Sorbs - Kinship, Marriage, and Family

Kinship. Sorbian kinship reckoning does not differ from the pattern followed by their German neighbors; it is bilateral, but with a strong patrilineal bias. Whether this was the case earlier in their history, prior to their "germanization," is unclear.

Marriage. There appears to be some preference for Sorbian endogamy. Marriage is monogamous. Weddings are religious as well as secular events.

Domestic Unit. The Sorbian household centers on the nuclear family (husband, wife, and their offspring) and tends today to be neolocal, at least in the towns. In the organization of the household, as in many other elements of day-to-day life, Sorbs differ little from the practices of their German neighbors.

Inheritance. Although property can be inherited by either sons or daughters, there is a bias toward sons over daughters.

Socialization. The distinctive elements of Sorbian culture, which are found in language and literature, music, women's costumes, and certain religious and secular traditions, are passed along through all three of the principal institutions of socialization: parents, the church, and the schools. Specific institutions dedicated to the maintenance of a specifically Sorbian cultural identity include the Domowina groups (first established in 1912, banned by the Nazi regime in 1937, and reestablished in 1945). Domowina groups are dedicated to "the advancement of creative cultural activity," and through their sponsorship of a variety of cultural performances (concerts, films, folk music, and the like), as well as through their direct involvement in local Sorbian schools, they seek to keep Sorbian traditions, particularly in the arts, alive and accessible to the population.