Kinship Systems in Aboriginal Society Essay

This, then, essentially generates the same types of behaviors towards the social group, despite thousands of miles of distance and a completely different attitude and perspective on life. Australian Aboriginals do share a complex practice with American societies. They include skin types and names for members of the social group that are not of direct blood relation. Even strangers and foreigners who have spent enough time with a particular group can be assigned a specific skin name from within that group that they are familiar with. People and families in American society do the same thing. For example, I am not related to my sister-in-law or a father-in-law, yet we enter them into our family structure under a certain position and title because of their close proximity to the family one would actually share blood relations with. This generates a common behavior, where we adopt people not of blood relation into the familial structure based on marriage, adoption, or other events that bring people of different families together.They are not blood related to us, yet we treat them like we are. This is one behavior that is shared by both the Aboriginals and members of contemporary American society that is directly caused by similar kinship system regulations. Moreover, Aboriginal people also ascribe the name of Aunt or Uncle to older men and women who may not necessarily be related through either blood or marriage. Many people in American society do the same thing to friends that they consider extremely close to both them and their children. Thus, a child may call a family friend Aunt or Uncle, despite that friend having no direct familial relationship to the child. In this, a similar behavior shows a close relationship being acknowledged by blessing it with treating it like it is actually a blood relation.

Works Cited

Nowak, Barbara & Laird, Peter. Cultural Anthropology. Ashford University Discovery….....