Yanomamo: The Fierce People

Agnates and affines are terms used in anthropology to describe distinct categories of relatives within a kinship system. Agnates are individuals linked through the male line, sharing a common male ancestor. This includes one’s paternal relatives, such as fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and male cousins. Affines are individuals connected through marriage rather than blood ties.

Bifurcate Merging Kinship is an anthropological term for a kinship system that has different words for relatives on the mother’s and father’s sides but merges the terms for certain relatives of the same gender on each side. The bifurcation typically occurs for cross-cousins, the children of opposite-gender siblings, and merging for parallel cousins, or the children of same-gender siblings. The system used by the Yanomami focuses on the patrilineal line. For example, men of the same patrilineal line of the same generation are all classified as “brothers.” This way of viewing kinship is especially important for the Yanomami to distinguish relationships that are appropriate from those that are considered to be a form of incest.

Cultural anthropology focuses on the study of human cultures, societies, and behaviors. Anthropologists in this field explore human diversity, examining how societies are organized and how cultural practices shape (and are shaped by) humans.