Eskimo kinship (also referred to as Lineal kinship) is a kinship system used to define family. Identified by Louis Henry Morgan in his 1871 work Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the Human Family, the Eskimo system is one of the six major kinship systems (Eskimo, Hawaiian, Iroquois, Crow, Omaha, and Sudanese).

Kinship system

The Eskimo system places no distinction between patrilineal and matrilineal relatives, instead focusing on differences in kinship distance (the closer the relative is, the more distinguished). The system also emphasizes the nuclear family, identifying directly only the mother, father, brother, and sister (lineal relatives). All other relatives are grouped together into categories. It uses both classificatory and descriptive terms, differentiating between gender, generation, lineal relatives (realtives in the direct line of descent), and collateral relatives (blood relatives not in the direct line of descent).

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.

Occurrence

The Eskimo system is comparatively rare among the world's kinship systems and is at present used in most advanced Western societies (such as those of modern-day Europe or North America). A small number of food-foraging peoples also use it (such as the !Kung tribe of Africa).

The system is largely used in bilineal societies where the dominant relatives are the immediate family. In most Western societies, the nuclear family represents an independent social and economic group, further emphasizing the immediate kinship. The tendency in Western societies to live apart and interact with extended family only on a ceremonial basis also reinforces this.

Terminology

While the term "Eskimo" has now dropped out of favor and is generally considered to be somewhat offensive, keep in mind that the system was named during the Victorian era. The Alaskan tribes Morgan referred to are more appropriately referred to as the Inuit (although some Arctic Alaskan groups that do not speak the Inuit language object to being called "Inuit").

See also

• Iroquois kinship
• Family
• Kinship and descent
• Anthropology
• List of anthropologists

Sources & external links

• William Haviland, Cultural Anthropology, Wadsworth Publishing, 2002. ISBN 053427479X
• The nature of kinship
• The Encyclopedia of North American Indians