Ambae - Kinship

Kin Groups and Descent. Everyone in East Ambae belongs to an exogamous matrilineal moiety ("Tagaro" or "Mwerambuto"). Children also acquire their mother's clan membership, but clans are neither corporate nor very Important in social organization. Moiety affiliation is crucial in defining roles on ceremonial occasions. In West Ambae, there is a legend that people lost their knowledge of matrilineal Moiety and clan membership in a great flood. Today they have a cognatic kinship system.

Kinship Terminology. Both East and West Ambae use a Crow-type cousin terminology. Mother's brother and father's sister are more strongly marked in the East.