Explain, with examples the different degrees of kinship relationships.

There can be different degrees of distance between the kins. The relationship may be very close, not so close, distant remote and so on. On this basis, Kinship relatives can be classified into the following categories :

1. Primary Kinship Relatives : Primary kinship relatives are those who belong to the same nuclear family as a particular person–the individual's father mother, brother and sister in the family of orientation and husband, wife, son and daughter in the family of procreation.

2. Secondary Kinship Relatives : Some examples of secondary Kinship relatives are : grandfather (father's father) grandmother (father's mother), Aunt (father's sister -(बुआ जी), brother's wife (भाभी जी), sister's husband (जीजा जी) and so on.

3. Tertiary Relatives (or Kinship): Each secondary relative has primary relatives who are neither primary nor secondary relatives of the ego. They are known as tertiary relatives. Some of the examples of this type of relatives are : (i) the great grand parents, (ii) first cousins (iii) spouses of all uncles, (iv) aunts (v) nephews and nieces, and so on.

4. Distant Relatives : (a) All other relatives (except mentioned in the previous three paragraphs) who are remote than tertiary relatives are termed by Murclock as distant relatives.

(b) For all-practical purposes (concern with family or kinship) the relatives upto tertiary degree are normally found in interaction among themselves. Very few might remember remote relatives unless they are remembered for establishing the ancestry.

(c) In modern industrialized societies tertiary relatives are only rarely remembered.

Conclusion : In short, we can say that the most common range of kinship structure today is upto secondary relatives.