Ticuna - Kinship



Kinship Groups and Descent. Ticuna society is organized in clans and moieties that govern daily behavior. Clans are identified by specific names of birds, insects, mammals, and plants. Clans that are identified by a bird's name constitute one moiety, the Feather people, and all the others form the second moiety, the Non-Feather people. Previously the personal names of Ticuna were emblematic of the clan to which they belonged. This custom is weakening. Today relations between Ticuna women and White men have resulted in individuals who do not have a clan. Despite the effects of contact, however, clan and moiety are still the basis of Ticuna identity.

Kinship Terminology. According to Roberto Cardoso de Oliveira (1961, 22), the Ticuna have Dakota-type social organization.


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