Paper short abstract:

In Europe, contacts between distant kin focus on ritual more than on practical help. Nevertheless, societies with more kin-based ritual also have more kin-based help. This paper investigates the connections between kinship, ritual and practical help, using quantitative data from KASS.

Paper long abstract:

This paper will focus on a paradox that emerges from the quantitative data collected by the KASS project. In most of the communities studied, social contacts and participation in life cycle rituals seem to be much more frequent than acts of practical help, in relationships between all but the closest kin. This suggests that practical concerns are not the main drivers of kinship (as opposed to immediate family) relationships. On the other hand, in communities where social and ritual contacts are frequent, the level of practical help is relatively high as well. I will draw on analyses of the comparative data provided by the kinship network questionnaire to explore the connections between the practical, ritual and social sides of kinship.