Collection · 3 entries in this preview
Kinship, clans, and address
How people name mother, father, grandparents, and clan — and why a clan father still matters in justice and belonging.
Doorways summarised from Professor Petrus Angula Mbenzi’s Kinship terms and customs and Clan System.
Close, distant, and named kin
AakwetuRelatives are graded by distance: close maternal kin, more distant cousins, and clan-mates whose common ancestor is no longer known. The distant labels are often left out of conversation because they can be heard as slighting.
Tate, meme, tatekulu, meekulu
Father, mother, grandfather, grandmother — with kuku beside them, and a mother’s brother who may himself be called meme. The terms differ slightly in Oshimbadja, Oshimbaanhu, and Oshikwanyama, which the author treats separately.
The clan father
The head of a clan is not only a genealogical point. The sources call him ongudhi yezimo, the pillar of the clan, and shimutsikeni, the arbitrator who settles conflict within the family.