Unilineal Groups

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So when discussing unilineal groups and nonlineal groups, something that one has to keep in mind is what cultures each descends from. Unilineal groups consist of lineages, clans, phratries, and moieties. Lineages are a form of lineal descent from an ancestor, ancestry, or pedigree. An example of lineage are people who have the same relatives from 100 years ago. Clans are a close-knit and interrelated families, and an example of this can be found in families in the Scottish Highlands. Phratries are a kinship group constituting an intermediate division in the primitive’s structure of the Hellenic tribe or phyle. Moieties consists of one of two units into which a tribe or community is divided on the basis of unilineal descent. Nonlineal …show more content…

Includes cognatic (ambilineal) and bilateral descent. Nonlineal groups consist of cognatic/ambilineal descent, and bilateral descent. Cognatic/ambilineal descent groups are what affiliates a person to a kin group through either the male or the female line. Bilateral descent is where individuals equally emphasize their mother's kin and their father's kin. The Hopi of northeastern Arizona had about fifty exogamous matriclans, some of which are now extinct. Each can is divided into different matrilineages, within villages or pueblos. Pueblos are a type of family home for clans, communal living at its finest. It is tradition for the male of the marriage to join the extended family of his wife, but they are not necessarily accepted into the family. The husband’s true home if with his mother’s extended family. The woman of matrilineages usually live close to one another, whereas the men of matrilineages move between the households of their wives. Patrilineality in China has been very influential to their customs and culture. One thing that Asian culture tends to emphasize is their ancesters, who they trace back through their father’s lineages. Property to inheretence, family names, responsibilities to honor their ancestors, obligations to others—all these and more were passed down from the fathers to their

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