Kinship System
In function, the system is extremely similar to the Crow system. But, whereas Crow groups are matrilineal, Omaha descent groups are characteristically patrilineal.
In this system, relatives are sorted according to their descent and their gender. Ego's father and his brothers are merged and addressed by a single term, and a similar pattern is seen for Ego's mother and her sisters. (Marriages take place among people of different gentes or clans in the tribe.)
Like most other kinship systems, Omaha kinship distinguishes between Parallel and Cross cousins. While Parallel cousins are merged by term and addressed the same as Ego's siblings, Cross cousins are differentiated by generational divisions. On the maternal side, Cross cousins are raised a generation (making them Ego's Mother's Brother and Ego's Mother), while those on the paternal side are lowered a generation (making them the generational equivalent of Ego's Children's).
The system is similar to that of Iroquois kinship. It uses Bifurcate merging, but only the Iroquois system uses BM as a label. In addition, Iroquois kinship is a matrilineal system.
Read more about this topic: Omaha Kinship
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