The Nature of Kinship Systems in Traditional Algerian Society

Abstract

This paper explores the nature of kinship systems within traditional Algerian society. Drawing upon studies from the colonial era, such as Germaine Tillion’s ethnographic examination in The Harem and Cousins and the contribution of R. Descloitres and L. Debzi in Kinship Systems and Family Structures in Algeria, this research delineates two predominant kinship modalities:consanguineous (biological) kinship, which forms the foundational social fabric within familial
units, and fictive kinship, epitomized by kindred that signify shared geographical bonds. The structuration of kinship revolves around the concept of ‘asabiyya (social or tribal solidarity),encapsulating the intrinsic cohesion derived from the shared moral and material ethos within kinship networks.