Pohnpei - Kinship

Kin Groups and Descent. While the immediate family has become the basic social unit, Pohnpeians remain Members of clans that are named, matrilineally organized, exogamous, and nonlocalized. Most clans are divided into subclans that claim descent from different female deities of the mother clan. Pressures brought on by modernization have diminished the role of clans as a source of solidarity and support.

Kinship Terminology. The cousin terminology used is a modified Crow type that reflects Pohnpeian society's emphasis on matrilineal rather than generational relationships.