Page 9 - DSOC402_SOCIOLOGY_OF_KINSHIP_ENGLISH

Unit 1: Nature and Significance of the Subject

2. Determination of Descent, Inheritance and Succession: Kinship determine geneology. Notes
The family, descent clan, phratry are the elaborated forms of kinship only. By gaining
knowledge about the decent relatives of the past a person feels that he is not without a his-
torical background and he too has his roots which all people will have right to transferred,
all this gets decided on the basis of kinship only. The initial studies of kinship was done by
advocates and legal experts to probably gain knowledge about grihts, claims, duties, pater-
nal rights, contracts etc. and give them a statuary sanction (Legal form). They also wanted
to create such rules that who would inmerit whom and what would one obtain. If someone
else other that the kin gets the right of inheritance then kinship is analysed and the order
of preference among them is decided. The rules of desecent inheritance and sucession are
different in patrilineal and matrilineal families. In all types of societies kinship ties are used
to define the relation between the master of the property the successors, inheriters and the
relation between them. According to Lucy Mayor, “in the societies of easy and adoptable
methodology the place of any person in the society, his rights and duties, his claim on prop-
erty almost depend with other members on the basis of his kinship and birth relations. In
such a societies irrespective of the prevailing organisational principles the primary groups
are generally associated with the fraternity”.
3. Safeguard of Economic Interest: Mardock writes—kingroup does not represent an indi-
vidual but second line of defence. When a person is an a difficult situation or when he
needs to complete a financial or cultural duty, in short, when outside the family he needs
some help, then he can look upon his vast kingroup for help. Therefore in comparison to
community or complete caste, the kin have the utmost duty to help him. Similarly he is also
attached to his relatives by traditional importance because a person feels that his blood rela-
tives are more close to him in comparison to affinal relatives. Lucy Mayour writes,” In vari-
ous societies, the accepted bonds of kinship provide rights to people on fields and property,
help in the attainment of equal rights and dominance on others. The affluent people have a
duty that they should work for the welfare of the dependent people. It is the duty of all the
people that on such occasions when there is a question of kinship and brotherhood, they
should mutually co-operate”. In this way only the kith and kins provide refuge and help to
person at the time of economic crisis.

What do you know about the role and importance of kinship in social structure?

4. Fulfilment of Social Responsibilities: Lovy says that a relative provides free services to
the other relative without expecting any profit whereas for such services we have to pay an
external person/a person outside. A relative is a natural advisor. He is helper in difficult
situation of war and being a victim. In a similar way the ladies of relatives do agricultural
work together, help in domestic chores and look after the children.
In the present era of industrialisation and bureaucracy, a person’s evaluation is on the basis
of eligibility and not kinship. A person is expected to be dutiful towards his post and na-
tion but kinship is prejudicial and in developing nations, the concept of bureaucracy gets
defeated by duties towards kinship. A senior officer gives importance to his closeness to
relatives in place of eligibility at the time of choosing his junior officers. To us this is a case
of supporting Kith and Kin but to him this is a moral duty. In the present dynamic society,
expansion of the relations of kins is not more important than the father-son relationship
and they also lack closeness. Still the case of old parents living alone or keeping them in
security houses appears astonishing and immoral to villagers and tribals. Modern society
can be called a society which is deficient in kinship relations. Still the duties and emotions
of kinship are present in them. If the son of our real paternal or maternal uncle or paternal
or mother aunt comes to us in a state of misfortune, then it is our duty to help him. Every

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 3