Cultural, Social And Political Institutions 3721k

CULTURAL, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS

Kinship Ties and Social Networks

The bond of blood which binds people together in a group is called kinship.

• According to the Dictionary of Anthropology, kinship system involves socially recognized relationships based on supposed and actual genealogical bonds.

• On the other hand, a social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (individuals or organizations), sets of a partner or dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. It represents relationships and flows between people, groups, and organizations.

The Filipino Concept of Kinship •According to F. Landa Jocano, "Kinship characterizes the overall framework of community relations as it enables Filipinos to map their relationships and be able to work together harmoniously. It lies deep in the heart of every Filipino as it forms the core of the Filipino social organization. It significantly influences the formation, structure, and functions of institutions, relationships, and values of the Filipinos.”

The Filipino Concept of Kinship There is no generic Filipino term for kinship as each language group in the country created its terminology, but the term kamaganak or magkakamag-anak, from the Tagalogbased language, is widely used. •Kinship helps Filipino people in understanding their relationships with others and be able to interact with each other with little or without any difficulty.

KINSHIP BY BLOOD

Kinship by Blood or Consanguineous Kinship The bond of blood is called consanguineous kinship. The consanguineous kin is related through blood. The relationship between the parents and their kids, and that among siblings, is consanguineous kinship.

Thus, son and daughter, brother and sister, uncle and aunt, nephew and niece, and cousins are consanguineous kin, that is, related through blood. With this connection, it can be pointed out that blood bond may be actual as well as supposed. In polyandrous tribes, the real father of a child is unknown. An adopted child is treated as if it were one's own biological child. As a result, blood relationship may be established not only on biological basis but also by social recognition.

Genogram •A genogram is a graphical representation of one's family and its ' relationship to one another. •It is widely used in medicine, sociology, and genealogy to determine medical, psychological, sociological, or historical patterns of health and behavior.

Below are the basic symbols used in making a genogram. You should know, however, that more symbols are available to use for more complicated family relationships.

In making a genogram, make sure to note the following: •children must be drawn from oldest to youngest and from left to right, respectively, •one level or layer presents one generation, •the shapes corresponding to family always represent sex, not gender.

Organization in Society Descent System •A descent group is any social group wherein hip depends on a common descent from a real or mythical ancestor. This system of acknowledged social parentage, which varies per society, is where a person may claim kinship ties with another. •If there is no limitation on the recognition of kinship, everybody would be kin to everyone else. But in most societies, some restrictions are imposed on the perception of common ancestry so that an individual regards many of his associates as not his kin. •The importance of descent comes from its use as a means for one person to assert rights, privileges, duties, and status with another person who may be related to the first, either because one is an ancestor of the other or because the two acknowledge common ancestors.

Descent System • Descent has limited influence when rights to succession, inheritance, or residence follow kinship lines. One method of limiting the recognition of kinship is to emphasize relationships through one parent only. Such is called a unilineal kinship system. There are two types of this system a. patrilineal systems, in which relationships reckoned through the father are emphasized, and b. matrilineal systems, in which relationships reckoned through the mother are emphasized. In a bilateral descent, all descendants of an ancestor enjoy hip of a common descent group by any combination of male or female linkages.

Make a genogram of your family. Try to look over the net for more genogram symbols that may describe any unique relationship within your family (e.g. engaged but not married couple, adopted children, twins).

KINSHIP BY MARRIAGE

Kinship by Marriage • Marriage is a formal and legal union of two people as partners in life. • It is the universal social institution that promotes procreation and establishes the bonds that are the basis of the household, family, and kinship system.

Kinship by Marriage • Marriage is a legally recognized social contract between two people, traditionally based on a sexual relationship, and implying a permanence of the union. The statuses the spouses acquire go through from institution to companionship that may endure and sustain in their life cycle (Burgess and Locke, 1945). They play complementary roles to meet their material, sexual, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs for their survival.

Kinship by Marriage • Marriage gives the offspring a position in society as he or she may be categorized as a legitimate son or daughter. It establishes continuing connections between the kin of each party. It is always symbolically marked in some way, usually a public ceremony.

Cross-cultural Marriage A cross-cultural marriage is a marriage between two people from different cultures.

"Love is blind."

"Love is blind.” It does not care about race, color, or culture. We see more and more marriages of people from different cultures nowadays.

In marrying a person from the same country, distinct differences in family life, values, educational attainment, ideas, and ways of living already exist. By comparison, marrying a person from a different country has even more differences. Examples: A traditional Ifugao man is married to a liberated Catholic woman. A Japanese woman is married to an English man. In a cross-cultural marriage, it is important to respect your spouse's native culture and deal with your differences in a loving manner.

Here are some tips for avoiding challenges in cross-cultural marriage/relationships: embrace the opportunity,understand, respect, and compromise, get first-hand experience of each other's cultures, on both cultures to your children,think positively about your differences,maintain with family, and when possible, travel together.

Monogamy vs. Polygamy

By the number of spouses, a marriage can either be a monogamy or polygamy.

Post-marital Residency Rules After marriage comes a new chapter in a couple's lives. One of the primary concerns couples usually are faced with is where to live. Kinship system, economic concerns, and personal factors are among the determining factors for residency among newlyweds. Although not a cultural certainty especially in this modern age, newly married couples opt to live with existing households than establish their own. Now, comes the question: Whose family is favored or culturally prescribed?

Find a newly-wed couple and ask them a few questions based on the lesson. Using the table below and the ideas acquired from your interview, write the common problems and possible solutions of a married life.