of individuals and their kin relations to one another. Inheritance and succession (the transmission of power and position in society) usually follow kinship lines. See also exogamy and endogamy; incest.

kinship (redirected from relationship)

Bibliography

kinship

kinship
(redirected from relationship)