a. Kinship Kinship is one of the fundamental concepts in social anthropology and refers to the socially recognized relationships based on blood ties, marriage, and adoption. It provides the framework through which individuals are connected within families and larger social groups. Kinship is not merely a biological relationship but also a cultural system that defines rights, duties, inheritance, residence, succession, and social obligations. Anthropologists consider kinship as the basis of social organization in many traditional societies. Kinship relations are generally classified into two broad categories: consanguineal kinship and affinal kinship. Consanguineal kinship refers to relationships established through birth, such as those between parents and children or siblings. Affinal kinship refers to relationships established through marriage, such as those between husband and wife or between in-laws. Some societies also recognize fictive kinship, where individuals are treated as relatives despite the absence of biological or marital ties. Anthropologists have identified different systems of tracing descent. Patrilineal descent traces ancestry through the father's line, while matrilineal descent traces it through the mother's line. Bilateral descent recognizes both paternal and maternal relatives equally. These systems influence inheritance, property rights, political authority, and social identity. Kinship terminology varies across cultures. Lewis Henry Morgan demonstrated that societies classify relatives differently according