Incest Prohbition

Incest refers to sexual intercourse between persons who are socially prohibited as partners in sexual union.Universally the sexual relations between father and daughter,mother and son and brother and sister are all incestuous. In every known society and culture there are rules prohibiting incestuous unions.These prohibitions are called incest taboos.

Extension of incest taboos beyond the nuclear family takes different forms in different societies.As far as Consanguineal relatives are concerned significant differences between societies in the extension of incest taboos begins with first cousins.Several societies prefer marriages with cross cousins which automatically nullifies the incest taboos for them.Beyond secondary relatives extensions of incest taboos follow the course of the rule of descent.Incest prohibitions can ramify symmetrically and equally along all lines of Consanguineal connection like bilateral descent or they can extend asymmetrically and unequally like matrilineal or patrilineal descent along Consanguineal connections through one sex only.

As far as extension of taboos to Affinal relatives is concerned it takes on three forms.The first includes certain Affinal relatives like wife's mother and son's wife for whom special factors lead to the prohibition of sex relations and marriage and to the strengthening of these taboos through rules of avoidance.The second category includes Affinal relatives who happen in consequence pf the characteristics of the social structure of the society in question to be members of the same Consanguineal kin group as Ego.The third category of Affinal relatives includes those who belong to the same Consanguineal kin groups as Ego's spouses.

In certain societies where definite rules against incest exist for the people as a whole unions within the prohibited degrees are permitted for certain people like the chiefs or others of high rank under special circumstances.