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Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2017/Paper I/Kinship
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper I 2017 10 Marks Model Answer Available

Bilineal and Bilateral Descents — 2017 Paper I

Question · 2017 · Paper I · 10 Marks

Bilineal and bilateral descents

Model Answer

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Approach

  • Demand of Question:Differentiate bilineal (double) descent from bilateral descent, showing how membership, inheritance and group organisation vary.
  • Structuring the Response:Define descent; explain bilineal and bilateral systems separately; compare their corporate character and illustrate each with an ethnographic example.
  • Key Dimensions to Cover:Double descent; cognatic/bilateral reckoning; lineage versus kindred; inheritance, succession and residence; Yako as a classic double-descent case.

Model Answer

Introduction Descent is the culturally recognised tracing of social relationships through parent-child links. While both bilineal and bilateral systems acknowledge the mother’s and father’s sides, they differ fundamentally in how they organize kinship groups, property, and social obligations.

Body

  1. Bilineal (Double) DescentIn this system, an individual belongs simultaneously to two distinct corporate unilineal groups: a patrilineage (for certain rights) and a matrilineage (for other rights).
  • Ethnographic Example: The Yako of Nigeria (studied by Daryll Forde).
  • Division of Rights: Patrilineal descent governs the inheritance of immovable property (land) and cooperative agricultural labor. Matrilineal descent governs the inheritance of movable wealth (livestock, currency) and religious obligations.
  • Nature: It is ancestor-focused and forms enduring, mutually exclusive corporate groups.
  1. Bilateral DescentHere, descent is traced equally through both male and female lines without assigning the individual to discrete unilineal groups.
  • Ethnographic Example: The Eskimos (Inuit) or modern industrial societies. Among the Eskimos, bilateral tracing allows for flexible hunting bands where individuals can rely on kin from either side depending on resource availability.
  • Nature: The core social unit is the Kindred. It is ego-centered (except for full siblings, no two people have the exact same kindred) and does not form a permanent corporate group.

Key Differences

Feature Bilineal (Double) Descent Bilateral Descent
Group Formation Forms two distinct, non-overlapping unilineal groups. Forms a flexible, overlapping network (Kindred).
Focus Ancestor-focused (traces back to specific founders). Ego-focused (network radiates outward from the individual).
Corporate Nature Highly corporate (joint ownership of land/wealth). Non-corporate (rarely holds joint property).

Conclusion Hence, the decisive difference is not whether both parental sides matter, but how they are socially organised. Bilineal descent institutionalises two rigid, parallel descent lines with compartmentalized rights, whereas bilateral descent treats both sides as one fluid, overlapping network of kin tailored around the individual.

 

2026 Discuss 'incest taboo' as the basis of development of kinship systems in human societies. 2025 Theoretical significance of Purum kinship-system. 2024 Critical perspective on avoidance and joking relationship 2023 Critically discuss A.L. Kroeber's contribution to kinship studies.

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