Wanano - Kinship



Kin Groups and Descent. The Wanano language group comprises twenty-five named patrilineal descent groups whose members view themselves as descendants of one of the language group's founding ancestral brothers. The descent groups are referred to as sibs in the literature and by the terms kurua or kuduri by the Wanano.

Kinship Terminology. The Wanano have a Dravidian kin terminology in accord with the structure of patrilineal descent and cross-cousin marriage. Terminologically, "own group" (agnates) are separated from "other group" (affines) . Degrees of collaterality are not distinguished in the terminology, but collateral relatives are differentiated according to seniority. The terminology is only three generations deep, that is, no special terms exist for relatives in either the fourth ascending or the fourth descending generation.


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