In the !Kung, all members in one’s group are kin, regardless of whether or not a member is related by blood. They use both consanguine and affinial relationships, however, they add a third relationship type: the “name relationship”. The name relationship is that a non-kin member is equal to a kin member if they share the same names. The !Kung also trace both their patrilineal descent and their matrilineal descent.
The !Kung also have two other forms of relationships: Respect-avoidance relationships and Joking relationships which divide up the kinship relationships. If one did not create these divisions, then it would be hard for him or her to find someone to marry and also their children to find someone to marry. They would have too close a network of kin if he or she did not make these distinctions.
An example of a joking relationship occurs in Richard Lee’s article, “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari”, where he is teased about his choice in dinner for Christmas day. The !Kung do this so that a hunter does not get too prideful and arrogant.
----------Sources:
Howell, Nancy
2010 Kinship Relations as a Support System for Children. In Life Histories of the Dobe !Kung: Food, Fatness, and Well-being Over the Life-span. Pp. 157-182. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Lee, R. B.
1969 “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari”, Natural History 78: 14-22, 60-63.
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