module 8 - kinship

Pre-test: True or False – Write True if the said statement is true, and write False if the statement is false, on a
one-half cross-wised sheet of yellow pad paper.

1. Kinship refers to the “web of social relationships” that humans form as part of a family, which is the
smallest unit of the society.
2. Same sex marriage is legal in the Philippines.
3. Bilateral descent allows an individual to be affiliated to the descent of one sex group only – either the
male or female.
4. Moiety differs from a phatry in its function of creating a sustainable systematic balance within a society.
5. Matrilineal descent is also referred as agnatic descent.
6. Marriage is defined as the “socially or ritually recognized union or legal contract between spouses that
establishes rights and obligations between them, between them and their children, and between them and
their in-laws”
7. Polyandry is a marriage pattern wherein a woman allowed to marry several men.
8. One factor that allows an individual to identify another individual as a family member is through
consanguinity, popularly called as blood relatives.
9. Nuclear family is a type of family has several married couples and their children living in one
household. This can consist of the married parents and their married children living in one house.
10. Patrilocal residence, upon marriage, the woman is expected to transfer to the residence of her husband.
11. Similar to clans, the identity of kinship by ritual originator is usually unknown, rendering him or her as a
mythical being.
12. Unilieal descent allows an individual to be affiliated to the descent of one sex group only – either the
male or female.
13. Polygyny is a marriage that allows a man to marry several women.
14. Matrifocal residence is a type of residency rule arises when the father is economically and physically
unable to provide support for the family, thereby ascribing the role of sole provider and caregiver to the
woman.
15. Transnational residence is a type of residence pattern allows the couple to choose to live either with the
wife’s mother’s area or the husband’s father area.
 module 8 - kinship
Lesson 1 – Kinship

What is kinship?

So, kinship refers to the “web of social relationships” that humans form as part of a family, which is the
smallest unit of the society. There are several points that you can learn from this definition.

1. A family is a socioeconomic unit.

What makes a group of individuals a family is their dependency on one another with regard to
their social and economic activities. This implies that the family acts as the primary support group
for its members as they participate in the social processes within a society. For this reason, an
individual is often disposed to consult with family members during social and economic class.

2. A family can have one or more parents.

In the society that you grow up in, a family usually consists of two parents – a father and a
mother. However, this is not the norm for other societies who would have one parent, a mother or a
father, or multiple parents due to multiple marriages.

3. A family can have parents who are not married.

Although the marriage of parents is important in religious countries such as the Philippines, it is
not a prerequisite in other societies. Hence, as long as individuals are socially and economically
interdependent, they can be considered a family.

4. A family can have parents with same gender.

Although same sex marriage is illegal in most countries including the Philippines, some societies
allow for the marriage of individuals with the same sex.

5. A family should have at least one child.

One of the most crucial elements of a family is the existence children. Without a child, a couple
remains to be couple and not a family.

There are two primary purposes of a family are:

a. To orient the individual of the norms of the society, and

b. To provide physical support as the individual matures.

This is seen in the two types of nuclear families.

1.1 – Kinship by Blood

One factor that allows an individual to identify another individual as a family member is
through consanguinity, popularly called as blood relatives. This type of kinship links individuals
based on their genetic relations. This is referred to as descent or the socially accepted connection
between an ancestor and its succeeding generation.

Unilineal Descent – this allows an individual to be affiliated to the descent of one sex
group only – either the male or female.

There are two types of unilineal descents:

module 8 - kinship

 Matrilineal descent – leads an individual to trace kinship relation through

the female’s line. This implies that the surname and inheritances of a
family are passed on from one female to the other. This also refers to as
uterine descent.

 Patrilineal descent – an individual traces his or her kinship through the

male’s line only. This promotes a passing down of name and inheritance
to the male offspring only, while allowing the female offspring to be part
of another family through marriage. This is also referred as agnatic
descent.

An expansion of unilineal descent groups creates a kinship group called the clan. This
type of kinship is observed among groups of people who believe that they have unilineal
relations based on a common ancestor.

Another one is called phratries. Similar to clans, the identity of the kinship originator is
usually unknown, rendering him or her as a mythical being.

The final type of a unilineal descent is called moiety. Although similar with phratries in
having multiple clans within it, moiety differs from a phatry in its function of creating a
sustainable systematic balance within a society.

Bilateral Descent – unlike the unilineal descent, that tends to focus on one line of a
kinship, bilateral descent allows an individual to trace kinship ties on both sides of the family.
This means that an individual can recognize both his or her parents’ relatives as his or her own
relatives.

In some cases, ties with the nuclear family can be extended to family members of the
spouses. This kinship grouping is called kindred. As this type of group is often united by
common relative, it risks of dissolution when connections to the common relative is lost.

For example: if a spouse dies, the connection between the living spouse and the deceased
family may be severed, which results in the dissolution of the kindred group.

1.2 – Kinship by Marriage

Marriage is defined as the “socially or ritually recognized union or legal contract

between spouses that establishes rights and obligations between them, between them and their
children, and between them and their in-laws” (Haviland et al., 2011). It is believed that all
societies have a form of marriage that makes it a cultural universal.

There are four types of families:

1. Patrifocal and Matrifocal – this type of family is focused on one parent: a

father or a mother. This type of family is often associated with the terms
patriarchal, the rule of the father, and matriarchal, the rule of the mother.

2. Monogamous – this type of family consists of a single couple and their child
or children. This referred to as the nuclear family. Most societies in the world
have this type of family.

3. Polygamous – this type of family consists of several parents and their

children.
module 8 - kinship

There are two types of polygamy:

1. Polyandry – is a marriage pattern wherein a woman allowed to marry

several men.

Example: In Tibet, women are allowed to marry several

husbands who are at times brothers.

2. Polygyny – is a marriage that allows a man to marry several women.

One common example is the Islamic circle, wherein men

are permitted to marry one or more wives, but not more
than four, but there are conditions. If a man marries
another woman, the second wife should be equal in
financial, emotional and other needs from the first wife.

4. Extended family – this type of family has several married couples and their
children living in one household. This can consist of the married parents and
their married children living in one house.

Filipinos and other Asian societies are known to practice extended family
arrangements as a form of securing care for the elderly members of the
family.

Reconstituted family – though not part of the traditional categories of

families, reconstituted families are a growing percentage of household
classification in countries allowing divorce and legal separations. Such
families consist of spouses and children whom the spouses may have had prior
to their marriage or union.

1.3 – Kinship by Ritual

A privileged social relationship established by ritual, such as that of godparents or

fraternal orders.

In some cases, rituals allow for the inclusion of individuals into a family. The
compandrazgo system that is popular in Spanish-influenced regions of the world is an example
of this. In this situation, individuals not originally part of the family are made extended family
members by being godparents of a child of one of the actual family members.

In the Philippines, this is practiced in our concept of having ninong and ninang for
occasions such as baptism, confirmation, and marriage.

1.4 – Postmarital Residency Rules

One of the biggest questions that newlyweds have to answer is where to live and build a
family after marriage. Every society has its own rules and traditions on post-marital residence.

1. Patrilocal residence – upon marriage, the woman is expected to transfer to the residence of her
husband. Her children will be raised by her husband’s family and be integrated to their lineage,
allowing for the creation of patrilineal descent.

2. Matrilocal residence – upon marriage, the man is expected to take residence with his wife’s
mother’s area, where they are expected to raise their children and integrate them to the maternal
line, creating a matrilineal descent.

3. Avuncolocal residence – this is a complex residency pattern as it requires two residencies

transfers. Upon the couple practices a form of virilocality and raises their children in their
household of the husband’s father. However, upon reaching adulthood, these children will have
module 8 - kinship
to be relocated with their mother’s brother and live with him and his household which may
consist of his wife and young children and the other adult male offspring of his sisters. This
practice allows for the creation of patrilineage.

4. Natalocal residence – this arrangement allows both spouses to remain with their own
households after marriage. This couple will have to arrange for meetings as the two are not living
under one household. Their children are allowed to choose which household they would join.

5. Matrifocal residence – this type of residency rule arises when the father is economically and
physically unable to provide support for the family, thereby ascribing the role of sole provider
and caregiver to the woman. In this situation, all of the children reside with their mother who is
part of her mother’s household.

6. Ambilocal residence – this type of residence pattern allows the couple to choose to live either
with the wife’s mother’s area or the husband’s father area.

7. Transnational families – due to globalization and transnational movements of people, families

tend to practice alternative forms of residency patterns that are not based on lineage perpetuation,
but more so on economic reasons such as job offers, educational advancement, and job
placements.

Activity Time!

1. How different is a family of orientation from a family of procreation?

2. What type of kinship system do Filipinos have? Explain.
3. How can economic capacity affect the post marital residence decision of a couple?
4. Which residence pattern is more practiced in the Philippines? Explain.
 module 8 - kinship

Evaluation: True or False – Write True if the said statement is true, and write False if the statement is false,
on a one-half cross-wised sheet of yellow pad paper.

1. Kinship refers to the “web of social relationships” that humans form as part of a family, which is the
smallest unit of the society.
2. Same sex marriage is legal in the Philippines.
3. Bilateral descent allows an individual to be affiliated to the descent of one sex group only – either the
male or female.
4. Moiety differs from a phatry in its function of creating a sustainable systematic balance within a society.
5. Matrilineal descent is also referred as agnatic descent.
6. Marriage is defined as the “socially or ritually recognized union or legal contract between spouses that
establishes rights and obligations between them, between them and their children, and between them and
their in-laws”
7. Polyandry is a marriage pattern wherein a woman allowed to marry several men.
8. One factor that allows an individual to identify another individual as a family member is through
consanguinity, popularly called as blood relatives.
9. Nuclear family is a type of family has several married couples and their children living in one
household. This can consist of the married parents and their married children living in one house.
10. Patrilocal residence, upon marriage, the woman is expected to transfer to the residence of her husband.
11. Similar to clans, the identity of kinship by ritual originator is usually unknown, rendering him or her as a
mythical being.
12. Unilieal descent allows an individual to be affiliated to the descent of one sex group only – either the
male or female.
13. Polygyny is a marriage that allows a man to marry several women.
14. Matrifocal residence is a type of residency rule arises when the father is economically and physically
unable to provide support for the family, thereby ascribing the role of sole provider and caregiver to the
woman.
15. Transnational residence is a type of residence pattern allows the couple to choose to live either with the
wife’s mother’s area or the husband’s father area.

Essay: For ten points, write what have you learned about this weekly topic that we have on this interactive
module.
 module 8 - kinship
Some Notes:

1. Post-test will be recorded and the instructor will collect your answers.
2. Activities will also be recorded and the instructor will collect your exercises.

Bibliography/References:

Internet Connection, Wikipedia

Understanding Culture, Society and Politics by DIWA Publishing

Maria Carinnes P. Alejandria-Gonzalez, Author