2939: Kinship System pt 2: Parallel Cousins Jan 7, 2025
This is the second and final set of primary kinship systems, which distinguishes cousins based not only on gender individually, but on the gender-dynamic of the generation above.
Iroquois System:
The Iroquois system distinguishes between cross and parallel cousins. These terms are relevant for later categories.
Parallel cousins are children of a parent’s same-sex sibling (e.g. a mother’s sister’s child) while cross cousins are those of a parent’s opposite-sex siblings.In this system, only cross cousins are distinguished as cousins, but parallel cousins use the same terminology as siblings.
Crow System: / Omaha System:
The Crow system and the Omaha system are virtually the same; both use a system cross- and parallel cousins, but the former is matrilineal and the latter is patrilineal. Both are found primarily in languages native to northern and western North America.
In the Crow system, parallel cousins are, like in the Iroquois system, known by the same terminology as siblings, but cross-cousins are not uniform. A mother’s brother’s children are called ‘son’ and ‘daughter’, but conversely on the father’s side cross-cousins and uncles are known as ‘father’ and likewise ‘father’s sister’ in feminine.
The opposite is true in the Omaha system where there are no generational differences on the mother’s side, i.e. just ‘mother’ and ‘mother’s brother’ even for cross-cousins, but patrilineal cross-cousins (i.e. one’s father’s sister’s children) are known as ‘niece’ and ‘nephew’.
In both systems, all uncles and aunts are not distinguished from parents, except ‘father’s sister’ and ‘mother’s brother’.
2938: Kinship Systems: Not Patrilineal nor Matrilineal
The kinship system is a particular collection of terms for one's familial relatives. There are some languages that involve different orders, but these are three of the primary six, although none have the same way of denoting cousins respectively, none are concerned with matrilineal or patrilineal, as will be seen in the next set.
Eskimo System:
The Eskimo system is primarily used in many Western and industrialized societies. It emphasizes nuclear family relationships and distinguishes between close and distant relatives. The system uses specific terms for mother, father, brother, sister, as opposed to aunt, uncle, and cousin, but does not differentiate between maternal or paternal sides for siblings or cousins.
Hawaiian System:
The Hawaiian system is one of the simplest and is commonly used in many Polynesian societies. It categorizes relatives by their generational and gender relations. There is no distinction between maternal and paternal sides of the family. For example, the terms ‘father’ and ‘uncle’ might be used interchangeably or there may only be one term to begin with, and likewise between siblings and cousins.
Sudanese System:
The Sudanese system is the most complex and features a large number of distinct terms for each kinship relationship. Each individual relative (uncle, aunt, cousin, grandson etc.) has a unique term depending on their gender, generation, and whether they are on the mother's or father's side. While kinship systems don’t usually consider married relationships, many Sudanese kinship systems will likewise have specific terms for types of in-laws, as opposed to phrases like used in English. This system is typically found in many African and Middle Eastern societies and provides detailed distinctions between all types of kin.
2937: Kinship Systems: Introduction
A kinship system is the collection of terms for one's familial relatives, though usually it does not consider in-laws. Lewis H. Morgan describes 6 major kinship systems, which in 1871 he named largely after New World languages (Eskimo, Hawaiian, Iroquois, Crow, and Omaha), and also Sudanese. That means his native English is classified under the Eskimo-kinship system, wherein the linguistic emphasis is on the nuclear family and there are no distinctions between the patrilineal and matrilineal sides.
Some systems are even simpler, including the Hawaiian system which only distinguished gender and generation, but not the nuclear family so all siblings and cousins, as well as parents and uncles/aunts are known by the same terms respectively.
These will be more explained in-depth in future posts, but as much as these are linguistic phenomena, they are ultimately more anthropological. Many places have seen change over time; English and Italian both use the Eskimo-kinship system, but Old English and Latin used the Sudanese-kinship system, where almost every single type of family member has its own term, but more on that in future.