Since kinship is such an integral part of tribal societies, we would be wise to take a look at what some of those systems look like, and get familiar with them.

Our goal in study of kinship is never to be able to say they have the "Eskimo" or "Sudanese" system. But rather to find out how the people are related, and what the expected behavior is within those relationships. Remember, Difference in terminology will reflect difference in behavior.

We should also mention that the names for these systems are derived from the particular culture where the system was discovered.

Eskimo System

This is the same system we use in north America. The terminology is determined on the basis of lineal and collateral relatives. Ego considers himself more closely related to his lineal relatives than to his collateral.

The terms for that difference in relationship reflect a difference in behavior. For example, as a child you probably expected gifts from your grandparents, but not from your great-uncle or aunt. Notice also that there is a difference in "terms of reference" ("father, other"), and "terms of address" - "dad", "pop", "mommy", "mom", etc. The difference in "terms of reference" or "terms of address" could be confusing in study.

Hawaiian System

In this system the terminology is determined on the basis of sex and generation. In ego's first ascending generation, all males will be called the same thing he calls his father, and all the females will be called the same thing he calls his mother. And all the children of those people will be called the same thing ego calls his actual brother and sister.

Sororate marriage: Levirate marriage

In both types of marriage the availability of a spouse can be "preferential" in that there are alternatives of marriage available, (Boaz and Ruth); and "prescribed" in that if there is no sibling of the dead spouse, they will either go unmarried or a sibling will be adopted into the family. How hard would a child in the Hawaiian kinship system find the adjustments to a new mother or father?

Iroquois System

In this system the terminology is determined by whether the relative is "cross" or "parallel". Your father's brothers are your parallel uncles, and your mother's sisters are your parallel aunts. Your father's sisters are your cross aunts, and your mother's brothers are your cross uncles.

In the Iroquois kinship system all of ego's parallel uncles are called the same thing he calls his father, and all his parallel aunts are called the same thing he calls his Mother. His cross uncles would be called something different as would his cross aunts. Therefore it follows that the children of ego's "father" would be called "brother" or "sister", while the children of a cross uncle or aunt would be a "cousin". Ego's "cross cousins" are not considered as closely related to him as his "parallel cousins." Remember, difference in relationship will be reflected by a difference in terminology.

Sudanese System

Contrary to first impressions, the Sudanese is a system in that when a relationship is repeated, so is the terminology. Yet for every new relationship there is a new term for that relative. For example, ego refers to his mother's sister's children differently than his mother's brother's children, and the terminology on the father's side is different than those on the mother's side.