FAMILY AS A SOCIAL INSTITUTION

The family is generally regarded as a primary social institution. It has a set of rules and regulations which are part of an organization which fulfills an important function of society.

The word family is said to have been derived from the Roman word ‘famulus’ meaning servant, and from the Latin word ‘familia’ meaning household. The family is generally regarded as a locus of much of a person’s social activity. It is a social unit created by blood, marriage, or adoption and can be described as nuclear (parents and children) or extended (encompassing other relatives).

DEFINITION OF FAMILY

  1. MacIver and Page defined “family is a group defined by a sex relationship sufficiently precise and enduring to provide for procreation and upbringing of children.”

  2. Burgess and Locke have said that “A family is a group of persons united by the ties of marriage, blood or adoption constituting a single household, interacting and inter-communicating with each other in their respective social role of husband and wife, mother and father, son and daughter, brother and sister, creating and maintaining a common culture.”

  3. Elliot and Merill say, “The family may be defined as the biological, social unit composed of husband, wife and children. The family may also be considered a social institution, a socially approved organization for meeting definite human needs.”

  4. Ogburn and Nimkoff said, “Family is more or less durable association of husband and wife without children or of a man or woman alone.”

  5. Davis has defined family by saying, "Family is a group of persons whose relations to one another are based upon consanguinity and who are therefore kin to another.”

TYPES OF FAMILY

Though the family is a universal institution, its structure or form varies from one society to another and from time to time. Due to variation in life, social values, culture, and a host of other factors, different types of families are found to exist. Hence it is really difficult to classify family. But sociologists and anthropologists attempted to classify family. They classify families on a different basis. However, different types or classifications of the family are as follows:

  1. ON THE BASIS OF SIZE AND STRUCTURE

On the basis of size and structure or according to the number of members family may be classified into two types such as –

  1. Nuclear Family:

A nuclear family is a family which consists of a husband, wife, and their unmarried children. The size of a nuclear family is very small. It is an autonomous unit. There is no control of the elders because newlyweds create a separate residence for themselves which is independent of the elders. It is also known as the primary family. It is an ideal family. Murdock divides the nuclear family into two types such as –

  1. The Family of orientation: 

The family in which an individual is born, reared, and socialized is known as the family of orientation. It consists of a father, mother, brother, and sister.

  1. The Family of procreation: 

On the other hand, the family of procreation refers to the family established by the person through marriage. It consists of the husband, wife, their sons, and daughters.

  1. Joint or Extended Family: 

An extended or joint family is large in size. It consists of several nuclear families. It includes members of three to four generations. It is an extension of a parent-child relationship. This family is based on close blood ties. It is like the joint family of the Hindu Society. The eldest male member is the head of the family. Children of the family, even after their marriage, have little importance. The extended family Extended family may include aunts, uncles, and cousins living in the same home.

  1. ON THE BASIS OF MARRIAGE PRACTICES

On the basis of marriage practices, sociologist has classified family into the following types such as:

  1. Monogamous Family: 

This family is based on the Monogamy System of marriage, hence known as the Monogamous family. This family consists of a husband and his wife. Under this type of family system, neither husband nor wife is allowed to have more than one spouse at a time. Both of them are also prohibited from having an extra-marital relationship. It has many other advantages because of which it is considered the ideal form of marriage all over the world.

  1. Polygamous Family: 

When one man marries several women or one woman marries several men and constitutes the family, it is a polygamous family. Again, the polygamous family is divided into two types: polyandrous and polygynous.

  1. Polyandrous family: 

In these types of family, one wife has more than one husband at a given time, and she lives with all of them together. Polyandrous families are found among some Australians, the Sinhalese (Sri Lankans), the Tibetans, some Eskimos, and the Todas of Nilgiri Hills in India.

  1. Polygynous family: 

It is a type of family in which one man has more than one wife at a given time and lives with them and their children together. This kind of family is found among Eskimos, African Negroes, Muslims, Naga, and other tribes of central India.

  1. Endogamous Family: 

This type of family is based on where a man is supposed to marry within one’s own group i.e., within one’s own caste, sub-caste, race, varna, and class. Accordingly, the family which practices the rules of endogamy in marriage is known as an endogamous family.

  1. Exogamous Family: 

This type of family is based on where one has too many outside one’s own group i.e., outside one’s own gotra, pravara, sapinda and village. Accordingly, the family which practices the rules of exogamy in marriage is known as an exogamous family.

  1. ON THE BASIS OF AUTHORITY

On the basis of power and authority, the family may be classified into the following types such as:

  1. Patriarchal Family: 

The family in which all the power remains in the hands of the father is known as a patriarchal family. In other words, in this type of family, power or authority is vested in the hands of the eldest male member of the family, who is supposed to be the father. He exercises absolute power or authority over the other members of the family. He owns the family property.

After his death, authority is transferred to the family's eldest son. In this family, the descent is known through the father line, and the wife resides in his husband’s house after marriage. This type of family is widely found all over the world joint family system among the Hindus is a fine example of a patriarchal family.

  1. Matriarchal family: 

This type of family is just the opposite of a patriarchal family. In this family, power or authority rests on the eldest female member, especially the wife or mother. She enjoys absolute power or authority over other members of the family. She owns all the family property, in this type of family descent recons through the mother.

Headship is transferred from the mother to the eldest daughter. The husband remains subordinate to his wife in a matriarchal family. The daughter, after marriage, resides in her mother’s house, and her husband lives with her. This type of family is found among the Nayers of Kerala and among the Garo and Khasi tribes of Assam.

  1. ON THE BASIS OF RESIDENCE

On the basis of residence family may be classified into the following types:

  1. Patrilocal family: 

The family in which the wife comes to reside in her husband's family is known as the patrilocal family. The patrilocal family is also patriarchal and patrilineal in nature.

  1. Matrilocal family: 

The family in which after marriage husband comes to reside in the family of her wife is known as a matrilocal family. It is just the opposite of the patrilocal family. This type of family is also Matriarchal and Matrilineal in nature.

  1. Bilocal family: 

In this type of family, after marriage, the married couple changes their residence alternatively. Sometimes wife joins in her husband’s house, while at some other times husband resides in the wife’s house. This type of family is also known as a family of changing residence.

  1. Neolocal family: 

After marriage, when a newly married couple establishes a new family independent of their parents and settles in a new place, this type of family is known as a neo-local family.

  1. Avunculocal family: 

After marriage, when the newly married couple resides in the maternal uncle’s house is known as the Avunculocal family. Avuncu means maternal uncle (Mother’s Brother).

  1. FAMILY ON THE BASIS OF DESCENT

On the basis of rules of descent or ancestry, the family may be classified into the following types:

  1. Patrilineal family: 

This type of family is a common type of family prevalent all over the world. The family in which descent or ancestry is determined through the father line and continues through the father is known as a patrilineal family. The property and family name are also inherited through the father's line. The patrilineal family is also patrilocal and patriarchal in nature.

  1. Matrilineal family: 

The matrilineal family is just the opposite of the patrilineal family. A family in which descent is determined through the mother line or continues through the mother is known as a Matrilineal family. The property and family name are also inherited through the mother line. This right is transferred from mother to daughter. A woman is the ancestor of the family. The Matrilineal family is Matrilocal and Matriarchal in nature. This type of family was found among the Nayers of Kerala and tribals like Garos and Khasis.

  1. Bilineal family: 

This type of family is the family in which descent or ancestry is traced, determined, or run through both father and mother.

The family has lost some of its functions or lost many functions performed in the past. However, the process is gradual and not everywhere the same. Many family duties discharged formerly by the parents have now been transferred to external agencies. The educational, religious, recreational, and protective functions have been more or less taken over by schools, churches, Government and commercial, and recreational agencies. Despite its structural and functional changes, the family still holds a unique position among the innumerable institutions.

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