KINSHIP SYSTEM

Kinship System Of Australian Aborigines

Kinship System Of Australian Aborigines

Introduction

Humans in every culture structure a set of social relations that classify its members within the framework of a family. The notion of what constitutes a family can be fairly extensive in some groups, and more narrowly defined in other groups. For example, the concept of the family is restricted to a smaller number of people in American culture than in Egyptian culture. When asked, students in the United States typically write down the names of 80 to 120 relatives when asked to name all the members of their family, while Egyptian students can usually write down over twice that number. Likewise, categories of classification-kinship terms, such as father or mother-can be extensive and incorporate a number of different social relationships, as for example, when the term father in some kinship systems, refers simultaneously to one's biological father, one's father's brothers, and one's mother's brothers. (McConvell 1996)Or kinship terms can be more narrowly defined, as in our own system where father refers only to one particular social relationship. Kinship terms are also relative categories that classify according to one's position in the overall system of relations. Consequently, while a certain female might be classified as the daughter by her mother, she may also be differently classified as mother by her son. These variant classifications are simultaneous, so that every person can potentially be every possible category at the same time, the only limitation being that some categories are specific to one's sex. Additionally, kinship classification is reciprocal. For example, a person who classifies another as sister will be referred to by that person as “sister” or as “brother” depending on their sex. A person who classifies another as son will be referred to as either “mother” or as “father.”

Australian Aborigines

Aboriginals ...