Karok - Kinship

Kin Groups and Descent. The aboriginal Karok recognized no social groups other than the family, within which descent was patrilineal.

Kinship Terminology. The basic terms father , mother, son, and daughter are used without extensions of meaning. Grandparents and grandchildren are designated by three reciprocal terms: male grandrelative through a woman (mother's father or daughter's son), female grandrelative through a woman, and grandrelative through a man. Siblings are distinguished as male and female, older and younger. There is a complex set of terms referring to deceased relatives, and another for relatives through a deceased person—corresponding to a taboo on reference to the dead.