Parallel and Cross Cousins

Parallel And Cross Cousins

In discussing consanguineal kinship in anthropology, a parallel cousin (or ortho-cousin) is a cousin from a parent's same sex sibling, while a cross cousin is from a parent's opposite-sexed sibling. So a parallel cousin is the child of the father's brother (paternal uncle's child) or the mother's sister (maternal aunt's child), while a cross cousin is the child of the mother's brother (maternal uncle's child) or of the father's sister (paternal aunt's child). Where there are unilineal descent groups in a society (i.e. matrilineal and/or patrilineal), one's parallel cousins on one or both sides will belong to one's own descent group, while cross cousins will not (assuming descent group exogamy).

Read more about Parallel And Cross Cousins:  Role, Kinship Terminologies, Taboos, See Also

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