The problem of what is to be included in “the nature of kinship” is examined by focusing on kinship and friendship in Truk District, Caroline Islands, Micronesia. A cultural model of “intensive interpersonal relationships” is presented showing how natural kinship, created kinship, and friendship conceptually interlock for Trukese. It is concluded that the essence of kinship as a general cross‐cultural construct is sharing and that cross‐cultural studies of kinship must focus on the variety of symbolic actions that stand for kinship in different cultural settings.

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