ABSTRACT
In a collection of essays dedicated to Professor Forde, it seems appropriate to take up a theme he has discussed, the problem of the significance of unilineal descent (Forde 1963). I shall examine it in the light of material I gathered at the village of Adadama, a settlement of the Agbo people, whom it is especially fitting to choose for this inquiry since they live only a few miles away from the Yakö, on the opposite, northern bank of the Cross River. Between the Yakö and the Agbo there is said to be a strong linguistic tie, 1 and there are clearly very strong cultural links as well.
