According to relationships there are two kinds of kinship which -are given below:

1. Affinal kinship

It includes wife and husband and their new relations resulting from that marital relation. The kinship is the result of marriage.

2. Consanguineous kinship

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It includes the parents and their children, of a biological origin or adopted. Among primitive societies, if the role of a father in the birth of a child is unknown, the wife’s husband is accepted as father of that child.

According to the range of kinship, it can be divided into the following three categories:

1. Primary kinship

It includes wife and husband, parents and their children who are directly related to one another.

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2. Secondary kinship

In includes those kins that are related to the primary kin of an individual, such as a step-mother, brother’s in-law and sisters-in-law.

3. Tertiary kinship

It includes the primary kins of the secondary kinship. The order of kinship establishes mutual behaviour patterns in society like the joking relationship between a man and his wife’s sisters and brothers.

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Morgan has divided these kinship terms into two categories – (1) Classificatory, and (2) Descriptive.

1. Classificatory kinship terms

Classificatory designations apply -o more than one relation or to a kin group. For example, among kuki clans, the term ‘Hepu’ is used for father’s father, mother’s father; mother’s brother; wife’s brother’s son. In the same way, among Kerdjari clan, father, father’s brother and grandfather’s brother are all designated by the single term ‘Tablu.’

A difficulty arises here. When more than one relation is designated by a single term, will it not cause some difficulty? Some arrangement or the other is therefore made regarding designations of this type, so that a specified person may be separated from the group. For example, in Hindu society, the name of the person is also added for a distinction among relations of different types as Kailash mama, Ramu chacha, etc. If the person designated is present, mere looking at him serves the purpose.

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According to Malinowski, the tone of speaking also indicates the specific person of a designated group. Besides these modes the name of consanguinity, group or place is sometimes added to create a distinction among different relations of one group, as chachi of Meerut, bua of Agra, tau of Bombay etc.

2. Descriptive kinship terms

In comparison to classificatory kinship terms, descriptive kinship terms are those which describe the speaker’s exact relation with the person addressed. For example, ‘uncle’ is a classificatory term, whereas ‘father’ is a descriptive term. Nowhere in the world and in no society, are classificatory or descriptive kinship terms used exclusively.

Descriptive kinship terms are more in use in civilized societies, while clasificatory kinship terms are more in use in primitive societies. For example, the term ‘Aja’ is used for mother, for father’s brother’s wife and for mother’s sister among Naga people of Assam. In the same way, father, father’s brothers, and sister’s husband are all called ‘Apu’.

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The term ‘Ami’ is used for father’s sister, wife’s mother, husband’s mother and husband’s brother’s wife. Among kuki clans, father’s father, mother’s father, mother’s brother, wife’s father, mother’s brother’s sons, wife’s brothers and the sons of wife’s brother are all called by the term ‘Hepu’.

Among Angami Naga people, elder brother, elder sister’s husband, wife’s elder sister, husband’s elder brother, elder brother’s wife, mother’s wife and father’s brother’s wife are all designated by a single term ‘Shi’.

Significance of Kinship Terms

W. R. H. Rivers has said, while describing the importance of kinship terms that they refer to those social functions for which they are used. For example, among Indian tribes, the term ‘Mama’ significant of the social functions of the person designated by this term. Many other scholars have given other interpretations of the significance of kinship terms besides that of Rivers.

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According to some anthropologists, the use of classificatory terms is made because of certain similarities found among the group of people who are designated by those terms. According to Kroeber, names of kinship terms are given to people only to distinguish them from one another and there is no deep significance in them.

According to D. N. Majumdar, only one term is used for many persons or kins because vocabulary in primitive societies is not much evolved and therefore there are no separate terms to show these persons or kins separately.

All the interpretations given above, about kinship terms, may be true to some extent: The use of classificatory terms may be the outcome of the one thing or the other. It may be due to an undeveloped language, to a similarity among the group of individuals or to some social functions of the group.