Matrilineality and Kinship Unlike most cultures which are patrilineal, the Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea are matrilineal. In the book, The Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea by Annette Weiner, the kinship of these people is matrilineal. In our culture we have a patrilineal system. The father is the one that has a say about the children, the land, and when the father marries they move into the father’s house. However, with the Trobrianders it is quite different. The mother and her children are all part of the same kinship or matrilineage, the father of these children belongs to his own matrilineage, that of his mother.
In our culture the father has the most say in who we marry, how we are disciplined, and the way we are raised. In the
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Love spell are believed to work to cause one to fall in love with a lady or a male and they are believed to make a person beautiful even though they are considered ugly. In the case of a death in the matrilineage many of the men who are not a part of the matrilineage are called upon to help out with the preparation of banana leaf bundles. Their wives are in charge of making these skirts and bundles while their husband is in charge of finding and trading for the leaves. Even the Chief must partake in this if one of his wives had a death in the matrilineage. This is a form of exchange, under normal circumstances the Chief or husband would be receiving yams from his wife’s matrilineage. Yet in the case of death is the Chief/husband is required to give back to his wife’s matrilineage.
Trobrianders use yams in all aspects of their lives. They use them economically, ritually, and as food. Ritually they use them in marriage when the bride’s parents provide yams for the wedding. The couple that is getting married eat the yams to declare their marriage as well as their future in yam growing. Yams can also help give political power if the wives matrilineage give support with the growing of the yams. Yams are the major food of the Trobriand
Both, men and women were controlled by their fathers, but, men were given certain liberties that were not given to women. For instance, Susan Socolow mentioned that “daughters had to be controlled, and their marriages arranged.... ... middle of paper ... ... In Latin America Women: Historical Perspectives, edited by Asuncion Lavrin, 129-149.
The practice of matrilineality in the Americas did not imply matriarchy but served as a means of reckoning kinship. Matrilineal ties helped link extended families into clans and this ensured their
The social and political organization of the Basseri and the Nuer are very much different. The Basseri’s social organization is based upon that of nuclear families; they are also neolocal, meaning that upon marriage a couple starts their own nuclear family in a new tent. After marriage, in order for the couple to begin a new household, the husband usually receives part of his father’s herd and at times, if not given any animals, the husband can work and receive animals as a payment. During the spring, the nomadic tribes can be supported in large numbers in a single camp; while during the winter, camps are setup in smaller groups. The Basseri reckon descent patrilineally where inheritance is usually from father to son. A woman bestows membership rights to her own tribe or her offspring. The Basseri consider themselves one unified tribe because they are all subsumed under the authority of a single leader, the chief of all the Basseri.
harshly for the same act. Our society influences the patriarchal lines in which our sons are
In both cultures, grandparents and elders are highly respected, the father holds most of the power and is the decision maker of the household, the mother is the caretaker of the household, and the children’s only responsibility is to go to school and receive an education. This is the case in almost every Hispanic family because they tend to keep traditional values. This hierarchy also occurs in traditional American families. It was always thought that the “absence of a father is destructive to children, particularly boys, because it means that children will lack the economic resources, role model, discipline, structure, and guidance that a father provides.” (Biblarz & Raftery, 1999) However, this is no longer the case. The differences between American family structures can be most clearly seen when separated by socioeconomic class. Now, studies have shown that “children from single-mother families do approximately as well as children from two-biological-parent families.” (Biblarz & Raftery, 1999) This encourages mothers to believe that a single-mother household is still successful. Therefore, the mother becomes the decision maker and caretaker. This concept also applies for opposite genders. In single-father households, the father is not only the decision maker but the caretaker as well. These family structural differences make way for another similarity in Hispanic and American cultures. Faith
Men didn’t believe women could manage their personal affairs. Once a woman’s husband passed away, she was considered unable to manage her own life and was assigned a guardian to oversee her various affairs by a council or court system. This acting guardian was also assigned to her children and would oversee the affairs of the children until they turned legal age. Since the woman lost control of her children, it was the guardian who made decisions based upon what he thought was best for her children. The father of her deceased husband often had more to say about the children’s future than the mother. The only time the mother had full control of her children were if the children were illegitimate (Weisner 231).
I can relate to this because in my culture, the father is the head, protector, provider and spokesman for the family. So, it wasn’t surprising to imagine a father forcefully or politely taking over a conversation involving a disciplinary action/decision for his daughter. I was curious to learn about gender role expectations in Mexican and Latino families.
Native Americans established primary relationships either through a clan system, descent from a common ancestor, or through a friendship system, much like tribal societies in other parts of the world. In the Choctaw nation, " Moieties were subdivided into several nontotemic, exogamous, matrilineal 'kindred' clans, called iksa." (Faiman-Silva, 1997, p.8) The Cheyenne tirbe also traced their ancestry through the woman's lineage. Moore (1996, p. 154) shows this when he says "Such marriages, where the groomcomes to live in the bride's band, are called 'matrilocal'." Leacock (1971, p. 21) reveals that "...prevailing opinion is that hunting societies would be patrilocal.... Matrilineality, it is assumed, followed the emergence of agriculture...." Leacock (p. 21) then stated that she had found the Montagnais-Naskapi, a hunting society, had been matrilocal until Europeans stepped in. "The Tanoan Pueblos kinship system is bilateral. The household either is of the nuclear type or is extended to include relatives of one or both parents...." (Dozier, 1971, p. 237)
In my opinion, parents are the result of a young person’s actions. Parents or caregivers have the biggest influence in their children's lives. I think that the way you raise your children will reflect who they become and their morals. Growing up, a child learns by copying what their parents do for example for me, I got the habit of biting my nails from my mother. Cooking, cleaning, driving, are taught to us by our parents, therefore; children learn to carry on those skills they learn and use them in the future.
12. For most matrilineal descent groups like the Iroquois or the Yanomami, which is the important family relationship that these systems support or promote? In this type of kinship system which
Really, our parents know more than us. They have lived longer than us and therefore, know more than us. We should always obey our parents because this is what God says and also because that is what is right.
In Ashanti tribe, family and the mother’s side are most important to this particular group. This tribe believe that child often inherit their father’s soul while flesh and blood is received from the mother. “Instrument such as talking drums are used for learning the Ashanti language and spreading news and used in ceremonies. This instrument is very important to the Ashanti and there are very important rituals involved in them”. (Vollbrecht, Judith A., 1979).
Traditional arranged marriages were arranged by the parents. They arranged the child's future spouse with little or no input from the child being taken as having final authority ("Arranged marriage"). If the child refuses the choice of their parents, the parents may choose another possible spouse or the child may be punished or disowned (or in rare cases, killed accidentally in the heat of passion or intentionally with legal authority to do so). In traditional arranged marriages, the child had no real input in the wedding. They have no say in who they will marry.
Love is a powerful force, grabbing one and making him or her do drastic acts
Lingenfelter, S.. (1985). [Review of A Critique of the Study of Kinship]. American Ethnologist, 12(2), 372–374. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/644228