Btsisi Kinship
Pamela Parker
ANT 101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Tracy Somperio
March 25, 2013

Kinship is the connection by blood, marriage, or adoption or a relationship by character (Houghton Mifflin Company, 2009). The Btsisi are a horticultural society that lives in Malaysia that lives close together. In their tradition, they live, work close to each other and depend on one another for survival. Horticulturists differ from foragers in their dependence on domesticated plants for most of their food energy. Foraging society depend on animals and grains as the first stage of producing food. Horticulture society also collects wild foods and hunt as they prepare for big portions. Once plants are sustained, they can ease up on gathering resources.
Marriages with the Btsisi are arranged by the elders of the society. The Btsisi society is made up of bands and each band consist of a nuclear family and extended family. The father, mother and children are the nuclear family and grandparents, aunts, uncles, and others are the extended family. The Btsisi families have close relationships. Sharing is also a big part of their tradition. Although their marriages are arranged, they marry into the family meaning their own kin striking up polygamy marriages. Most of the time it’s sororal polygyny. Sororal polygyny is when a man marries sisters and they are welcomed. If the sisters were asked if there was any jealousy in the marriage the response was “how could I be jealous of my sister” (Nowak & Laird, 2010)? They believe marrying sisters is better because they grew up together.

This kinship relationship mandates access to the resources. Horticultural societies of the Btsisi sometimes trace their descent through the female line because the women are natural nurturers. The women were educated and train to feed and support. The men and women are both valued and equal in their society. Duties are divided amongst both parties. The men do the heavy lifting and business away from the village and the women care for the home, the children, and the finances.
An important factor is the Btsisi people the husband and wife must get along and have a good relationship with each other. At the time of marriage the roles of each are described. Married couples are the primitive structure of the Btsisi society. The husband and wife form a cooperative and self-sufficient team. (Nowak, 2000). The Btsisi women are known for having a lot of children and they take care of the elders as well. The Btsisi tribes live in families and have many children to carry on the family traditions into the future. They are horticulturalists who studied plants for centuries and passed down the science for their own survival. They live in houses close to the water for fishing; and they relocate every decade or two, in order to rest and replenish their farm land.
The tribes’ traditional culture influences the economy, interpersonal relationships, the laws and even the choice of spouses. (Nowak & Laird, 2010) The atomic family composed of the mother, the father, and the children which are considered the core of the tribe. They tend to have multiple children. The extended family consists of all the rest such as: grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other relatives plus their spouses. These tribes provide their own food and they all work in horticulture multiplying in greater kinship equaling more in kinship which sums more in wealth. Kinship is body of proof when the point of sharing is widely known between everyone.
After studying the Btsisi ‘being made up of horticulturists that live in a semi–sedentary society that plant fields, hunt and gather. They also plant varieties of tapioca, rice, bananas, and many other foods from fields by the name of swiddens. Even though that is not the primary source, it is one of their primary sources of food. Then Btsisi culture builds temporary shelters to harvest their fields but once they