Kin Groups and Descent. There is regional differentiation in kinship because Dalmatia has been a meeting ground between the tribal Balkan kin-group types and the Western form of nuclear family organization. Because of this intermediacy, residential kin groups in the hinterland villages are still three-generational while the urban families are often nuclear. Descent is traced bilaterally, but patrilaterality is stressed in some regions. Fictive kinship through godparenthood (kumstvo) is significant in some regions.
Kinship Terminology. Kinship terms follow the Indo-European pattern with some stress on patrilineality.