(.. 1 C ..)
MARRIAGE AND KINSHIP[1]
[C] KINSHIP
SYNOPSIS
I] MEANING OF KINSHIP
II] TYPES OF KINSHIP
1) Affinal Kinship
2) Consanguineous Kinship
III] DEGREE OF KINSHIP
1) Primary kin
2) Secondary kin
3) Tertiary kin
IV] KINSHIP TERMS
1) Affinal Kinship
2) Consanguineous Kinship
III] DEGREE OF KINSHIP
1) Primary kin
2) Secondary kin
3) Tertiary kin
IV] KINSHIP TERMS
1) Classificatory System
2) Descriptive system
V] KINSHIP USAGES
1) Avoidance
2) Joking relationship
3) Teknonymy
4) Amitate
5) Couvade
I] MEANING OF KINSHIP:-
Man is a social animal; he does not live alone in society. From birth to death, many people surround him. Some of these people are his relatives, some are friends, and others are strangers and unknown to him. The relations based on blood and marriage may be close or distant. The bond of blood or marriage, which binds people together in a group, is called kinship. According to the Dictionary of Anthropology, the kinship system includes socially recognised relationships based on supposed as well as actual genealogical ties. These relationships are the result of social interaction and are recognised by society.
II] TYPES OF KINSHIP:-
Kinship can be classified into two types.
1) Affinal Kinship[2]:-
The bond of marriage is called affinal kinship. When a person marries, he establishes a relationship with the girl he marries and several other people from her family. Similarly, a girl in marriage becomes not only a wife but also establishes relations with the family members of the bridegroom, e.g., she becomes daughter-in-law, ‘aunt’, ‘sister-in-law’, ‘devrani’, etc.
Thus, marriage creates a host of relationships called affinal kin.
2) Consanguineous Kinship[3]:-
The bond of blood is called consanguineous kinship. The consanguineous kin is related through blood, whereas the affinal kin is related through marriage. Thus, the bond between the parent and their children and between siblings is consanguineous kinship. Siblings are the children of the same parents. Thus, son, brother, sister, uncle, nephew and cousin are consanguineous kin. Blood relationship may be actual or supposed, supposed in the sense that even an adopted son can be treated as a son of his blood.
III] DEGREE OF KINSHIP:-
Based on nearness or distance, relatives can be classified into several categories.
1) Primary kin[4]:-
Some relatives are very close, direct, and near, e.g., Father-son, sister-brother, husband-wife. They are called primary kin. According to Dr Duis, there are eight such primary kin.
2) Secondary kin[5]:-
Secondary kin is the primary kin of primary kin. In other words, they are related to a person through primary kin. They are related to us through our primary kin, the primary kin of our primary kin. Hence, they are our secondary kin, e.g., my father’s brother, sister’s husband, etc., and they are my father’s primary kin. There are thirty-three types of secondary kin.
3) Tertiary kin[6]:-
They come in third degrees. They are the secondary kin of our primary kin or are primary kin of our secondary kin. Thus, the brother-in-law’s wife is tertiary kin because the brother-in-law is our secondary kin, and his wife is his primary kin. Similarly, the brother-in-law of my brother is my tertiary kin because the brother is my primary kin, and his brother-in-law is his secondary kin. There are 151 types of tertiary kins.
IV] KINSHIP TERMS:-
Kinship terms are those terms that are used to designate kin of various types. Morgan has classified these terms into-
1) Classificatory System[7]:-
Under the classificatory system, various kinds of kin are included in one category, all referred to by the same name. Thus, the term ‘uncle’ is classificatory. It is used for chacha, mama, mausa, foofa, etc., in the English language.
2) Descriptive system[8]:-
Under the descriptive system, one term refers to only one relation; it describes the exact relationship of a person towards another. For example, a Father is a descriptive term. Similarly, a mother is a descriptive term because they cannot be described by any other name. Thus, the terms mama, kaka, bahanoi, bhanja, etc., are descriptive terms.
Both these classificatory and descriptive systems exist in every language.
V] KINSHIP USAGES[9]:-
Each of the above kin is expected to behave with another in a particular manner. In other words, every relationship involves a particular type of behaviour. Thus, the behaviour of a son toward his father is one of respect, while the husband’s behaviour toward the wife is one of love. The behaviour of a brother towards his sister is one of affection. These usages are called ‘kinship usages’. Viz.
1) Avoidance[10]:-
In all societies, avoidance is observed in one form or another. It means that the two kin should remain away from each other. In other words, they should avoid each other. They should not only avoid sexual relationships but, in some cases, avoid seeing each other’s faces. Thus, a father-in-law should avoid a daughter-in-law. The purdah system in Hindu families illustrates the usage of avoidance.
2) Joking relationship[11]:-
It is the reverse of an avoidance relationship. Under it, a relationship is permitted to tease or make fun of the other. Thus, the relationship between devar-bhabhi, Jiya-Sali etc.
3) Teknonymy[12]:-
According to this usage, kin is not referred to directly but through another kin. Kin becomes the medium of reference between two kin. Thus, in a traditional Hindu family, a wife does not utter the name of her husband. She calls him through her son or daughter. She refers to him as the father of Guddu or Pappu.
4) Amitate[13]:-
When a unique role is given to the father’s sister, it is known as imitate. This is because the father’s sister gets more respect than the mother.
5) Couvade[14]:-
This is a queer usage found among many primitive tribes like Khasi and Toda. Under this usage, the husband is made to lead the life of an invalid with his wife whenever she gives birth to a child. He refrains from active work and takes a sick diet. He observes the same taboos which his wife observes. This kinship usage thus involves the husband and wife.
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[1] नातलग [रिश्तेदारी]
[2] विवाहातून होणारे नातलग [शादी से होनेवली रिश्तेदारी]
[3] रक्तातील नातेवाईक [लहू से होनेवली रिश्तेदारी]
[4] प्रथम श्रेणीतील [प्राथमिक स्वजन]
[5] व्दितीय श्रेणीतील [व्दितीय रिश्तेदारी]
[6] तृतीय श्रेणीतील [तृतीयक परिजन]
[7] ब-याच नात्यांना संबोधित करणारे एकच नाव [वर्गीकरण प्रणाली]
[8] प्रत्येक नात्याला संबोधित करणारे स्वतंत्र नाव [वर्णनात्मक प्रणाली]
[9] नात्याषी संबंधीत प्रथा – परंपरा [रिश्तेदारी का उपयोग]
[10] एकमेकांना टाळण्याचे नाते [परिहार]
[11] विनोद करण्याचे नाते [मजाक का रिश्ता]
[12] अप्रत्यक्षपणे बोलणारे नाते [तकनीकी]
[13] विषेश अधिकाराचे नाते [जब पिता की बहन को एक अनोखी भूमिका दी जाती है]
[14] पती प्रमाणे वर्तन करण्याची प्रथा [व्याज-प्रसूती]