Greeks - Kinship



Kin Groups and Descent. The relatives who share a household are a basic unit of economic cooperation and collective identity. Extending outward from the household, loose networks of both consanguineal and affinal kin provide social support. This bilateral kindred is often referred to as a soi, although this term has an agnatic bias in certain regions. Marriage connects family lines, as does ritual kinship. Those chosen as wedding sponsors or godparents stand in a special relationship to the entire kindred.

Kinship Terminology. Greek terminology follows a cognatic (or Eskimo) pattern. The gender of cousins is denoted by different endings, and in some regions more distant cousins are distinguished from first cousins. There also exist special terms for men married to two sisters and women married to two brothers. The terms for bride and groom broadly refer to people married by various members of one's family.


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