Marriage
Ego (the subject from whose perspective the kinship is based) is encouraged to marry his cross cousins but discouraged from marrying his parallel cousins. New genetic material is constantly brought into the pool via Ego's father's sister's (Aunt's) husband or Ego's mother's brother's (Uncle's) wife. The system also is useful in reaffirming alliances between related lineages or clans.
Read more about this topic: Iroquois Kinship
Famous quotes containing the word marriage:
“We lovd, and we lovd, as long as we could,
Till our love was lovd out in us both;
But our marriage is dead, when the pleasure is fled:
Twas pleasure first made it an oath.”
—John Dryden (16311700)
“Who of us is mature enough for offspring before the offspring themselves arrive? The value of marriage is not that adults produce children but that children produce adults.”
—Peter De Vries (20th century)
“the marriage twists, holds firm, a sailors knot.”
—Anne Sexton (19281974)