The Zuñi: The Crow System

The Zuñi are a large group of people formed by many clans. They are known as an exogamous clan (Page 245; Cultural Anthropology; 14th Edition; Ember), so within their tribal ways one does not marry within one’s own clan, and though one should not marry within the father’s clan, it does occasionally occur more than it seems necessary. (?) The Zuñi are also known as a Crow system, meaning that the father’s side of kinship is much less important and the generational difference is not distinguished between father’s kinship. (Page 281; Cultural Anthropology; 14th Edition; Ember) The Crow system in this case is strongly matrilineal, so kinship keep their descent associations through the matrilineal line, in which they trace their family through their woman …show more content…
The nuclear family relation, which the majority of the Zuñi affiliate with now, consists of a married couple and their young children (Page 253; Cultural Anthropology; 14th Edition; Ember) Their kinship system also includes clan and ceremonial or ritual kin, which can be described best as, the privileged social relationship established by ritual or ceremony, this could be something like how in our culture many children have Godparents (Page 417; Dictionary of the Social Sciences; Calhoun). In their culture, ritual kin, has close relations within a group called the Kiva, a group the mother and father pick when a, male, child is born. These are groups where the child will fulfill psychological and physical Zuni needs, but the child has the option to change to a different one when he becomes older