Lau - Kinship

Kin Groups and Descent. At the highest level of kinship organization are five ranked phratries. The lowest-ranking phratry is that of the "land people." The land people are Commoners and comprise 80 percent of the Lau population. The upper class is made up of the 20 percent of the population in the other four phratries. The chiefs phratry (the Nakauvandra people) ranks the highest and forms the nobility. The three other phratries consist of two carpenter phratries and the phratry composed of the Tongans or "sea people." Phratries are composed of exogamous, patrilocal, patrilineal clans. Clans are localized economic and Ceremonial units. Each clan is made up of subclans or of nuclear Family households.

Kinship Terminology. Kin terms are classificatory, with a clear distinction made between cross and parallel cousins.