The Kinship System
The complex web of relationships that defines everyone's place in society.
Aboriginal kinship systems extend far beyond blood relations to include everyone in the community and many features of the natural world. These systems define proper behavior toward every person and thing, creating a universe of relationships.
Everyone is related. The kinship system tells you how.
Aboriginal kinship systems are among the most complex social structures known.
Oral Tradition
Written about in
- What Aboriginal tradition says about kinship and sharing
Kinship reaches well past blood to take in everyone in the community and much of the natural world. It tells each person how to behave towards each other person, which leaves very little social space that is purely private.
- What Aboriginal tradition says about conflict with people close to you
Kinship extends well past blood to cover everyone in the community and much of the natural world, prescribing proper behaviour toward each. Conflict is rarer when the relationship itself already states what is owed.