agnation

consanguinity by a line of males only, as distinguished from cognation

Between an uncle and his sister's son, therefore, there is no agnation, but only kinship

Furthermore, for reasons that will by now be obvious, interhouse relations represent a paradigm for the politics of agnation at large: any competition for influence or position among patrilateral kin is, in essence, a rivalry between houses produced by a shared ancestor and reproduced across the generations, and particular units, whether or not they take the initiative in such processes, are ultimately drawn into their purview (see chap. 2).

The property of being agnate.