Social structure is one of the most important subdisciplines of Ethnology. It is about relations between people. That can be relatives, close friends, colleagues or acquaintances. Relationships are fundamental for everyone and give a certain structure in our lives.
Ethnologists had always a big interest in relations, especially in kinship. Kinship is the web of social relationships, especially blood relationships. In investigation of societies without a government they found that kinship granted the societies a basic order. Therefore they concluded that the organisation of the society wasn’t maintained through governments, but naturally through kinship. Since the 1960s the main focus of social structure shifted from kinship to networks in general. Not only relatives but friends and other relationships are important too and that was the start of the investigation of the whole network of a person.
I’d like to stick with the kinship today and will reveal some of the presumptions of the global north on how kinship works.
Form of Address: We have terms to address our relatives like our mother, the sister of our mother (aunt), the daughter of our mother (sister) and so on. But those aren’t the same in every society. The Iroquois, native americans, for example address not only the mother, but her sister as mother too (instead of aunt). And the aunt’s children are addressed brothers and sisters instead of cousins. Other societies in turn differentiate more than we do with having two terms weather it is an uncle related by blood or by marriage.
Relatedness: This brings us to the next point: Relatedness. The two typical forms of relatedness is either by blood or by marriage. In other societies men don’t have to have the same blood to be blood brothers but a special bond. In the global north meanwhile the contours blur as well with the concepts of blended families and adoption. There are three ways do be related: by nature, by nurture and by law.
Descendence: You know all the relatives from your father’s side as well as from your mother’s side, don’t you? Not everyone does. In some societies the lineage of only one parent counts, so they either know the ancestors of their father or those of their mother. Some can even choose which lineage they would like to follow.
Marriage rules: Some years ago, living in monogamy was the only option. People weren’t able to imagine that polygamy is just another way to lead a love life although it was and is a common practice in some societies. Another way is having an open relationship, that one is trending in young adults life of the global north and I think that can absolutely function with good communication and should be accepted as a lifestyle.
Residence rule: Getting into a relationship, starting a life together in your own apartment, maybe even in a new town? Not as normal as you believe it is! Moving into the town of the man’s family or into the household of the woman’s family can be the norm as well. If the Bororos, indigenous people of Brazil marry, the husband moves into the house of the wife’s family, where multiple generations live.
Gender: Another aspect that takes a turn in our society is gender. Whereas in the past there were only two gender, nowadays exists a third gender that is neither man nor woman. Having two genders and not more is as well a european concept.
With that, I’d like to invite you to think about the presumptions you have about kinship and other relationships and decide again if they are appropriate or not.