Eskimo kinship facts for kids
Eskimo kinship (also called Inuit kinship) is a way to describe how families are set up. It's a system used in the study of people and cultures, called anthropology. Lewis Henry Morgan, a famous anthropologist, first described this system in 1871. The Eskimo system was one of six main ways he saw families organized around the world. The way English-speaking people describe their family members often fits into the Eskimo system.
Contents
Understanding the Eskimo Kinship System
The Eskimo kinship system focuses on the nuclear family. This means it clearly names your mother, father, brother, and sister. These are your closest family members.
This system doesn't treat your mother's side of the family differently from your father's side. Both sides are seen as equally important. This is called a "bilateral" system.
How Relatives Are Grouped
In this system, relatives are grouped based on how close they are to you. The closer a relative is, the more specific their name. For example:
- Your parents are clearly named "Mother" and "Father." They are different from your aunts and uncles.
- Your parents' brothers and sisters are called "Aunt" or "Uncle." Their gender is important, but not which side of the family they come from.
- All the children of your aunts and uncles are usually called "Cousins." Their gender doesn't change this term.
This system uses both specific terms (like "Mother") and general terms (like "Cousin"). It helps tell apart family members who are in your direct line (like parents) from those who are related by blood but not in your direct line (like aunts, uncles, and cousins).
Where Eskimo Kinship is Found
The Eskimo kinship system is quite common around the world. About 10% of societies use it. You'll find it in most Western countries, like those in Europe and the Americas.
It's also used by some hunter-gatherer groups. These include the !Kung people in Africa and the Eskimo (Inuit-Yupik) people. The system is named after the Eskimo people.
This system is often used in societies where the immediate family is the most important group. In many Western countries, the nuclear family acts as its own social and economic unit. This makes the immediate family very important. Also, families in Western societies often live apart from their extended relatives. This also strengthens the focus on the immediate family.
About the Term "Eskimo"
The word Eskimo is sometimes seen as offensive in Canada. Because of this, the term Inuit is now widely used there instead. The Inuit are a group of Indigenous people living in the Arctic regions of Canada, Greenland, and Alaska.
In Alaska, the term Eskimo is still used, but less often than before. This is because it includes both Inuit and other Native Alaskans who are not Inuit. In Canada, people prefer to say Inuit kinship instead of Eskimo kinship.
See also
- Kinship terminology
- Kinship
In Spanish: Sistema esquimal de parentesco para niños
