A clan is a group of people united by kinship and descent, which is defined by perceived descent from a common ancestor. Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin through either biological cultural or historical descent Even if actual lineage patterns are unknown, clan members may nonetheless recognize a founding member or apical ancestor. As kinship based bonds merely symbolical in nature some clans share a "stipulated" common ancestor, which is a symbol of the clan's unity. When this ancestor is not human, this is referred to as animallian totem. A totem is any supposed entity that watches over or assists a group of people such as a family Clan or tribe ( Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and Webster's Generally speaking, kinship differs from biological relation, as it also involves adoption, marriage, and fictive genealogical ties. Clans can be most easily described as sub-groups of tribes and usually constitute groups of 7,000 to 10,000 people. A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally consists of a Social group existing before the development of or outside of States Many anthropologists use
Organization of clans
Some clans are patrilineal, meaning its members are related through the male line; for example, the clans of Armenia. Patrilineality (aka agnatic kinship) is a system in which one belongs to one's father's lineage it generally involves the Inheritance of property names or titles Others are matrilineal; its members are related through the female line. Matrilineality is a system in which lineage is traced through the mother and maternal ancestors Still other clans are bilateral, consisting of all the descendants of the apical ancestor through both the male and female lines; the clans of Scotland are one example. Scottish clans (from Scottish Gaelic clann, "children" give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations Whether a clan is patrilineal, matrilineal, or bilateral depends on the kinship rules and norms of their society.
In different cultures and situations a clan may mean the same thing as other kin-based groups such as tribes and bands. A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally consists of a Social group existing before the development of or outside of States Many anthropologists use A band society is the simplest form of human Society. A band generally consists of a small kin group no larger than an Extended family or Clan. Often, the distinguishing factor is that a clan is a smaller part of a larger society such as a tribe, a chiefdom, or a state. A society is a Population of Humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive Culture and Institutions A chiefdom is a type of complex society of varying degrees of centralization that is led by an individual known as a chief. A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. Examples include Irish, Scottish, Chinese, Japanese clans and Rajput clans in India and Pakistan, which exist as kin groups within their respective nations. Irish clans are officially recognized groups of people who either share a Surname or are descended from people who bore the surname Scottish clans (from Scottish Gaelic clann, "children" give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations The consort clan ( is the Family, Clan of or group related to an Empress dowager or a spouse of a Chinese dynastic ruler or a Warlord This is a list of Japanese Clans The ancient clans ( Gōzoku) mentioned in the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki lost their political The Rajputs are a community of Hindus belonging to the Kshatriya or warrior varna. Note, however, that tribes and bands can also be components of larger societies. Arab tribes are small groups within Arab society, and Ojibwa bands are smaller parts of the Ojibwa tribe. The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding The Ojibwa or Chippewa (also Ojibwe, Ojibway, Chippeway) is the largest group of Native Americans - First Nations In some cases multiple tribes recognized the same clans, such as the bear and fox clans of the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes. The Chickasaw' are Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States (Mississippi Alabama Tennessee The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States ( Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana)
Apart from these different traditions of kinship, further conceptual confusion arises from colloquial usages of the term. In post-Soviet countries for example it is quite common to speak of clans referring to informal networks within the economic and political sphere. This usage reflects the assumption that their members act towards each other in a particularly close and mutually supportive way approximating the solidarity among kinsmen. However, the Norse clans, the ätter, can not be translated with tribe or band, and consequently they are often translated with house or line. The Scandinavian clan or ætt (ˈɛtt in Old Norse) was a social group based on common descent or on the formal acceptance into the group at a þing
Polish clans differ from most others in being a collection of families bearing the same coat of arms, as opposed to actually claiming a common descent. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Family denotes a group of People affiliated by consanguinity affinity or co-residence A coat of arms or armorial bearings (often just arms for short in European tradition is a design belonging to a particular person (or group of people This is discussed under the topic of Polish Heraldry. The history of Polish heraldry is an integral part of the history of the Szlachta, the Polish Nobility.
Clans in indigenous societies are likely to be exogamous, meaning that their members cannot marry one another. Exogamy has two related definitions both biological and cultural In some societies, clans may have an official leader such as a chieftain or patriarch; on others, leadership positions may have to be achieved, or people may merely say 'elders' make decisions. A traditional tribal chief is the leader of a Tribe, or the head of a tribal form of self-government Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a Pater familias over an extended family
Clans by country
- Albanian Fis clans of the country's northern highlands. Borders With the exception of the coastline all Albanian borders are artificial
- Armenian Tohm clans of Armenian nobility. Armenian nobility has a long history with many interruptions most notable of which was the Russian occupation
- Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
- Chechen Teip and Tukkhum tribal organization
- Chinese clan, family name and consort clans
- Chinese (Hong Kong) five Great Han Chinese Punti clans: Tang, Hau, Pang, Man, Liu
- German clan or Sippe
- Iranian clans
- Irish clanns and septs (also: Chiefs of the Name)[1]
- Indian/Pakistani/Nepalese Rajput clans
- Indian Maratha
- Indian/Pakistani Jat clans
- Japanese clans
- Korean clans and names
- Manchu clans and names
- Polish clans
- Norse clans
- Scottish clans
- Serbian clans
- Somali clans
- Turcoman clans
- Puerto Rican clans
References
- ^ "Irish Families" Edward Mac Lysaght, Irish Academic Press, Dublin, 1985
Dictionary
clan
-noun
- A traditional social group of families in the Scottish Highlands having a common hereditary chieftain
- (anthropology) A group of people all descended from a common ancestor, in fact or belief.
- Any association of people behaving clannishly.
- (video games) A group of players who habitually play on the same team in multiplayer games.
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