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 kamag-
anak or magkakamag-anak, from the Tagalog-
based 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 members'
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 members

always represent sex, not gender.
 Organization in Society

Descent System
•A descent group is any social group wherein membership 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
membership 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, pass
on both cultures to your children,think
positively about your differences,maintain
contact 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.