IROQUOIS CULTURE

Iroquois Culture

Iroquois Culture

Introduction

There are basically five different ways or patterns by which consanguineal kinship relations are classified. Three of those patterns distinguish between parallel cousins (the offspring of one's father's brother and mother's sister) and cross-cousins (the offspring of one's father's sister and mother's brother). The other two systems either classify parallel and cross-cousins as a distinct category (i.e., cousins), or classify parallel and cross-cousins as brother and sister. The five types are called Iroquois, Omaha, Crow, Eskimo, and Hawaiian.

Discussion

In Iroquois, Omaha, and Crow one calls his father's brother “father,” and his mother's sister “mother.” Consequently, in these three terminologies, his parallel cousins are called “brother” and “sister.” Also, in Iroquois, Omaha, and Crow, one's father's sister is called “father's sister” (i.e., roughly equivalent to aunt), and his mother's brother is called “mother's brother” (i.e., uncle). Beyond those kin relations just discussed, these three systems vary in important ways.

In the Iroquois kinship-terminology system, as just stated, a person's parallel cousins are referred to with the same kin terms used for brother and sister. However, cross-cousins are referred to collectively by some other unique term that could be translated as “cousins.”

With Omaha kinship terminology, one calls her parallel cousins brother and sister, but refers to her cross-cousins differently than in Iroquois. In Omaha, her cross-cousins on her mother's side of the family are called “mother” and “mother's brother.” One's father's sister's children are “nephew” and “niece,” if one is a male, or “son” or “daughter,” if one is a female. The reason for the different kin terms between males and females is due to the fact that if one is a male, the cross-cousins called nephew and niece refer to him as “mother's brother” (i.e., uncle), but if one is a female, those same cross-cousins, which she calls son or daughter, ...