LESSON 12: KINSHIP

Kinship
- A person’s relationship with his/her blood relatives is biologically deeper
than those with the people whom he/she only gained while growing up. This
kind of relationship is referred to as, kinship. It is also important to note,
however, that kinship pertains not only to relationships based on ties of
blood, bonds made through marriage, adaptation, and religious rituals can
also be considered as kinship.

KINDS OF KINSHIP

1. Consanguineal, or Lineal Kinship

- Some kin by blood is called consanguineal relative. One can trace his/her
consanguineal kin through learning of his/her descent. If one can trace his
descent through paternal and maternal ancestors, he can learn his bilateral
descent. If only one lineage (either paternal or maternal) is traceable, one
can only draw his/her unilateral descent. Unilateral descent can be sub-
classified into three more types: patrilineal descent, which follows the
father’s lineage; matrilineal descent, which highlights the influence of the
mother’s side; ambilineal descent, which considers either or both the
paternal and maternal sides; depending on the demand of a situation.

2. Affinal Kinship
- The bond between a husband and wife is what sociologists refer to as affinal
kinship. This type of kinship is caused by marriage. Affinal kinship may
also pertain to the relationships made, not only by the husband and wife but
by their families as well. In a Philippine setting, balae and bayaw are also
examples of affinal kin.

Marriage is a legal foundation of a family that exists in all cultures, although there
are some varieties. It is a legal contract between two people committing themselves
in a permanent affinal kinship.

Endogamy and Exogamy

Endogamy is a marriage between members of the same group, or category of

people. An example of endogamy is the marriage of a Filipino with a Filipina. On
the other hand, exogamy refers to the marriage of two people coming from
different groups or categories. The marriage of a Filipino and an Australian woman
is an example of exogamy.

Monogamy and Polygamy

In most societies, a husband and a wife are both expected to be faithful and must
not engage in another sexual relationship or worse; marriage. This type of marriage
where only two people are involved is called monogamy.

However, there are instances when a man or a woman engages in more than
one marriage. The marriage of a man with two women is bigamy. If the man
marries more than two women, then he engages in polygamy. These types of
marriage are widely accepted in the Muslim culture. Conversely, the marriage of a
woman to more than one man is called polyandry.

Divorce, Annulment, and Legal Separation

Divorce is a court decree that terminates or dissolves a marriage. Divorced

individuals are given back their single status and may again remarry. In the
Philippines, divorce is not allowed by the legal system. Even if divorce is not
legalized in the Philippines, an unhappily married couple still has an option to
nullify their marriage through annulment. However, a married couple must present
valid grounds before the court first before they can have their marriage annulled.
These grounds shall include any of the following:

1. Bigamy- Either party was already married to another person at the time of
the marriage
2. Forced consent - One of the married couple was forced or threatened into
marriage.
3. Fraud - One of the married couple agreed to the marriage through the lies or
misrepresentation of the other.
4. Marriage prohibited by law -incestuous marriage
5. Mental illness - One or both spouse/s was/were mentally ill or emotionally
disturbed at the time of the marriage.
6. Mental incapacity - One or both spouse/s was/were under the influence of
alcohol or drugs at the time of the marriage
7. Inability to consummate in marriage - Either spouse was impotent or
physically incapable of having sexual relations during the marriage.
8. Underage marriage - Either spouse was a minor at the time of marriage was
too young to enter a marriage without parental consent or court approval.

Legal separation is the separation of married husband and wife. Unlike a divorced
or annulled couple, legally sseparated husband and wife cannot remarry. A court
can affect a legal separation on certain grounds, like an attempt on the life,
repeated physical violence by one spouse against another, infidelity, or
abandonment. If a husband and wife separated on their own arrangement without
the sanction of the court, this separation is called, de facto separation.

3. Fictive, or Collateral Kinship

- Personal kinship that is based on neither consanguineal nor affinal ties is
called fictive kinship. A fictive kinship may occur in several instances, such
as adoption or religious ritual.

In an adaption, a child needs not to be a legal adoptee of a person to be considered

as fictive kin. As long as the adopting person acknowledges the child as his/her
adoptee, then the child is fictive kin.
Fictive kinship also happens in religious rituals, such as baptism. The baptized
child becomes the fictive kin of the god parent and vice versa. The godparent also
becomes fictive kin of the kumare/kumpadre, or the parents of the baptized child.

The Family
- Every individual has a family.
The family is the first group and network that an individual acquires in his/her
lifetime. It is a universal institution. However, every family is different from the
other. A family varies from one culture to another.

Schaefer (2009) described the family as a set of people connected by blood,

marriage or adoption. The members of a family share a responsibility for the
reproduction and protection of the members of a society.

According to Schaefer, the major functions of a family are the following:

1. to provide a place to rear children

2. to provide a sense of belonging among its members
3. to create the identity of an individual
4. to transmit culture to the next generations

Another important function of the family is child-rearing. The family is the

group that takes care of the biological, economic, educational, and even the
emotional needs of the children. The family develops or provides the personal
identity of the child, the societal values, norms, traditions, as well as the rich
cultural heritage of the society is partially transmitted to the young people within
the family context. Child-rearing practices are different, depending on the society
or the level of economic progress.

For example, in Singapore or in Japan, having a child is expensive because

of the high cost of living, education, and medical services. Add the heavy
emotional responsibility, since most of the parents are dual-career parents; they do
not have enough time for their children.

For many Filipinos, children are the source of happiness and the fulfillment
of a family. Philippine government, being the highest authority of all Philippine
societies, has a responsibility to every Filipino family. According to the 1987
Philippine constitution, the family is the basic autonomous social institution that
should be protected and strengthened by the State.

Types of Families

Every family is a complicated set of people. It is far different from many people's
common idea of a family being composed of a couple and their children. What
many people conceive as the idea of family is the family nucleus.

According to the United Nations (UN), a family nucleus may be one of the
following:

1. a married couple without children

2. a married couple with one or more unmarried children
3. a father with one or more unmarried children
4. another with one or more unmarried children

Once the child of a couple marries another person or conceives a child of his/her
own, the child forms his/her own family nucleus. Families are classified into
different types, depending on the residence of a family nucleus. If only one family
nucleus lives in a residence, it is classified as a nuclear family. Other socially
acceptable nuclear families are an ever-married family (unmarried couple with one
or more unmarried children): a separated family (separated couple with children): a
same-sex family ((un)married couple without children): and same-sex-parent
family ((un)married couple with one or more unmarried, biological/foster
children). Many nuclear families have relatives who live in a different residence.
Although the members of the nuclear family have maintained contacts with these
relatives, their interactions are often less frequent. Sociologists call this ground
isolated nuclear families. Another type of family is the extended family. As the
name suggests, an extended family is composed of two or more blood-related
family nuclei. The family has a matrilocal structure if they involve women like
female grandparent, female parent, or female children, On the other hand,
patrilocal family structure focuses on men.

An extended family can be subdivided into two more types. A vertically extended
family pertains to a family which consists of three generations-grandparent(s),
parent(s), and child(ren). On the other hand, horizontally extended family is
composed of two or more family nuclei, of whom the oldest members belong to the
generation of the parents. A family with uncles, aunts, parents, children, and
cousins living in the same residence is an example of a horizontally extended
family. With time, the institution of family has transformed in many ways. The
prevalence of separated couples with children who primary paved the way to the
formation of reconstituted families. A reconstituted family, also known as blended
family, is the constitution of two adults who have children from previous
relationships. Cinderella's family is an example.

Family and Household

- People often jumble the terms "family" and "household." A family is
different from a household, for the former requires close relation (by blood
or by law) among its members. Household, on the other hand, is a term used
by census bureaus to refer to the set of individuals, related or unrelated by
blood, who share a common residence.

According to UN, households can be classified into four types: single, nuclear,
extended, and composite. In a single household, an individual lives in solitude.
Being a part of a single household does not necessarily mean that an individual
does not belong in a family. There are many probable reasons for an individual to
be in a single household. He/she may have experienced a death or separation in
his/her family or he/she may have personally chosen to be a recluse. The nuclear
household, on the other hand, consists of a single family nucleus. A nuclear family
without house helpers is considered as a nuclear household.

Extended household, as what UN defines, is a household. Consisting of any

one of the following:

1 A single family nucleus and other persons related to the nucleus-for example, a
father with child(ren) and other relative(s) or a married couple with other
relative(s) only
2. Two or more family nuclei related to each other without any other persons. For
example, two or more married couples with child(ren) only
3. Two or more family nuclei related to each other plus other persons related to at
least one of the nuclei-for example, two or more married couples with other
relative(s) only
4. Two or more persons related to each other, none of whom constitutes a family
nucleus
The most complicated type of household is called the composite household. It
consists of any of the following:

1. A single family nucleus plus other persons, some of whom are related to the
nucleus and some of whom are not, for example, mother with child(ren) and other
relatives and nonrelatives
2. A single family nucleus plus other persons, none of whom is related to the
nucleus-for example, father with child(ren) and nonrelatives
3. Two or more family nuclei related to each other plus other persons. Some of
whom are related to at least one of the nuclei and some of whom are not related to
any of the nuclei-for example, two or more couples with other relatives and
nonrelatives only
4. Two or more family nuclei related to each other plus other persons, none of
whom is related to any of the nuclei-for example, two or more married couples,
one or more of which with child(ren) and nonrelatives
5. Two or more family nuclei not related to each other, with or without any other
person
6. Two or more persons related to each other but none of whom a family nucleus,
plus other unrelated persons
7. Nonrelated persons only

The Filipino Family in the Context of Globalization and Modernization

Filipino families are known for their close-knit relationship and strong
attachment. Values of respect, love, and honor for the family are deeply embedded
in the Filipino culture. Deviance to the norms of the family may cause negative
outcomes.

With the advent of globalization, family structure and arrangement have now
been reconstructed. In the past decades, there has been an increase in the number
of Filipinos leaving their families to become overseas Filipino Workers (OFWS).
According to Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), almost
two million OFWs leave the country every year since 2011. The number is
constantly increasing as time goes by.

The process of modernization and urbanization has also transformed the

Filipino family structure. Because of the thought that the cities have more or better
opportunities for employment and education, young Filipinos tend to migrate or
move away from the residence of their families. This migration creates different
outcomes for them. In the cities, the immigrants gain a wider network with diverse
people. They become free from the strong influence of traditional values in
choosing their future. Unlike this, in many provinces, the older members of the
family have a strong influence on the decisions a young Filipino makes-including
his/her partner or life choices. Given the distance between the immigrants and their
families, the former gets to decide for his/her own future-the partner he/she will
choose, or if he/she wants to form a family nucleus of his/her own.

4. Kinship in Politics
- Kinship is present in all societies: thus, it is universal. It played significant
roles
 - And influenced the cultural life and economic activities during the early
times. The members of a kinship strongly identified to the behavioral rules
of conduct. Which created enduring and cooperative relationships among the
group. In early times, it is possible that interactions happened to two
unrelated individuals as societies as long as they needed to convert the
strangers in some metaphorical kin. Rituals could be done to ceremonially
adopt a stranger or non-kin for him/her to be part of the group.

However, in a modern society, the behavioral codes are called a system of

law. The legal system is the basis of interaction, like economic or political
activities for the majority of the people. With the development of constitution, the
interactions and relationships of people are no longer kin-based. Thus, families and
clans in politics are already ignored.

From the point of view of modernity, the kin-based or family-oriented

economic and political organizations are corrupted (since control of resources tend
to be based on personal whims and caprices) or inefficient, considering the
complexity of advanced society. The tendency of the leaders of the clan or kinship
group is to favor their immediate family members. But with the imposition of
modern political structure by the colonizers, the clan leaders or respected leaders of
the kinship group (e.g. datu or sultan) were the ones who occupied the local
government position (barangay/barrio and the pueblo), Over time, these clan
leaders have galvanized their power and perpetuated their authority and influence,
leading them to be the local elite in the current times.