ABSTRACT
Excluding the small family group composed of a man and his wives and children, the most important social grouping is the extended family or lineage. This grouping is unilateral, of the patriarchal type, and includes a man, his brothers and sisters, his children and the children of his brothers and the children of their sons and so on. Although descent, succession, and inheritance are reckoned through the father, every individual is also a member of a parallel lineage on the mother's side, very important in social and religious life. This group has a particular significance for the individual, exerting a stronger emotional and personal influence than the more formal patrilineal group. The functions of this group partly explain the peculiar relationship between a man and his mother's brother, particularly in religious affairs.
