Everything you need to know about Kinship in India

Social nature of men forces them to tie with each other in some or other form relationship. Within the social system. During the life time while fulfilling their needs to in fact and inter communicate with different individuals as well as group either small or large their interaction results some type of relation with certain bases. In every society we come across that the individual within the small group plays different roles. Even within a family particular man plays the role of a husband, father, brother son, and a woman plays the role a wife, mother, sister, daughter etc. But a man cannot play the role of father and husband a particular person or a woman as a daughter and sister, in the same family. Murdock in context pointed out that every adult individual belongs to two nuclear families the family orientation (where the individual is born and reared) find the family of procreation (which establishes by marriage). In fact, the individual relationship with these two types of families linked and bound with the ties of kinship.

Murdock described kinship, “as a structured system of relationship in which kin a bound to one another by complex inter-locking ties.”

Smelser defines kinship as “a cluster of social relations based on such factors biological ties, marriage and legal rules regarding adoption, guardianship, and the like”.

Bases of Kinship:

Harry M. Johnson has listed six important bases of kinship. They are as follows:

1. Sex:

The terms ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ specify the sex of the relative referred to. On the basis of sex in each society kinship relation is differentiated.

2. Generation:

Kinship tie is established between the persons with reference to the generation. For example, the terms like ‘father’ and ‘son’, grandfather and grandson, brother and sister and cousin’ indicate the relation between the generation of the speaker and the generation of the relative referred to.

3. Affinity:

It means relationships through marriage. The relationship with son-in-law and father’s sister’s husband is based on affinity.

4. Collaterally:

It means the kinship based on blood relations. It is divided as lineal and collateral. Relatives in a direct line of descent are called ‘Lineal’. Grandfather, father, son, grandson etc. are example of ‘Lineal’, where as other descendants of one’s lineal kin like under (except affinal relative) their children (cousins) etc., refers to collateral.

5. Bifurcation:

It is based on division and sub-division. This relative refers to different relations. For example, niece can refer to brother’s daughter or sister’s daughter. Grandfather can refer to father’s father or mother’s father. Similarly uncle, aunt, grandson conveys two types of reference.

6. Linkage:

There are certain kinship ties, which are connected with a linkage. The affinal relative or consanguineous relative acts as bonding thread. For example, the term brother-in-law is understood only in relation to another affinal relative or through consanguine relative.

Types of Kinship

Broadly kinship is divided into two types. They are:

1. Consanguineous kinship:

This relationship is based on blood ties. Son, daughter, sister, parental uncle etc. are the example of consanguineous kinship and the relatives are called consanguine kin.

2. Affinal Kinship:

The kinship relationship which is established by marriage is known as affinal kinship! And the relatives are called affinal kins. Thus, marriage creates number of relations like husband, I wife, son-in-law, brother-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law etc.

Types of Kin:

Kin group can be divided into different types on the basis of nearness or distance and on the basis of the rule of descent.

Classification on the basis of nearness and distant relationship:

The kins can be divided on the basis of nearness and distance into three types. They are:

1. Primary Kin:

The kins that are close to one another or directly related are called primary kins. Prof. S. C. Dube pointed out eight such primary kins. They include husband-wife, father-son, father-daughter, mother-daughter, mother-son, younger-elder sisters, younger-elder brothers and brother-sister.

2. Secondary kin:

Those who are primary kins to our primary kins are our secondary kins. Father’s father, mother’s brother, brother’s daughter etc. are the example of secondary kin. There are 33 types of secondary kin.

3. Tertiary kin:

Those persons who are the primary kins of our secondary kins are known as tertiary kins. These kinds of kins include husband’s brother’s wife, wife’s brother’s wife, and brother of sister’s husband wife of brother-in-law. There are 151 types of tertiary kin. This type of kin are also called distant kin.

Classification of kins on the basis of rule of descent:

The rules by which a person’s consanguine relatives are determined are known as rule of descent. There are different rules of descent. They are as follows:

Broadly, descent rules are classified into two classes i.e. cognitive and unilateral. Cognitive rules refer to that rule which allows tracing descent from either female or male. In other words, both male and female who are related by blood to an individual are cognates. The cognitive descent rule again can be divided into Bilateral or Bilineal descent and Ambilineal descent. The Bilateral rule is one of the common cognitive rules. This rule of kinship reckons ascending and descending generations through individuals of both senses. Thus, under this descent is traced equally through grand-parents, father and mother. But in case of Ambilineal, descent is not reckoned simultaneously through them. (Grand parents, father and mother). When the descent is traced through the male or female, it is called unilineal or unilateral descent. This decent rule is again divided into two types: (i) Partilineal descent, where the descent is reckoned patrilineal either in ascending or descending manner through male’s only and (ii) Matrilineal descent where descent is traced through females only.

SUMMARY

Kinship is a structured system of relationship which is based on such factors as biological ties, marriage arid legal rules regarding adoption, guardianship etc. Harry M. Johnson viewed that sex, generation, affinity, collaterally; bifurcation and linkage are the bases of

Kinship. There are two types of kinship i.e. consanguineous and affinal kinship. Consanguineous kinship based on blood ties and affinal kinship relationship is based on marriage. Kin group divided into different types on the basis of nearness or distance and on rule of descent. On the basis of nearness and distant relationship kins can be divided into three types’ i.e. primary kins secondary kin and tertiary kin. Similarly, on the basis of rule of descent kinship is divided into two types’ i.e. Cognitive descent and unilateral descent. Cognitive descent is sub-divided into bilateral or bilineal descent and ambilineal descent. Further, unilateral descent is divided into two sub-divisions i.e. patrilineal descent and matrilineal descent.