Ch. 5 Flashcards
Define: Kinship
refers to anthropological, cross-cultural study of family composition, marriage, and descent patterns
Define: Ethnographic Present
use of the present tense to describe a culture, although the description may refer to situations that existed in the past
Define: Bilateral Kinship
a system in which individuals trace their descent through both parents
Define: Nuclear Family
the family group consisting of parents and their biological or adopted children
Define: Matrilineal Kinship
a system of descent in which persons are related to their kin through the mother only
Define: Patrilineal Kinship
a system of descent in which persons are related to their kin through the father only
Define: Brideservice
the requirement that when a couple barrie, the groom must work for the bride’s parents for some specified time
Define: Matrilineage
a lineage that is from by tracing descent in the female line
Define: Extended family
a family group based on blood relations of 3 or more generations
Define: Patrilineage
a lineage that is formed by tracing descent in the male line
Define: Incest Taboo
a rule that prohibits sexual relations among kin of certain categories, such as brothers or sisters, parents and children or in some cases, cousins
Define: Clans
Unilineal descent groups whose members claim descent from a common ancestor
Define: Exogamy
a rule that requires a person to marry someone outside his or her own group
Define: Endogamy
a rule that requires a person to marry someone inside his or her own group
Define: Bridewealth
the valuables that a groom or his family are expected or obligated to present to the bride’s family
Define: Dowry
the goods and valuables a bride’s family supplies to the groom’s family or to the couple
Define: Polygamy
a form of marriage in which a person is permitted to have more than one spouse
Define: Polygyny
a form of marriage in which a man is permitted to have more than one wife
Define: Polyandry
a form of marriage in which a woman is permitted to have more than one husband
Define: Partible Inheritance
a form of inheritance in which the goods or property of a family is divided among the heirs
Define: Impartible Inheritance
a form of inheritance in which family property is passed undivided to one heir
