The people are divided into four lineages, two flowing water (tana) lineages and two still water (bebe) lineages: Gadatana, Wudutana, Konobebe, and Medebebe. These lineages intermarry on a rotating basis, with every tana generation marrying a bebe generation, alternating which lineages marry which with each generation. In order to keep track, each lineage has a male name and a female name that everyone in a given generation carries as a public name. So, for the Gadatana lineage, one generation will have all the women named Hatada and all the men named Yillete. Hatada will always marry Lohote from the Konobebe lineage and her brother will always marry Lohote’s sister Hedele. Hatada’s children will all be named Gehiŋi (female) and Ekeke (male). This continues for four generations and then the names repeat.
| Gadatana | Konobebe | Medebebe | Wudutana |
|---|---|---|---|
Hatada (f) &
Yillete (m)
marry Konobebe
|
Hedele (f) &
Lohote (m)
marry Gadatana |
Kukudi (f) &
Dalidali (m)
marry Wudutana
|
Nidinidi (f) &
Bulute (m)
marry Medebebe
|
Gehiŋi (f) &
Ekeke (m)
marry Medebebe
|
Galala (f) &
Linne (m)
marry Wudutana
|
Mabada (f) &
Nesibe (m)
marry Gadatana
|
Maŋaŋa (f) &
Malete (m)
marry Konobebe
|
Senete (f) &
Kiyete (m)
marry Konobebe |
Malamete (f) &
Sibete (m)
marry Gadatana
|
Haside (f) &
Keteke (m)
marry Wudutana
|
Tuwulu (f) &
Gadama (m)
marry Medebebe
|
Lulige (f) &
Gahada (m)
marry Medebebe
|
Peŋete (f) &
Munnu (m)
marry Wudutana
|
Magiye (f) &
Kiyokiyo (m)
marry Gadatana
|
Giyime (f) &
Momote (m)
marry Konobebe
|
Furthermore, the kinship system used is classificatory. Everyone in the table above is related to everyone else, often in more than one way. If we take one person in the chart (Haside), we can see how each person is related. Using standard abbrevations for relationships (si = sister, br = brother, mo = mother, fa = father, so = son, da = daughter, sp = spouse), we can map out all of a person’s kin. Tesseseya terms are below the abbreviations.
| Gadatana | Konobebe | Medebebe | Wudutana | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hatada famo padadi |
Yillete famobr sobadi |
Hedele fafasi padadi |
Lohote fafa sobadi |
Kukudi momo madadi |
Dalidali momobr besadi |
Nidinidi spmomo padadi |
Bulute spmomobr sobadi |
| Gehiŋi fasi/mobrsp pada |
Ekeke fa sobo |
Galala spfasi pada |
Linne spfa sobo |
Mabada mo mada |
Nesibe mobr bese |
Maŋaŋa spmo kiyimada |
Malete spmobr kiyibese |
| Senete fasida/mobrda danu |
Kiyete fasiso/mobrso bono |
Malamete fasisosp danu |
Sibete fasidasp bono |
Haside SELF/si tiyi |
Keteke br kagi |
Tuwulu spsi/brsp kiyene |
Gadama sp kiyumu |
| Lulige sosp laki |
Gahada dasp koda |
Peŋete brsosp kaŋi |
Munnu brdasp meli |
Magiye da laki |
Kiyokiyo so koda |
Giyime brda kaŋi |
Momote brso meli |
| Hatada soda lakisi |
Yillete soso kodisi |
Hedele brsoda kaŋisi |
Lohote brsoso melisi |
Kukudi dada lakisi |
Dalidali daso kodisi |
Nidinidi brdada kaŋisi |
Bulute brdaso melisi |
Keteke uses the exact same terms. His son is meli not koda because his son is part of his wife’s lineage and not his.