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Question

If nephews and nieces are brought up in their maternal uncle's family, the arrangement is referred to as

The correct answer is

Avunculocal residence

This question asks about different types of family residence patterns observed in various cultures around the world. These patterns dictate where a newly married couple, or sometimes other relatives like nephews and nieces, live after marriage or during upbringing.

Understanding Kinship Residence Patterns

Kinship systems involve rules about descent, marriage, and residence. Residence patterns are the rules that specify where individuals or families should live after marriage or during specific life stages. Let's look at the options provided:

  • Avunculocal residence: This pattern involves a man moving to live with or near his maternal uncle after marriage. Sometimes, as the question describes, it can also involve the upbringing of nephews and nieces in the maternal uncle's household. This pattern is often associated with matrilineal descent systems, where lineage is traced through the mother, but property or authority might be transferred from uncle to nephew.
  • Matrilocal residence: In this pattern, a married couple lives with or near the wife's family or maternal kin. The husband typically moves to the wife's household or community.
  • Neolocal residence: This is a pattern where a married couple establishes a new, independent residence away from both the husband's and the wife's families. This is common in many modern industrial societies.
  • Patrilocal residence: In this pattern, a married couple lives with or near the husband's family or paternal kin. The wife typically moves to the husband's household or community. This is one of the most common residence patterns globally.

Analyzing the Question Scenario

The question describes a specific scenario: nephews and nieces are brought up in their maternal uncle's family. This arrangement fits the description of avunculocal residence, specifically focusing on the upbringing aspect often associated with this pattern, especially in societies where the maternal uncle holds significant importance in the nephew's life.

Let's examine why the other options are not suitable:

  • Matrilocal residence refers to the couple living with the wife's family, not necessarily nephews and nieces living with a maternal uncle.
  • Neolocal residence refers to a new, independent household for the couple, not living with relatives.
  • Patrilocal residence refers to the couple living with the husband's family, which is the paternal side, not the maternal uncle's side.

Therefore, the arrangement where nephews and nieces are brought up in their maternal uncle's family is specifically referred to as avunculocal residence.

Residence Pattern Description Who Lives Where?
Avunculocal Married couple lives with or near the husband's maternal uncle; sometimes refers to upbringing of nephews/nieces by maternal uncle. Husband lives with maternal uncle (often with wife) or nephews/nieces live with maternal uncle.
Matrilocal Married couple lives with or near the wife's family. Husband lives with wife's family.
Neolocal Married couple establishes a new, independent residence. Couple lives separately from both families.
Patrilocal Married couple lives with or near the husband's family. Wife lives with husband's family.

Conclusion

Based on the definitions of the residence patterns, the scenario where nephews and nieces are brought up in their maternal uncle's family aligns directly with the concept of avunculocal residence.

Revision Table: Kinship Residence Terms

Term Key Feature
Avunculocal Living with maternal uncle
Matrilocal Living with wife's family
Neolocal Living independently
Patrilocal Living with husband's family

Additional Information on Avunculocal Residence

Avunculocal residence is often found in societies with matrilineal descent systems, where property or status is inherited through the maternal line. Even though descent is traced through the mother, authority or responsibility for male members might rest with the maternal uncle rather than the biological father. This can lead to the nephew spending a significant amount of time, or even living permanently, with his uncle to learn skills, traditions, or prepare for future roles, sometimes including inheriting property or leadership positions from the uncle. This highlights the crucial role of the maternal uncle in these specific cultural contexts.

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Important Questions from Social Institutions

  1. The Munda and the Oraon of the Chotta Nagpur who live close to each other and share much of their cultural life, belong to which speech group, respectively?
  2. Of the following, who has not worked on the functioning of the Jajmani system as a binding force among castes?

    A. W. H. Wiser

    B. K. Ishwaran

    C. M. Opler

    D. K. Gough

    E. S. C. Dube

    Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

  3. A Hindu marriage ceremony consists of a series of ritual performances, which are:

    A. Kanyadan

    B. Prajapatya

    C. Vivaha-havan

    D. Pani-grahan

    E. Sapta-padi

    Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

  4. According to P. M. Kolenda, which family types were not discussed for a comparative evaluation?

    A. Single person household

    B. Sub-nuclear family

    C. Juvenile family

    D. Supplemented sub-nuclear family

    E. Singular family

    Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

  5. Which one of the following is a suspicion of outsiders combined with a tendency to evaluate the culture of others in terms of one's own culture?

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