UCSP

CULTURAL, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL

INSTITUTIONS
Specific learning outcomes:
1. Understand the variation in families
and marriage practices in society and in
other cultures.
2. Conduct a survey on people’s
perspectives about marriage.
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Kinship, marriage, and the household

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1. Who are your relatives?

2. Who do you consider as your relative?
3. What do you call:
• the brother of your mother?
• the wife of your uncle?
• the children of your mother’s brother?
• Your mother’s male first cousin?
• Your mother’s first cousin’s children?
• Your first cousin’s children?
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Kinship means: “the various systems of social

organization that societies have structured on
principles derived from the universal human
experiences of mating, birth, and
nurturance” (Lavenda & Schults, 2003, p.148).
This is a social network composed of relatives
that provides support and protection to its
members as rights and obligations are
defined through the establishment of kinship
(Haviland, et.al.,2011)
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Relationships of people are established by

specifically clarifying their descent group. This
is “a permanent social unit whose members
claim common ancestry”( Kottak, 2010, p.
148).

• Group based on belief of shared ancestry.

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• Unilineal descent group – people identify

their descent only through one line.
• Membership is automatic
• Patrilineal – tracing one’s descent
through the father’s line
• Matrilineal – tracing one’s descent
through the mother’s line.
• Ambilineal descent group – does not
identify with only one descent group.
Flexible descent rule.
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Mosuo Matrilineal Tribe of

Tibet
www.clareelliott.com

Chinese Patrilineal Family

http://pages.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/chin/fam
ilism.html

Trobriand Islanders
Matrilineal descent
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Filipino Ambilineal Descent

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• Understanding kinship starts with the

creation of a family and oftentimes for
various cultures in the world, this starts
when individuals decide to create a union
in what may be called as marriage.
• Marriage creates an affinal relationship
among individuals involved and the
children that such union will produce will
be related through consanguinity.
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AFFINAL

female
male

CONSANGUINAL
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Marriage is defined as culturally sanctioned

union between two or more people that
establishes certain rights and obligations
between the people, between them and
their children, and between them and their
in-laws (Haviland, et.al., 2011, p.209).
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Ethnic Marriages in the Philippines

Tausog wedding

http://www.lazamboangatimes.com/taosug_wedding.html
Manobo wedding/www.retrato.com.ph
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TYPES OF MARRIAGE
Monogamy—marriage in which both partners have just
one spouse—is the most common form of marriage
worldwide.
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In some parts of the world (including

Europe and North America), where
divorce rates are high and people who
have been divorced remarry, an
increasingly common form of marriage is
serial monogamy, whereby an individual
marries a series of partners in succession
laws (Haviland, et.al., 2011, p.217)
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Polygamy - one individual having multiple

spouses.

* Polygyny, in which a man is married to

more than one woman (gyne is Greek for
“woman” and “wife”).
* Polyandry – woman married to more
than one man.
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Islam allows a man to

have more than one
spouse
Tibetan practice
Fraternal Polyandry
emilygongart.wordpress.com www.islamiclife.com
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Residence patterns

There are several common patterns of residence

that a newly married couple may adopt—the
prime determinant being ecological
circumstances, although other factors enter in as
well. Thus postmarital residence arrangements,
far from being arbitrary, are adaptive in
character(Haviland, et.al., 2011, p 231).
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Patrilocal residence is when a married

couple lives in the husband’s father’s place
of residence.
This arrangement is favorable in situations
• where men play a predominant role in
subsistence, particularly if they own
property that can be accumulated,
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• if polygyny is customary,
• if warfare is prominent enough to make
cooperation among men especially
important,
• and if an elaborate political organization
exists in which men wield authority.
These conditions are most often found
together in societies that rely on animal
husbandry and/or intensive agriculture for
their subsistence.
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Matrilocal residence, in which a married

couple lives in the wife’s mother’s place of
residence,
• is likely if cultural ecological circumstances
make the role of the woman predominant
for subsistence.
• It is found most often in horticultural
societies, where political organization is
relatively uncentralized and where
cooperation among women is important.
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Neolocal residence, a married couple forms

a household in a separate location. This
occurs where the independence of the
nuclear family is emphasized.

Household as the basic residential unit where

economic production, consumption,
inheritance, childrearing, and shelter are
organized and carried out (Haviland, et.al.,
2011p.227).
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• The smallest family unit is

known as the nuclear family, a
group consisting of one or two
parents and dependent
offspring, which may include a
stepparent, stepsiblings, and
adopted children (Haviland,
et.al., 2011p.228)
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When two or more closely related

nuclear families cluster together in
a large domestic group, they form
a unit known as the extended
family.

This larger family unit, common in

traditional horticultural, agricultural,
and pastoral societies around the
world, typically consists of siblings
with their spouses and offspring,
and often their parents (Haviland,
et.al., 2011p.229).
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Blended families in the other hand comprised

of a married couple together raising children
from previous unions (Haviland, et.al.,
2011p.231).
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Family of orientation - nuclear family in which

one is born and grows up.

Family of procreation - nuclear family

established when one marries and has
children.
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Politics of kinship
Kinship relationship is established for the
purpose of making alliances which can
ultimately result to the creation of political
dynasties, hence having broad power
base.
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Catherine the Great of Russia Cleopatra and Ptolemy XII

and Husband Tsar Peter III
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SURVEY ACTIVITY
• Each group will conduct a survey about
marriage.
• A total of 30 respondents per group
• Each respondent will be asked to sign a
proof that they are willing to participate in
the survey.
• This activity will be conducted next week in
lieu of class meetings.
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SURVEY ACTIVITY
• Each group will prepare a short powerpoint (4-5
slides) regarding their survey.
• Analysis and summary of the results either in
tabular or graphic presentation.
• Conclusion based on the results.
• Presentation of the survey will be on September 1-2,
2016 at NDNB.
• A copy of the powerpoint and all respondents’
permission slip will be passed on the day of
presentation.
• Each group will assign members (1-2) to report.
Reporters should wear semi-formal.
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SURVEY ACTIVITY
GROUP RESPONDENTS
1 PROFESSIONALS
(E.g. Doctors, Lawyers,
Teachers, Accountants,
Managers)
2 COLLEGE STUDENTS
(Sillimanian)
3 SENIOR CITIZENS
(retirees)
4 JUNIOR HIGH
(any school)
5 BLUE-COLLARED WORKERS
(E.g. Janitors, Guards,
Construction workers,
Carpenters, Drivers, Vendors)
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SURVEY ACTIVITY
Questions for respondents
1. Why do people marry?
2. At what age should males and females
marry?