Kinship Organizations

Kinship Organizations

Btsisi people believe that their partner is their best friend and if their partner is not their best friend that they should divorce and find another best friend. (Nowak, 2006) The Btsisi people believe in sharing the work if a man wanted to help a woman with cooking or other chores they were allowed if the woman wanted to go fishing or hunting with the men they were allowed. Couples work together in providing for their families.

The Btsisi people have many children sometimes as many as 10 the elderly say this is to help assist them when they are older and it lightens the burden on the other children while they are being taken care of by one of the other children at an elderly age. The elderly Btsisi feel that when one child has the means to take care of them with food then they will stay with that child to lighten the burden on the other children. The Btsisi children also help gather food for their family at an early age.

For Btsisi', women are as likely to "own" land as men. If a woman assists her husband in clearing and planting the land she is considered an equal owner. Women also may inherit land from their parents. (Nowak, Barbara, 1984)

Btsisi people grow food such as rice, tapioca, bananas and other fruits. They also gather wild fruits, nuts and plant trees. Both men and women hunt for wild pigs and fish for fish, crabs and etc. Bitisi people build temporary shelters near their swiddens, and then they return to their boats or forest to collect and hunt. (Nowak, & Laird, 2010)

In the Btsisi people the men maintain the leadership roles. Women used to be able to become a Batin but now days women do not want to take the time to learn they customary laws and be persuasive in changing people`s opinions. There are Penghulu`s over each village a letter of authority is given to legitimize the headman`s authority to make decisions. (Nowak, & Laird, 2010)

The Btsisi people marry outside of their tribe from different villages. The husband will go and live with the wife`s family until the family can see that they husband is going to do right by his wife. Once the family see`s that the husband is going to provide and take care of his wife then they will build their own house on property that is belonging to the wife`s family. When marrying the Btsisi people are not allowed to marry their brothers, sisters, children or grandchildren because this is considered incest. If one is to marry within their family their souls will not cross the path to Fruit Island (a place souls go after death). (Nowak, & Laird, 2010)

In today`s society one is not to marry into their direct family either. This is looked upon as incest and people will disown a person for it. Families in today`s society is a lot like the Btsisi people. It takes the partnership of two people to make it work for