In 1973, Julian Pitt-Rivers published a chapter in Goody's 'The Character of Kinship' that, although rather infrequently used and quoted, suggested a work-around to the major criticisms that were expressed towards kinship studies in the 1970s. Reintroducing in a different way the notion of consubstantiality, Pitt-Rivers suggested what could be considered a reconciliation between emic and etic approaches to kinship. Often, the simplest ideas have the most lasting effects. This was certainly the case with my own use of Pitt-Rivers' work when studying Australian Aboriginal kinship. As straightforward as it may appear at first stance, the concept of consubstantiality crystallizes a methodology for embedding structural and formal approaches of kinship within the social domains of relatedness and action.