Kinship System v. Social Group

In Barbara Miller’s textbook, Cultural Anthropology in a Globalizing World, the term kinship system is defined as the predominant form of kin relationships in a culture and the kinds of behavior involved. The term social group is defined as a cluster of people beyond the domestic unit who are usually related on the grounds other than kinship.

So how can and how do we differentiate between the two on a daily basis?

We can first take a look at kinship and how different cultures create kinship. A key component is sharing. Sharing a child with someone is a universal form of kinship, but cultural kinship can change based on shared foods.

In many cultures, it is common to breast-feed a child or it will not recognize its mother. Once the baby is weaned in cultures such as Asia and Pacific Island areas, it is common to then share cooked rice. This is considered as special bond between mother and child and also sets the basis for kinship rule. If a child breastfeeds from its mother, it cannot marry another child breastfed from the same mother.

Another form of sharing is adoption. This is defined as a formal and permanent form of child transfer. There are many reasons why parents share their child with someone else. In the Maasai tribe of East Africa, a woman that has several children may give one to a friend or elderly woman in the tribe that has no child to care for. Even though there is a sharing-based kinship, the adopted child might seek to find their real family.

Another form of kinship is ritually established kinship such as a godparent. This is a common ritual amongst Christians and Catholics worldwide. The reason people choose a godparent is for a sense of comfort should anything happen to the parent. There are also financial ties. The godparent that is chosen needs to have a good financial status in order to care for the child.

The third basis for forming a type of kinship or close relationship is through marriage or marriage-like relationships. Although marriage is defined differently by each person you ask, a standard definition is the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc. This definition can also include man and man or woman and woman. This concept of marriage exists in all cultures even though it takes different forms and serves different functions.

Kinship is forever changing and households no longer follow such standard traditions. People are pushing marriage until a later age and focusing more on career and education first. In some cultures, the trilineal kinship is declining and mothers and fathers are sharing head of the household.

On the flip side, being part of a social group might be just as important (or even more important) than being a part of a kinship. The social group in today’s mind is about fitting in and feeling wanted. When someone is included in a social group, whether it be a primary or secondary group, they have a sense of rights and responsibilities to that group. Social groups are informal (face-to-face or friend groups) or formal (where membership is required). People tend to feel social stratification when they are the head of their social group. Social stratification appeared with the surfacing of agriculture, but is now universal.

Based on the book and the films we saw in class, we know that defining “class” structure is still present today. Even though someone is born in one class, they can move to another class level. An example is someone that is born into lower class and worked their way up to high class by the end of their lifetime.

People all throughout the world want to be a part of the higher class. It’s not just specific to America. Although we do tend to place more emphasis on defining each class, Asian cultures want to be the best of the best as well. The difference between American and Asian culture is Americans tend to focus on themselves and stepping on the little person to get ahead in life, whereas, Asian cultures focus on a unified group helping each other achieve the same goal together.

Many new social movements have surfaced around the world. With the new technologies, activity is improved through the availability of cell phones, Internet, email, blogs, and social networking sites. Social groups can easily stay in contact with each other through these technologies.