CULTURAL

SOCIAL AND
POLITICAL
INSTITUTIONS
KINSHIP
 is the web of social relationships that form an
important part of the lives of all humans in all
societies, although its exact meanings even
within this discipline are often debated.
 is the relationship between members of the
same family.
 is by blood relationship
 is the state of having common characteristics
or a common origin
 Types of Kinship
Affinal Kinship
• Relationships based upon marriage or
cohabitation between collaterals (people
treated as the same generation)

Consanguineous Kinship
• Connections between people that are
traced by blood
 KINSHIP BY BLOOD
Descent Systems Kinship
• is reckoned in a number of different ways
around the world, resulting in a variety of
types of descent patterns and kin groups.
Anthropologists frequently use diagrams to
illustrate kinship relationships to make them
more understandable.

In kinship diagrams, one individual is usually

labeled as ego. This is the person to whom all
kinship relationships are referred.
KINSHIP BY BLOOD
 Unilineal Descent

This traces descent only through a

single line of ancestors, male or female.
Both males and females are members of a
unilineal family, but descent links are only
recognized through relatives of one
gender. The two basic forms of unilineal
descent are referred to as patrilineal and
matrilineal.
 Patrilineal Descent
Both males and females belong to
their father's kin group but not their
mother's. However, only males pass
on their family identity to their
children. A woman's children are
members of her husband's patrilineal
line. The red people in the diagram
below are related to each other
patrilineally.
 Matrilineal Descent
The form of unilineal descent that follows a
female line. When using this pattern, individuals are
relatives if they can trace descent through females
to the same female ancestor. While both male and
female children are members of their mother's
matrilineal descent group, only daughters can pass
on the family line to their offspring. The green
people below are related to each other matrilineally.

Bilineal Descent
When both patrilineal and matrilineal descent
principles are combined
 Kinship by Marriage
Marriage is an institution that admits men and
women to family life. Edward Westermarck defined
marriage as the more or less durable connection
between male and female lasting beyond the mere
act of propagation till after the birth of offspring.
Lowie defined it as a relatively permanent bond
between permissible mates. Malinowski defined
marriage as a contract for the production and
maintenance of children. According to Lundberg
Marriage consists of the rules and regulations that
define the rights, duties and privileges of husband
and wife with respect to each other.
 MONOGAMY
is the practice of having only one spouse at one time. In some cases,
monogamy means having only one spouse for an entire life span. Out of
the different types of marriages, monogamy is the only one that is legal
in the United States and in most industrial nations.

Social monogamy: Two persons/creatures that live together, have sex with
one another, and cooperate in acquiring basic resources such as food,
clothes, and money.
Sexual monogamy: Two persons/creatures that remain sexually exclusive
with one another and have no outside sex partners.
Genetic monogamy: Two partners that only have offspring with one
another. Marital monogamy: Marriages of only two people.
Serial monogamy: A series of relationships. One person has only one
partner at a time, and then moves on to another partner after severing the
relationship with the first.
 Polygamy
is a Greek word meaning "The practice of multiple
Marriage". It is a marriage pattern in which an individual is
married to more than one person at a time.

Two different types of Polygamy

Polygyny is the practice of one man having more than one
wife or sexual partner at a time. Ex: Mormonism
Polyandry involves one woman having multiple husbands,
within Polyandry there are many variations on the marriage
style.
* fraternal polyandry (Ex: Tibet and Nepal)
* secondary marriage (Ex: Northern Nigeria)
 Residence Pattern Four
Neolocal Residence is most common with North American
couples. This is where the couple finds their own house,
independent from all family members.
Patrilocal Residence is most commonly used with herding and
farming societies. It’s where the married couple lives with the
husband’s father’s family. By living with the husband’s family, it
lets all the men, (the father, brothers, and sons) continue to
work together on the land.
Matrilocal Residence is most familiar among horticultural
groups. It’s where the couple moves to live where the wife grew
up; usually found with matrilineal kinship systems.
Avunculocal Residence is also related in matrilineal societies
however in this case the couple moves to live with the husband’s
mother’s brother. They live with the most significant man, his
uncle, because it’s who they will later inherit everything from.
 Ritual Kinship
Compadrazgo
Ritual kinship in the form of godparenthood
Parents selected godparents for a child at his or her
baptism, confirmation, and marriage. The godparents were
then tied to the parents as coparents.
Ideally co-parents should be a married couple; they were
preferred because their unions were typically more stable and
they were more likely to be able to provide a home for the
child should the need arise. In most communities, however,
there were not enough couples to serve as godparents for all
children, so single women of good reputation were frequently
chosen. It was important that the person asked should be of
proper character and good standing in the community.
 Family and The Household
Nuclear Family
A family consisting of a married man & woman and their biological children.
The main issue for children is to help them under- stand that their two-
parent, heterosexual family is a fine family, and is one kind among many
other kinds of families
Extended Family
A family where Grandparents or Aunts and Uncles play major roles in the
children’s upbringing. This may or may not include those relatives living with
the children. These family members may be in addition to the child’s parents
or instead of the child’s parents.
Conditionally Separated Families
A family member is separated from the rest of the family. This may be due
to employment far away; military service; incarceration; hospitalization.
They remain significant members of the family.
Transnational family
These families live in more than one country. They may spend part of each
year in their country of origin returning to the U.S. on a regular basis. The
child may spend time being cared for by different family members in each
country
 Politics of Kinship
• Kinship politics is commonly found in tribal societies across the world
where kin genealogy is applied to determine the system of communal
leadership. It is the traditional pattern of bequeathing political power
family members.
• Kinship politics is built based on the classic political principle: blood is
thicker than water. It asserts that power should be distributed among
family members.
• For the sake of family security, power should not be seized from those
who have kinship connections and must be circulated only among those
who are tied by blood.
• Political dynasties have long been present in the Philippine political
structure.

• Political dynasties started emerging after the Philippine Revolution when

the First Republic of the Philippines was established. Over the years,
newer dynasties emerged as some of the initial ones became inactive.
Majority of the positions in the Philippine government are currently held
by members of political dynasties. Notable Philippine political dynasties
include the Aquino and Marcos families.