Discuss different forms of kinship system in India. (UPSC CSE Mains 2021 - Sociology, Paper 2)
Kinship refers to how individuals are related to one another (by blood, marriage or adoption). Kinship networks traditionally would be used to create the family unit by giving the individuals a reason as to why they should remain interconnected.
Types of Kinship
Kinship can be explained in following two mains types:
- Affinal Kinship - Affinal kinship is a bond established as soon as a marriage takes place. Here a man and a woman both enter into new relation not only with each other but also with other members in their family.
For examples a person after marriage not only becomes a husband or wife but also becomes brother-in-law, son-in-law and sister-in-law, daughter-in-law and all other family members will be theirs in-laws.
- Consanguineous Kinship - The difference between Consanguineous and Affinal kinship is about the blood relation consanguineous kin are related through blood whereas Affinal kin are related through marriage. The child other than biological relation i.e. through adoption, who is socially recognised as a member of a family is also a consanguineous kin.
For example bond between parents and their siblings. The family that includes son, brother, sister, uncle, nephew and cousins are consanguineous kin.
Further Kinship is also classified on the basis of nearness of distance relatives which are described below.
- Primary Kins - These kins have very close relation or direct relation between each other. There are total eight direct primary kin relations form between Father, mother, Husband, wife, son, daughter, brother and sister.
- Secondary Kins - Secondary Kins have relation with the primary kins. In other word they are not the primary kins but are the primary kin of the primary kin. For example Uncle (Father’s brother), he is primary kin of father but father is primary kin of his own children. So uncle is the secondary kin to the children.
- Tertiary Kins - Here the tertiary kins are the secondary kin of our primary kin and the primary kin of our secondary kin. Like the wife of brother-in-law (sala) is tertiary kin because brother-in-law is secondary kin and his wife is the primary kin of brother-in-law similarly.
Similarly the brother-in-law of our brother is the tertiary kin because the brother is our primary kin and his brother-in-law is the secondary kin of our brother.
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