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Sociology of Kinship

Notes personal relations in extensive Kinship. T.N. Madan (1965) has studied the role of kinship as a
form of organised ideology in the Kashimiri Brahmin society. He has described the ideology of
the strong Patrilineal system to define the kinship system of the Kashmiri Brahmins.

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
1. In the Indian society , the social __________ are basically linked to the literary and classical
customs.
2. The sociologists too, have viewed __________ with an approach to Indology.
3. K.M. Kapadia and P.N. Prabhu have extensively used the ancient texts for ________
Kinship.

10.3 Marital Approach

Kinship is studied with an approach to marital relations too. In the various studies of kinship in
India, the main focus was on the Affinal kinship between two groups. In such studies, the analy-
sis of kinship vocabulary has been done to express the form of Affinal Kinship. Lovie Duomon
is the chief propeller of this viewpoint. He has stressed upon the role of marriage in the field
of Kinship in South India. He showed the negatively between cognate and affinal kinship, as is
seen in Dravid Kinship vocabulary and has made an important contribution in giving informa-
tion about the kinship system in India, in general and South India, in particular, To study the
kinship found in the South, he used the structural theory of kinship. He highlights the repetition
of Inter-marriages, generations later in the Kinship systems of South India. Studies through the
structural theory show two classes—Parallel and Cross (maternal and Paternal) kin relations,
which are specifically clear. In the kinship studies, giving importance to the Affinal Kin (through
marriage), helps in defining the difference between the bride’s and the groom’s party. Apart
from this, according to the studies conducted with this viewpoint, the ideology of Hypergamous
marriage also refers to the inclusion of dowry and ideas of commercialisation.

10.4 Kinship in Indian Culture

The system of Kinship is, in fact a cultural system. There is no specific standard of Kinship,
anywhere in the world, which is acceptable to all. They differ in various cultural systems. For
example, we can take the variations of the European and Indian society into consideration. A
wide difference has been clearly shown amongst the consanguinal kin and the affinal kin. They
are poles apart. The words used for kin in these societies clearly show the difference. A married
woman and a man uses the word ‘Sasural wale (in-laws’) for her husband or his wife. The use of
the word ‘Sasural Wale’ or ‘the in-laws’ itself clarifies that they are not from his or her lineage.
In the Western countries, a married woman gets the position of a close relative at her husband’s
home. On the other hand, in the Indian society, no clear difference has been indicated between
kin and affinal kin (through marriage). Sometimes, the difference is so vague that it is difficult to
differentiate between the two. After marriage, a woman is equal to her husband’s consanguinal
kin at his home. She fulfills all the duties of a consanguinal kin and uses all the rights accorded to
consanguinal kin of her husband. In the Indian society, apart from the consanguinal and affinal
kin, there are others included too, like the individuals living in a family, neighbours, classmates,
colleagues and people related by a common faith called ‘Gurubhai’, etc., who are also included
as close relatives. Underlining the prevalent diversity in Indian and Western culture, Indane
and Icholas said that due to the double standards in the Western society, they emphasize on the
diversity in a wide range of class and differentiate between those people who are liked either by
natural kinship or are mutually related by a mere rule of behavious. On the contrary, the united

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