Zoque - Kinship

Kin Groups and Descent. Before the agrarian land distribution that resulted in the ejido, the patrilineal orientation of Zoque nomenclature was more evident; both inheritance and postmarital residence depended on the father, and the family was extended for two to three generations. Family fragmentation typical of a market economy and the arrival of new religious beliefs has led to a system that recognizes both the father's and the mother's side of the family; there is now a tendency for postmarital residence to be ambilocal. At baptism, the child was once named for a relative from the previous generation, in a sense becoming his or her replacement on earth, but this practice has been infrequent since 1970.

Kinship Terminology. Traditional family terms follow the Omaha kinship pattern.