Page 218 - DSOC402_SOCIOLOGY_OF_KINSHIP_ENGLISH

Sociology of Kinship

Notes
riage is the link between the reproduction family and the re-establishing family. The personal
membership between two sole families, is the fact which gives birth to the custom of kinship.
Kinship has been defined as follows: “Social relation on family basis (Theodoreson : 1969: 221).
Those relations which are consanguinal or Affinal based, determine an individual’s rights and
duties. Thus, kinship system means: “A structured, system of functions, roles and relations in
which kin (primary, secondary, tri-kin and far off kin) are bound together by the complex chain
of ties.” The mutual behaviour which indicates the relation between kin is named by certain
words, by which every kin addresses the other, i.e. by personal name or the kinship. (Pitaji,
Dadaji, Behenji) or an individual’s name and the kinship: combined together (Ram’s father,
Rita’s mother, etc.), kinship words (for addressing and referring to), which are either starting
words (which cannot be shortened into any other word like mata (mother), Pita (Father), Chacha
(uncle), Bhai (Brother), Behen (Sister), etc., or are formed with the combination of the starting
words like, Behenoi (Brother-in-law), Mausa (Maternal Aunt’s Husband), etc., or alphabetical
(which is formed by two or more starting words like mauseri Behen (Maternal Aunt’s Daugh-
ter). Phuphera Bhai (Paternal Aunt’s son), etc., and those which are called isolatives (it refers to
one kin only, known by descent, gender and descent relations like brother, sister, husband, wife,
etc., or classification words, which refer to two or more kinship classes like sambhrata (cousin),
which is used both for father’s brother’s sons and mother’s sister sons. As classification words
neglect one or more fundamental basics (like gender, age, descent, marriage related ties, co-
relation, division), etc., the thousands of kinship classes are limited to a few only.
The kinship groups amongst the Hindus play the second major role; the first being social functions
rituals and family in daily life. It is not only during the hard times that people seek kin’s help, it is
during the other regular occasions too that they seek their help. After the family, the next major
kinship group is: descent (Vensh and gotra). Descent is a consanguineous unilaternal Descent
group, whose members consider themselves the descendants of an actual and normal ancestor.
This descendant group may be matri-local or patri-local. It is an exogamous unit. The members of
this group are considered as brothers and sisters. The descendant ties are bound till a few genera-
tions only. The major link between the Uni descent families is the general participation in cultural
functions (like birth, death, etc.). The descent passes into gotra, which is Unilateral, but is bigger
than descent. It is an exogamus group. In an individual’s life Matri local and Patri local kin have an
equal importance.

28.1 Northern Zone
Characteristics of kinship in South India are different from those of North and Central India.
The socio-cultural co-relations of the kinship system are: Language. Caste (Of the Plains and
Mountains) and Region. Despite the effect of these three correlations on the kinship relations
it is possible to talk about the kinship organisation on the basis of some groups, like caste and
region.

Though the kinship rules in the Northern region differ from caste to caste, yet
comparative studies show that it is possible to talk about an ‘Ideal’ Northern
format, specially about the most common attitude and customs prevalent
amongst most of the castes.

Irawati Karve (1953:115) has mentioned some prominent characteristics of the Northern Zone
kinship organization some of them are as follows:
1. Because of ego, the younger kin are addressed by their personal name while the elders are
addressed by their kinship names.

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