Answer to Question #252006 in Sociology for aqua top

Question

the principles of inheritance, succession and residence have the propensity to impact kin relationships in traditional societies. Discuss

Answer 1

Inheritance systems have corresponded to patrinileal or matrilineal descent principles: in patrilineal cultures, children are primarily considered members of their father's kin group and inherit the father's property at his death; in matrilineal cultures, kin membership is traced through the uterine line, so children belong to their mother's kinship (matrikin) rather than their father's. The heirs of a man in matrilineal systems are his sister's offspring, not his own.

In assessing kinship claims, such as succession and inheritance rights, marriage and residence laws play an important role. Uxorilocal residency, in which a husband relocates to his wife's village, is a feature of matrilineal communities. The economic livelihood of the household is then based in the woman's village. A husband is supposed to return to his native village following divorce or the death of his wife, and he loses the right to use the land in his wife's village. Because they are matrilineal relatives, children in matrilineal civilizations stay in their mother's village even if their mother dies.

In patrilineal communities, the rules of residence are virilocal, which means that after marriage, a woman goes to her husband's community. In patrilineal societies, a valid marriage requires the husband and his family to give bridewealth to the wife's family. If bridewealth had been paid, it was generally believed that if the husband died, his wife would remain in his late husband's village, and in certain communities, she would be "inherited" or "remarried" to one of her late husband's brothers, raising her children among the deceased man's relatives. A widowed woman was frequently expected to return to her native kin with her children if no bridewealth was paid upon marriage. In the event of a divorce, women were frequently required to return the bridewealth to the husband's family if it had been paid, as well as to leave the children with the husband and his relatives.