Social Institutions: Continuity and Change
Family and kinship
Distinguish matriliny from matriarchy.
The family is often thought of as a place of warmth and care, and it is. But it can also be a place of conflict, injustice and even violence, especially for women and children. Sociology looks at both sides.
Families take many forms:
| Basis | Forms |
|---|---|
| Size | nuclear (one set of parents and their children) or extended (several generations or brothers' families together) |
| Headship | male-headed or female-headed |
| Descent (who inherits) | patrilineal (through the father, son to son) or matrilineal (through the mother, mother to daughter) |
| Residence after marriage | patrilocal (couple lives with the man's parents) or matrilocal (with the woman's parents) |
Family structure changes with society. When men migrate to cities for work, women-headed households grow in the villages. When young couples work long hours, for example in the software industry, grandparents move in to care for the children.
The 'joint family' myth: many believe the large joint family was the normal Indian family in the past. Sociologists such as I.P. Desai showed that it was never the dominant form everywhere, and that the very term 'joint family' is a translation of an English idea.
Matriliny is not matriarchy:
- Matriliny: descent and property pass through the female line, as among the Nairs of Kerala and the Khasis of Meghalaya. It exists.
- Matriarchy: women holding power and authority over society. There is no historical or anthropological evidence of it. Even in matrilineal societies, men (often the mother's brothers) usually control property and decisions.
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