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Crow kinship is akinship system used to definefamily. Identified byLewis Henry Morgan in his 1871 workSystems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the Human Family, the Crow system is one of the six major kinship systems (Eskimo,Hawaiian,Iroquois, Crow,Omaha, andSudanese).[1]
The system is somewhat similar to theIroquois system, but distinguishes between the mother's side and the father's side. Relatives on the mother's side of the family have more descriptive terms, and relatives on the father's side have more classificatory terms.
The Crow system is distinctive because unlike most other kinship systems, it chooses not to distinguish between certain generations. The relatives of the subject's father's matrilineage are distinguished only by their sex, regardless of their age or generation. In contrast, within Ego's own matrilineage, differences of generation are noted. The system is associated with groups that have a strong tradition ofmatrilineal descent. In doing so, the system is almost a mirror image of theOmaha system, which ispatrilineal.
As with the Iroquois system, the Crow uses bifurcate merging, meaning that there is a distinction between collateral relatives of different gender in Ego's descent group. In this case, father's brother would be called "father's brother", and mother's brother would be called "uncle".[2] Only theIroquois system uses bifurcate merging as a secondary name.
The system is named for theCrow Tribe ofMontana. The system appears frequently among various cultures. In the Southwestern US, it has traditionally been part of theHopi Indian culture and theNavajo Nation.