ABSTRACT
We have occasionally referred to the role of women in the clan organization of the Tallensi, but this subject deserves further consideration. In a certain sense women illustrate the principle of the corporate unity and identity of lineage and clan more strikingly than men. The term pɔɤayabǝlǝg sums up the status of a woman as a member of her patrilineal maximal lineage and clan. It can best be translated as 'woman of the clan'; and it refers to a woman of the clan or maximal lineage whether she is residing at her father's house or living with her husband. When a woman's funeral is celebrated by her husband's people the last act is 'to send her home (kulh)' to her father's house. There are many institutions in which the status of the pɔɤayabǝlǝg as an intrinsic element in the lineage organization is recognized.
