Eskimo kinship is a category of kinship used to define family organization in anthropology. Identified by Lewis H. Morgan in his 1871 work Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the Human Family, the Eskimo system was one of six major kinship systems (Eskimo, Hawaiian, Iroquois, Crow, Omaha, and Sudanese).[1] The system of English-language kinship terms falls into the Eskimo type.
Joint family
editThe joint family system places no distinction between patrilineal and matrilineal relatives; instead, it focuses on differences in kinship distance (the closer the relative is, the more distinctions are made). The system emphasizes the nuclear family, identifying directly only the mother, father, brother, and sister. All other relatives are grouped together into categories. It uses both classificatory and descriptive terms, differentiating between gender, generation, lineal relatives (relatives in the direct line of descent), and collateral relatives (blood relatives not in the direct line of descent). The Eskimo system is defined by its "cognatic" or "bilateral" emphasis - no distinction is made between patrilineal and matrilineal relatives.
Parental siblings are distinguished only by their sex (aunt, uncle). All children of these individuals are lumped together regardless of sex (cousins). Unlike the Hawaiian system, Ego's parents are clearly distinguished from their siblings.
Usage
editThe Eskimo system is relatively common among the world's kinship systems, at about 10% of the world's societies.[2] It is now common in most Western societies (such as those of Europe or the Americas). In addition, it is found among a small number of food-foraging peoples such as the ǃKung tribe of Africa and the Inuit (Inuit-Yupik) for whom it is named.
The system is widely used in non-unilineal societies, where the dominant relatives are the immediate family. In most Western societies, the nuclear family represents an independent social and economic group, which has caused the emphasis on the immediate kinship. The tendency of families in Western societies to live apart also reinforces this.
Terminology
editThe term Eskimo is considered pejorative in Canada, and has been replaced there by the term Inuit.[3] The former remains in use in Alaska, though less so than in past decades,[4] because the term includes both Inuit and non-Inuit Native Alaskans. In Canada, the term Inuit kinship is therefore widely used instead of Eskimo kinship.
See also
editCitations
edit- ^ Schwimmer, Brian. "Systematic Kinship Terminologies". Retrieved 24 December 2016.
- ^ "The Nature of Kinship - Kin Naming Systems: Part 1". Archived from the original on 11 September 2002.
- ^ Purdy, Chris (27 November 2015). "Expert says 'meat-eater' name Eskimo an offensive term placed on Inuit". Global News.
- ^ Kaplan, Lawrence. "Inuit or Eskimo: Which name to use?". www.uaf.edu. Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
General and cited sources and external links
edit- William Haviland, Cultural Anthropology, Wadsworth Publishing, 2002. ISBN 0-534-27479-X
- "The Nature of Kinship". Archived from the original on 26 June 2001.
- "The Encyclopedia of North American Indians - Eskimo (Yupik/Inupiat/Inuit)". Archived from the original on 24 December 2002.
- "Systematic Kinship Terminologies". University of Manitoba - Department of Anthropology. Archived from the original on 22 April 2001.