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Cultural Anthropology
by Nancy Bonvillain Chapter 9
Marriage and Family
“Kinship systems and family
arrangements are basic elements in all
societies (Bonvillain 2006:222).”
“Anthropologists tend to make a
distinction between family and
household, although people often use the
two words interchangeably. A household
refers to a group of people occupying a
common dwelling… As you read in
Chapter 8, members of families are
related either through descent
(consanguines) or marriage (affines)
Bonvillain 2006:222).”
“A useful starting definition of family is
one given by anthropologist Kathleen
Gough (1975:52). She defines the family
as a “married couple or other group of
adult kinfolk who co-operate
economically and in the upbringing of
children, and all or most of whom share a
common dwelling Bonvillain 2006:223).”
“All societies contain units recognized as
families, but there are differences in the
ways in which families are formed
Bonvillain 2006:223).”
“There is some debate in the field about
whether marriage and the family are
universal constructs Bonvillain
2006:224).”
Patrilineal- descent and inheritance
traced through men
Matrilineal- descent and inheritance
traced through women
Social fatherhood- may or maynot be the
same as biological paternity… man who
fulfills the responsibilities of parenting,
just as stepparents and adoptive parents
are social parents.
Nuclear family- consists of one or more
parents and their children, although
another relative, such as a grandparents
or an unmarried sibling of one of the
parents, may reside in the household for
a time
Single-parent families
Extended families consist of 3 or more
generations of people, for example,
parents, children, and grandparents
“Anthropologists as Expert Witnesses”
How are anthropologists different from
psychologists?
Joint family- family consisting of siblings
with their spouses and children, sharing
work and resources.
 “Many anthropologists favor understanding the incest
taboo as a means of ensuring survival by forcing people to
make alliances with others outside the nuclear family.
This “marry out or die out” theory emphasizes that
marriage within a small unit will lead over time to the
isolation and genetic homogeneity of the group, which
makes it more vulnerable to population loss or even
extinction.
 Mating outside the nuclear family reduces this risk and
also leads to the formation of social alliances and bonds of
reciprocity with other people. Bonvillain 2006:229).”
Class = social group usu. Determined on
the basis of a combination of birth and
achievement
Caste = social grouping whose
membership is determined at birth and is
generally inflexible
Monogamy = two people in a marriage
Polygamy = three or more people in a
marriage
Serial monogamy = two or more spouses
in a lifetime (but no at the same time)
 Polygny = marriage between man and 2 or more women
 Polyandry = marriage between woman and 2 or more men
 Sororal polygyny = marriage between a man and two or
more women who are sisters
 Ghost marriage = marriage practice among the Nuer of
Sudan in which a widow marries her dead husband’s
brother and in which the children ensuing from the
second marriage are said to be the children of the first,
dead husband.
Same-sex marriage
Bridewealth = presents given by the
husband’s family to the wife’s kin before,
during, or after wedding ceremony
Brideservice = a period of months or
years before or after marriage during
which the husband performs labor for his
wife’s parents
Dowry = gifts given by the wife’s family
to the married couple or to the husband’s
kin before, during or after the wedding
ceremony
 Arranged marriage = marriages that are arranged
by the parents or other relatives of the bride
and groom
 Courtship = period prior to marriage when a
couple tests attraction to and compatibility with
each other
 Residence rules = rules that stipulate where a
couple will reside after their marriage
 Matrilocal residence = pattern for residence
after marriage in which the couple lives with or
near the wife’s family
Uxorilocal = living with or near the wife’s
parents
Patrilocal residence = pattern of
residence after marriage in which the
couple lives with or near the husband’s
relatives
Virilocal = living with or near the
husband’s parents
Avunculocal residence = patterns of
residence after marriage in which the
couple lives with or near the husband’s
mother’s brother
 Bilocal residence = patterns of residence after
marriage in which the couple alternates
between living with the wife’s kin and the
husband’s kin
 Neolocal residence = pattern of residence after
marriage in which the couple establishes a new,
independent household separate from their
relatives
 Internal warfare = warfare between closely
situated villages or communities
 External warfare = warfare that takes place at
some distance from home communities,
regarding warriors’ absence from their homes
for extended periods of time
Levirate = marriage preference rule in
which a widow marries her decreased
husband’s brother
Sororate = marriage between a widower
and his decreased wife’s sister