cultural roots paper russia

Cultural roots

Galina

When I first started studying kinship I thought, “Just how complex can kinship be, what is it all about, and what my Kinship has to do with other cultures?” As I reflected on my family relationships I began to recognize what a big role kinship has played and is playing in my life.  Not only is my life affected by kinship but my adoptive family’s life as well. Who I am today is the result of a unique set of values and mores, distinct but blended from my adoptive family and my biological family. All sides interact differently with totally different blood relationships, culture, family relationships and descents. In addition to studying kinship and relating it to my cultural background plus my adoptive American family heritage, it is clear to see two worlds, how they assimilate and the differences between my Russian family heritage and my adoptive family’s heritage.

Galina at the Russian Orphanage, waiting for her new parents.                               

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                It all began in Moscow Russia, in the 1900s during the United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) Communism era. All of Russian life was controlled by and ruled by the government.  As a result, this is the cultural background of my Russian family starting out with my Russian parents: mother:  Valentine Petrovna Vitchikova, born on MAY 15, 1953. She lives in Moscow, Oblast: Naro Fominskly,  District: Sovkhoz Pervomaisky, Moscow. As years went on, during Communist control, Valentine Vitchikova, met my father: Alexandre Vaslievich Vitchikov, born in 1949, he became an unsung soviet hero trying to free Russia from communist tyranny. Valentine gave birth to my sister Svetlana Vitchikova, in 1978. After my sister’s birth my mother and father married a year later in 1979. My mother, Valentine worked in the Gagarinskly fruit and vegetable store at the time of my birth in Russia. My father Alexander’s life long struggle against communism ended in imprisonment as a political prisoner and although his life was spent striving  to make peace within the country, he died in 1989, before the end of communism and before I was born.  After the death of my father I was born in a delivery house in Moscow were I was to see the light of the world and start my life in Russia.  After my birth, I was sent to Chertanovskaya Street Moscow orphanage number 17, to initiate my own line of descent. My name became Galina Vitchikova. 

                       Galina’s Russian Passport

                During my time in Russia in the orphanage I was being cared for and was emersed in Russian culture.  I learned to speak Russian; I ate Russian food, and enjoyed Russian entertainment.   In the orphanage I developed a close bond to another orphan named: Alexandre Yurlevich Gavrilov who later became my bother, (Stephen Michael Rolf).   We were baptized as Catholics before we were adopted.  I was four years old and Stash (Alexandre) was two when we began a new life with the two of the most loving Americans to ever become parents, Joan Rolf and Micheal Rolf decided to adopt the both of us.   In August 1993 our lives changed forever.   I was introduced to the United States of America.  All at once I was an American able to live life in freedom without the government being in control.

       My adoptive family’s ethnicity is unique with totally different blood relationships, culture, family relationships and descents. In addition to studying kinship and relating it to my cultural background, researching my adoptive American family’s heritage, I took note of the two worlds and the differences between my Russian family heritage and my adoptive family heritage

    From the fruit of my research I learned of my adoptive parent’s cultural background and I learned that my mother and father’s families came from different areas of the world; Germany and Norway.   On my American mother’s side, Joan Martin Rolf‘s father was William George Martin. Who was my great father.  Who I had the pleasure to get to know before. George N Martin was William Martin’s father, he was married to  Agness Martin.  Joan’s mother Adeline Hanson Martin married William George Martin. Her father was Hanson Martin her father’s father was Axel Hanson.  Axel Hanson and was married to Minnie Redness Hanson both came from Norway.  Joan Martin Rolf’s heritage and family roots are Norwegian.

                My adoptive fathers side Michael M Rolf is of German decent.  They immigrated to Cincinnati, Ohio.  Cincinnati Ohio is the oldest German settlement in the United States.  In the early 1800’s the settlement of Cincinnati had a German born leader, Erick Scherdt.   Eric Scherdt met the German immigrants in New York’s Harbor and transported them to Cincinnati, Ohio.  Michael Rolf’s father was Stanley Francis Rolf he was married to Margaret Hermine Donnermeyer.  Margaret’s father was Frank Donnermeyer and her mother was Gertrude Scherdth.  Stanley Francis Rolf’s father was John Rolf and his mother was Eizabeth Fishoct.

     I found the ethnic backgrounds of my Norwegian mother, my German father and my Russian Mother and Father fascinating.  Knowing where I have come from gives me insight into my personality and various ideocyracies. The hunt for pictures of my ancestors gave me a  look into the past that will assist me in learning who I am and where I might be going.  I was amazed at the diversity of my own family. While I was researching the past I also researched some of the newer music and dance from Russia.  It was curiosity that drove me to research how Russian Young adults live.  I have embedded a video that gives an example of current Russian culture.

Kinship

Kinship

Galina Rolf

            What is kinship? The word Kinship is defined in many different ways in many cultures.  Kinship is defined as a bond or a sense of a relationship between people that share a genealogical origin, culture, and/or historical descent.   Kinship is connection by blood, marriage, or adoption. Family relationships define kinship.  Kinship plays a major role in society and throughout cultures; including being one of the most basic principles for individuals in social groups, roles, categories, and genealogy. Kinship is an important part of family identities, and descents, principles of descents, and the facets of adoptions and fostering.  The different facets of descents are all part of the Kinship relationships of family and cultures. of the facets of Adoption and Adoption is a form of transferring a child or children from birth parents to care for someone else. Fostering  is similar to adoption. Adoption or Fostering takes place in most countries.  Although there are no blood ties, adoption and fostering are  part of kinship.

            Kinship bonds in cultures are chained with a mode of livelihood and reproductions of family ties as one towards blood relationships, adoption, and marriage. In addition to Kinship bonds in cultures, there is a system or role that different cultures provide and is defined as a Kinship system.  Kinship systems are mechanisms that link conjugal families (and individuals not living in families) in ways that affect the integration of the general social structure and enhance the ability of the society to reproduce itself in an orderly fashion. Kinship performs these social functions in two ways:

1.       Through relationships defined by blood ties and marriage, kinship systems make possible ready-made contemporaneous networks of social ties sustained during the lifetimes of related persons  

2.        Enabling the temporal continuity of identifiable family connections over generations, despite the limited lifespan of a family’s members.  

     The Kinship system is a form of relationships in a culture and behaviors that are complex and involved.  Kinship can be shown in a kinship diagram which is a way of presenting the kinship relationships of an individual. These diagrams play an important part in society and other cultures, because it shows and demonstrates traits of family backgrounds, ancestry and historical decent. In the fact, knowing your family history can be both fascinating and interesting.  A kinship diagram of family traits can also be part of how family traits can be related to bloodline.

EXAMPLE OF KINSHIP DIAGRAM

    

    Kinship has many aspects and principles and is connected in many ways to society and throughout other cultures relating it to family backgrounds and descents of history.  What is descent? Descent is the tracing of Kinship relationships through parentage or where you come from or ancestry. Descent is a historical process of a line of people from whom someone is descended throughout history.  Descent can go through records of generation to generation through time and during the immigration.

Descent relates to four principles relating to descent:

1.      Bilineal descent

2.      Unilineal descent

3.      Partrilineal descent

4.      Matrilineal descent.

            Bilinear descent traces ancestry through both parents. Unilineal descent is reorganizing through only one parent.  These two roles of descent are different modes of livelihood corresponding to kinships of blood links of equal importance.  For instance, in the article: “Unlineal and Bilineal Descent: “How Various Cultures Trace Their Heritage: states that “Bilineal Descent is practiced by approximently 33% of cultures.” And “Unilineal Descent is practiced by approximently 60% of cultures.”  The different practices of Bilineal and Unilineal have a difference of level of percentage point for cultural practices for each.

            Unilineal lineages can be matrilineal or patrilineal, depending on whether they are traced through mothers or fathers, respectively. Whether matrilineal or patrilineal descent is considered most significant differs from culture to culture. These two types of unilateral descent play a major role in kinship. Descent can often play a large roll on the social texture of a society.    Patrilineal descent is one in which the line of descent is traced through the male kin while matrilineal is through the female line.  The Masai culture is a good example of a unilineal descent system with a patrilineal grouping.   In general a patrilineal descent system places more importance on males and their place in the society while a matrilineal shifts the focus of the society to the females.  Another subset of unilineal descent is clans.  Clans are unilineal descent groups who are descended from either a common male line or a common female line.  A good example of a patriclan or clan with male focus is the ancient Chinese samurais.  Two other forms of descent are Cognatic where there is no formal association between male or female and Bilateral where descent is traced equally through male and female lines.  The Hawaiians are a good example of Cognatic while the United States is a good example of bilateral.    Patrilineal is recorded through the male line and the matrilineal is outlined through the female line. http://www.veoh.com/watch/e149535DXpwd56f   

     Bilateral descent is a system of family lineage in which the relatives on the mother's side and father's side are equally important for emotional ties or for transfer of property or wealth. It is a family arrangement where descent and inheritance are passed equally through both parents.   Families who use this system trace descent through both parents simultaneously and recognize multiple ancestors; it is not used to form descent groups.  While bilateral descent is increasingly the norm in Western culture, traditionally it is only found among relatively few groups in West Africa, India, Australia, Melanesia and Polynesia. Anthropologists believe that a tribal structure based on bilateral descent helps members live in extreme environments because it allows individuals to rely on two sets of families dispersed over a wide area.

   http://youtu.be/rBAX6oLqBJs