ABSTRACT

The Thibettans recognize two classes of kinship. The first are called relations of the Rupá-cik, or of the same bone; the second, relations of the Scia-cik, or of the same blood. They recognize, as relations of Rupá-cik, or the same bone, those who descend from a common ancestor, however remote, even when they have been divided into different branches during many generations. Relations of the Scia-cik, or the same blood, are those created by legitimate marriages. The first, though it may be exceedingly distant, is looked upon as an absolute and inviolable bar to matrimony, and any intercourse between two relations of the Rupá-cik, or of the same bone, is regarded as incestuous, and they are shunned and loathed by everyone. The second is also a bar to marriage in the first degree of relationship; thus an uncle may not marry his niece, but marriages with a first cousin on the mother’s side is allowed, and frequently occurs. 63