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Australian Aboriginal kinship is the system of law governing social interaction, particularly marriage, in traditional Aboriginal culture. It is an integral part of the culture of every Aboriginal group across Australia.
The main element is the division of clans within the same language group into skin groups, or moieties. In its simplest form, clans are divided into two skin groups. There may be four divisions, while more complex systems can be divided into eight.
The system dictates who may marry whom – it is always taboo to marry into your own skin group – creating strong incest avoidance laws and strong bonds across clans. While it can be determined at birth who will marry whom, love marriages were not uncommon, so long as they were within the skin system.
During drought or lack of resources, having cousins and skin sisters and brothers in other clans can be invaluable. It also creates obligations to care for those people in their time of need. Even in traditional ball games, teams were divided along these lines.
Each skin group has certain totems associated with it. Some Aboriginal groups, such as the Yolngu, include plants, animals and all aspects of the environment, as part of their respective skin groups.
A person of the same skin group, of the same generation, is called "brother" or "sister". There are names for maternal aunts and uncles and different names for paternal aunts and uncles. Additionally, there are strong avoidance relationships that need to be observed based on this system.
Totems are the link the Indigenous Australians have with the land. When given a totem, the person is to look after it and care for its survival. For example, if a person's totem is a wombat, that person cannot eat it, and must protect it as it is his spiritual link to the land.
