Mafulu - Kinship

Kin Group and Descent. Kinship ideology is patrilineal. In practice, however, an individual may move to the village of collateral relatives and assume membership in the clan of that village without losing affiliation with the clan of his or her previous residence. Clan membership is based on common descent and coresidence. Clans are unnamed nontotemic groups that are identified by the names of their chiefs. The chief is the embodiment of the "prototype" ( omate ) given by a mythological ancestor.

Kinship Terminology. There is insufficient data on kin terms to determine the terminological system. It is probably similar to that of the linguistically related Tauade (Goilala).