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Kinship
The value of a kinship system is very important to Aboriginal family and structures their relationships, obligations and behaviour towards each other. There are three levels of kinship in Indigenous society: Moiety, Totem and Skin Names. Click here find out more about these three levels on kinship.
Relationships are also complex within Aboriginal culture. The graph below shows a simple variation of the modern ideas of relationships with the extended family from the point of view of the child. Here the mother's sister is also seen as 'mother' and children of both the father's brother and mother's sister are seen as siblings not cousins.
Mother's Sister
Children
Children
Father's Brother
(considered mother)
(considered brothers and sisters)
(uncle)
Mother
Father
Child
(uncle)
(cousins)
Mother's Brother
Children
(cousins)
(aunty)
Children
Father's Sister
"Descent is about belonging to people and a place"
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