USMANU DANFODIYO UNVERSITY, SOKOTO

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY

ASSIGNMENT ON SOC 3307

COURSE TITLE: SOCIAL ANTHROPOLGY

QUESTION: WITH RELEVANT EXAMPLES, EXPLAIN THE VARIETIES

OF KINSHIP GROUPING AND RULES OF DESCENT

GROUP 9

GROUP LIST

NAME ADMISSION NUMBER

1.BELLO ABDULMALIK SHEHU 1710203120

2.ZUBAIR NUSIRAT OMOLARA 1710203121
3.KABIRU MUHAMMED BUHARI 1710203123
4.MUHAMMED LAWAL 1710203124
5.ABDULLAHI ALHAJI BASHER 1710203126
6.YUNUSA UMAR 1710203128
7.FATIMA KUDU 1710203129
8.BABALOLA SAMUEL 1710203130
9.MUHAMMED HURAIRA SIFAWA 1710203131
10.PHILIP JUDITH 1710203132

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INTRODUCTION

Kinship is the web of social relationship that forms an important part of the lives of
all humans in all societies, although it exacts meaning even within the discipline is
often debated. it is the most universal and basic of all human relationship and is
based on ties of blood, marriage or adoption.

Man does not leave alone in society, from birth till death he is surrounded by a
number of people. Some of these people are his relatives, some are friends, and
some are neighbors while others are strangers and unknown to him. He is bound to
all those people who are related to him either on the basis of blood or marriage. It
is a mass of networks of relatedness which radiate from each individual and this
network expresses itself in a biological idiom(Tonkinse1991) the biological idiom
here refer to a sets of words or expressions (kinship terms) that are largely
attributed through what fox (1996) called the basic facts of life: conception and
birth.

Every human society recognizes the existence of some kind of kinship system in
the whole world. Today kinship plays a vital role in controlling individual behavior
and in maintaining social cohesion. Kinship relations are based on blood ties and
marriage. The relation based on blood, or marriage may be close or distant. The
bond of blood or marriage which binds people together in group is called kinship.
Some sociologist and anthropologist have augured that kinship goes beyond
familial ties and even involve social bonds.

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 CONTENTS

According to A.R. Brown; “kinship is genealogical relationship recognized for

social purposes and made the basis of the customary relation of social relation.”

According to Charles winick; “kinship system may includes socially recognized

relationship based on supposed as well as actual genealogical ties.”

Kinship is one of the most important organizing components of society. This social
institution ties individual and groups together and establishes a relationship among
them.

Kinship involves a relationship between two people related by lineage or marriage,

according to David Murray Schneider who was a professor of anthropology at the
University of Chicago. He said that kinship refer to “the degree of sharing
likelihood among individuals from different communities. For instance, if two
people have similarity between them, then both of them have a bond of kinship”

According to Giddens, "Kinship comprises either genetic ties or ties initiated by

marriage.

In the word of George peter murdock: “kinship is a structured system of

relationships in which kins are bond to one another by complex interlocking ties.”

TYPES OF KINSHIP

1. AFFINAL KINSHIP: when a person marries, he establishes relationship

not only with the girl whom he marries but also with a number of other
people in the girl’s family. Moreover, it is not only person marrying who get
bound to the family members of the girl by his members also get bound to
the family members of the girl.
In other words, this kinship is based on marriage. The relationship between
husband and wife is considered a basic form of kinship. Thus a host of
relation is created as soon as marriage takes place. For example, after
marriage a person becomes not only a husband but also becomes brother-in-
law and son-in-law, like wise a girl on marriage becomes not only a wife but
also becomes daughter-in-law.

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2. CONSANGUINEOUS KINSHIP: the consanguineous kin are related
through blood where as the affinal kin are related through marriage. The
bond between parents and their children and that between siblings is
consanguineous kinship. Siblings are the children of the same parent.
In other words, this kinship is based on blood or birth. This is the most basic
and universal type of kinship. Also known as primary kinship, it involve
people who are directly related, thus son, brother, uncle, elder uncle, nephew
and cousin are consanguineous kin, i.e. related through blood. In this
connection it may be pointed out that blood relationship may be actual as
well as supposed.

DEGREE/ CATEGORIES OF KINSHIP

1. Primary kins: hey are husband-wife, father-son, mother-daughter, father-
daughter, mother- son, younger-elder brothers, younger-elder sisters, and
sister- brother.
2. Secondary kins: they are primary kin of primary kin. In other words, they
are related through primary kin. They are not our primary kin but are the
primary kin of our primary kin, hence, our secondary kin. For example,
father’s brother, sister’s husband is secondary kin. The father is my primary
and his brother is primary kin of father. Therefore, father’s brother is my
secondary kin, the primary kin of my primary kin. Similarly, sister is my
primary kin but her husband is my secondary kin but her husband is my
secondary kin.
3. Tertiary kin: hey are the secondary kin of our primary kin or primary kin
of our secondary kin. The brother-in-law of my brother is my tertiary kin
because the brother is my primary kin and his brother-in-law is the
secondary kin of my brother.
According to Murdock, there are thirty-three secondary and 151 tertiary
kins of a person.
3. Social kin: Schneider argued that not all kinship derives from blood
(consanguineous) or marriage (affinal). There is also social kinship where
individual who is not connected by birth or marriage may still have a bond
of kinship. among polyandrous tribes the actual father of the child is
unknown. An adopted child is treated as if it were one’s own biologically
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produced child. Thus, blood relationship may be established out not only on
biological basis but also on the basis of social recognition.

THE RULES OF DESCENT

The practical importance of descent comes from its use as a means for one
person to assert rights, duties, privileges, or status in relation to another
person, who may be related to the first either because one is ancestor to the
other or because the two acknowledge a common ancestor. Descent has
special influence when rights to succession, inheritance, or residence follow
kinship lines.
Descent is a socially recorgnized links between ancestors and descendants. It
assigns people to different categories, groups and roles on basis of inherited
status.
Defined with reference to an ancestor or ancestress. Connects through
relatedness to a common ancestor’s on a limited class of ego’s relatives.
We have two known rules of descent which includes the following
1. Unilineal descent: descent is traced through parents and ancestors of only
one 1 sex(either mother’s or father’s side) unilineal descent group occur
at over twice the incidence of cognatic ones among the world’s cultures.
Many societies construct kinship grouping, roles, and relationship by
tracing descent exclusively through the male-patrineal or female
matrilineal lines. The resulting units are called unilineal descent groups,
either patrilinealges or matrilinealges according to the prevailing descent
rules.
In many societies, unilineal descent groups assume important corporation
functions such as land ownership, political, mutual aid and support. The
powerful West Africa Ashanti kingdom in Ghana developed within a
matrilineal society. Accordingly, the heir to the throne is not the kings
(Ashantehene’s) own child but his sister’s son.
Unilineal descent is further divided into two:
1. Patrilineal descent: both males and females belong to their father’s kin
group but not their mother’s. it is only male that pass on their family
identity to their children.
A woman’s children are members of her husband’s patrilinal line.
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2.Matrilineal descent: a form of unilineal descent that follows a female
line. Individual are relative if they can trace descent through females to
the same female ancestors. While male and female children are members
of their mother’s matrilineal descent group, only daughter pass on family
line to their offspring, king traditionally passes title and status on to his
sister’s son.
King’s biological son does not inherit kingship because he is not a
member of ruling matrilineal family group. Women usually inherit status
directly from their mothers in matrilineal societies.

CONCLUSION
This study explored the various forms of kinship grouping and
descent rules, this implied that the study examined various ideas
revolving around kinship and descent, in this regards, it is clear beyond
doubt that every individual belong to one kinship or the other, because it
is upon this basis human origin and relationship is traced to a particular
ancestor or ancestress.

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 REFERENCES
Murdock, George p. (1949) social structure. New York: Macmillan
Fox, Robin (1996). Kinship and marriage. Cambridge: Cambridge
university press peguin books L.m.d(1967)

Introduction to kinship and social organization, burto Pasternak.

Tonkinson, Robert (1991) the mardu Aborigine: living the dream in

Australia’s desert, new York. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, case studies in
cultural anthropology (1978)