Kinship and Descent...

[Barreldriver]

NOTE: I screwed up the title of the poll, it should read "What is your route of descent, and do you prefer Endogamy or Exogamy"



This is both a cultural and biological debate. Basically which route does your cultural roots stem from and perhaps some discussion on kin groups.

Terms:


Genetic relatives: Kin by genetic ancestry

Consanguineal: kin that are thought of being genetically related, includes your Genetic kin and step-kin (who are technically in laws but are thought of as blood kin).

Affinal: Kin by marriage, in laws are included.

Lineal Relatives: Descendants, ancestors, direct genetic lineages.

Collaterals: Brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc....

Exogamy: rule of behavior that requires marriage to be outside of the group the individual is a part of. (miscegenation is a type of exogamy, as is simply mixing more alike ethnic groups, such as a British+Serbian unity would be exogamist)

Endogamy: must marry within the group that he/she belongs to, more along the lines of marrying within your own ethnic group.

Types of Descent:

Unilineal: Patrilineal and matrilineal, ethno-cultural identity is passed on through one route or the other.

Double Descent: The descendant incorporates both maternal and paternal ethno-cultural identities into their own.

Cognatic: Cognatic systems allow for the construction of social groups and categories through any or all of an individual's acknowledged relatives beginning with both his/her father and mother. The open nature of cognatic organization leads to greater complexities and wider variations than are normally apparent in partilineal or matrilineal forms.


I personally belong to a Unilineal descent pattern, descent is determined via my paternal line, I am affiliated with my mothers kin, but am not one of "them". My family is a bit endogamist, we marry with people most similar to ourselves, similar ethnic identity, similar politics, similar religious views. My father went a bit exogamist by marrying my mother who is over half German, however it was not too out there as she had British Isle's blood as well. Up until my parents generation the family practiced strict endogamy, I really want to continue endogamy, but I cannot deny the exogamist nature of my father, but since I have no cultural identification with that German portion I can preserve some sense of endogamy when choosing a spouse/mate by choosing one with primarily British Isle's ancestry and preferably one with similar ethno-cultural views as my own. I will continue the patrilineal and patriarchal trend that has been present in my family since our creation.

[Loxias]

My family line is mainly patrilineal and was endogamic for a long time. But, as my different ancesters moved to Paris from the countryside, they married people from very different regions of the country and social background, which qualifies as exogamy to me.

[Psychonaut]

Patrilineal and extremely endogamous. At seven generations out, I've got exactly two non-Acadian ancestors. :D

[Electronic God-Man]

Double descent. My dad's side of the family was pretty endogamous, mostly English. My mother's side was more exogamous.

[Tabiti]

Only my paternal grandmother's family is from different ethnographic region. I guess that's unilineal and endogamic?

[Barreldriver]

Only my paternal grandmother's family is from different ethnographic region. I guess that's unilineal and endogamic?

I would think so, at least that's the gist I got from my professor. From the way it was explained in class I took the impression that the definition of endogamy depends on the culture and line of descent.

For example:

A out of a unilineal (lets say patralineal) family, a person that is North British, the heritage, inheritance, and family group is established and driven by the paternal heritage, this person marries a woman that is of the same paternal root (despite maternal lines) that follows the same patrinlineal pattern of descent, that would fall under endogamy as it would be staying within the same ancestral group by patralineal determination as both the man and woman are North British paternally and practice same descent patterns, cultural practices, etc....

[Kadu]

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o21/Kadu_album/Provincia_Minho.png
Patrilineal and endogamous, i only have ancestors in the region where i live and seventy five percent are within a fifteen miles radius.

[Barreldriver]

I will extend another question to all who voted. Is your vote typical of the region in which you reside?

[Germaniac]

I've always been closer to my mother's family. Yhe only people in my father's family I am close to are my father and one of his sisters. But I consider myself more part of my mother's family.

BTW, most of my ancestors are bavarian and swiss, with a few prussians and a few other european people from non-german descent. So endogamous descent.