ABSTRACT
Tallensi make a distinction between kinship that implies a difference of generation, summed up in the concept dɔɣam, and kinship that implies identity or equality of generation, summed up in the concept mabiirat. The key to the social relations of siblings in Tale society and to the effects on the whole social structure of the sibling bond is the principle to which Radcliffe-Brown has given the name of 'the social equivalence of siblings'. The solidarity and social equivalence of siblings are conditioned by a number of factors. Differences of sex and, between like-sex siblings, of age are important. But distinctions of equal or even greater significance are imposed on siblings by the fundamental principles of the social structure. The influence of thee modifying factors is recognized in the kinship terms used for the sibling relationship.
