Kinship with Reptile: New Meaning of Kinship in Reptile Family Lovers

Abstract. Human animals relationships from time to time change. At the time of hunting and gathering, animals are seen as a source of food and clothing, but when humans successfully domesticate animals, gradually they are used as pets. The animals most commonly used as pets are dogs, cats and birds. The purpose of this study is to describe the social-cultural aspects of human relationships with animals over time, anayzing the dynamics of change that underlies the integration and role of reptile in the household and contextualize the new meaning of kinship multispecies. This research is a qualitative research using ethnography in family of reptile lovers. The results of this study indicate a change in the way of view of reptiles that have a creepy image in the community. These reptile lovers’ families have their own way of negotiating when dealing with law enforcement, associated with their reptiles protected by law. The conclusion of this study is that the intense interaction between humans and reptiles has caused deep emotional attachment to create a new meaning in reptile lovers’ families that reptiles are not limited to pets, but have been regarded as human relatives.

.