In foraging cultures continuous movement and the sharing of food and water are part of what builds kinship ties. These kinship ties build a greater sense of obligation to each other (Nowak & Laird, 2010). One example of generalized reciprocal culture lived by the San is their sharing and pooling together of food gathered for the day with all members of the Band. This sharing helps to ensure the survival of the camp. For example, a hunter’s family will not
Kinship Organization in the San Society The San society is a foraging society. Family, marriage and kinship, gender, and age are the key principles of social organization in foraging societies. People are related to each other either as consanguine, sharing a common ancestor, or as affine (what we call in–laws) through marriage. The way people are related is important in determining how they behave toward each other (Nowak & Laird, Sec. 3.7, 2010).
This bond is one of the strongest bonds in the world, comparable to that of a covalent bond between atoms. Blood brothers share much more than just a similar genetic makeup and the same parents, however these similarities are essential to blood brotherhood. This biological bond creates a sense of belonging between brothers. Another bond brother’s share is a mental bond, since they both have the
The expectation in a nuclear family is that the wife stays at home and looks after the children, she would clean and cook and provide the emotion in the family and they call this the expressive role. As for the children the male child would be expected to follow in the footsteps of his father and the female child to follow the mother. Functionalists create this image that the family is like a machine all parts work together within the society and also within the family creating a society that ran efficiently. As well as this the family has positive aspects on individuals rather than just society Talcott parsons recognised the family played a part in the primary socialisation of children, this teaches them the values and norms of society , parsons also exposed us to another function, the stabilisation of adult personalities this is a way in which adults cope with life as a result of the support and love expressed by family members. Murdock, Another functionalist adds to parsons strong ideas of the functions of the family in society Murdock argues the nuclear family is internationally essential for society to run efficiently.
Organizational Profile Vincent Matiki ETH 316 Ethics and Social Responsibility February 17, 2014 Bill Organizational Profile Many organizations function similar in more ways than one. These organizations are formed to better their community by providing services who are in demand of some sort. Without organizations that provide services at no charge to their communities, many individuals would take their lives with no other alternative. The organizations described below will tell you in detail why they are socially initiative to their communities. One organization that has a social initiative in their community is United Way.
Murdock believed that the nuclear family was a universal institution that was vital to the well being of all societies and stated that the family's primary purpose is for sexual, reproductive, economic, and educational. Many people say murdocks analyse suffers from a failure to consider how other instructions can or could take over the functions of the family for example welfare state providing shelter. Parsons said even though the family had lost some functions it retained two basic and irreducible functions, they were primary socialization and stabilisation of adult personalities, parsons argues that society cannot exist without shared values norms and roles which are passed on from generation to generation and claims family's are needed for this purpose. The functionalists view of the family has been heavily criticised for being outdated and for presenting an overly optimistic view of the family. Many people criticise functionalists because they ignore the fact that not all families are perfect, another weakness of functionalists is that not all families can carry out all four of the functions for example gay families can't carry out the reproductive function.
The women care for their children and forge for vegetation and men hunt and provide other skills. The San society have bilateral descent which means they consider themselves related to both sides of their families which is important because in extreme situations such as a drought, the San people are able to find relatives that can provide water. The kinship of the San people are very important in every aspect of their lives. The Women of the San tribe are very important in their society because they help provide food and care for the children, this allows them to have a say in important decision in the community. In the Sans community the women get married before maturity, and the groom can not consummate his marriage until the bride has fully matured physically and mentally, during this time the groom lives with the bride family and provide brideservice, which means the groom contributes meat to the bride's family band.
Social organization, economic organization, and their beliefs and values all coincide and work together to create harmony within the band societies. Social organization is very important to foraging societies like the Mbuti who are a part of band societies, which are small mobile groups of people who travel to various environments as a means of survival. Descent and marriage are the key principles to the existence of the Mbuti, because it helps keep unity between the different families that live amongst each other. The nuclear family bloodline, which are composed of a mother, father, and their offspring, is most commonly used amongst foragers like Mbuti. Patrilineal is the descent that comes from ones ancestry through male procreation, and patrilocal is when young married couples lives with the husband’s parents and raise their children.
The Btsisi society is comprised of bands of nuclear families and extended families. The Btsisi family tends to be large comprised of many children and extends into grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Each family member has plays a significant role in the success of the society. While some members of a family group may possess special skills, no one is omitted from learning the role of another member of the community. This ensures that the skills required to perform the responsibilities are passed on from one generation to the next.
Question 1 The term ‘family’ is defined as a distinct group in society whose members are related to one another by ties of either blood or marriage. George Peter Murdoch claimed that the ‘nuclear’ family is universal as it is the ideal family type, that best performs a range of functions for individuals and society, for example, providing education, economic and emotional support, reproduction and sexual stability. Murdoch’s definition of the family was of families living together and sharing the same household, the heterosexual couple would produce at least one child biologically or adopt a child and that it would be a marital relationship. The term household refers to an individual or a group that is defined by the fact that they reside in a particular property (Handout). Murdoch believed that the nuclear family is a universal social grouping, that it is found in all societies.