ABSTRACT
The basic social unit which enjoys a high degree of independence and is strongly corporate in character is what we may call the simple or the compound family: a man and his wife or wives and their children. A 'herd' is defined as that group of cattle the ownership of which is claimed by one individual and the calves of which are tied to a single rope. A household herd may include cattle in addition to those of the owner, but he exercises some control over such beasts so long as they are kept with his animals. The autonomy of the family influences the behaviour and the attitudes of the members who compose it. Since the family is the minimum procreative and economic unit it is within this group that we find the most intense corporate activities and interdependence. The family is to be conceived as a group the individuals of which lay claim to the herd or its resources.
