and a junior as Koo buwe ("little father").545
paternal relatives, as they have joined their mother's group, the mother having been married under the purchase system. Thus Wanbonga's son Kumake is living with his mother's group. Shomo is at liberty to return to the home of his maternal uncle at any time.
Wanbonga was formerly the head of the household. He had inherited from his father, as his mother had been married under the exchange system On his death Chembira inherited, as he was entitled to do, his mother having been a slave wife. Chembira became responsible for such children of Wanbonga as did not belong to their mother's group. On Chembira's death Wondem succeeded, as he was the son of a slave wife and not of a woman married under the purchase system. On Wandem's death Kunu will succeed. It may be noted that Wondem's present wife was inherited by him from Chembira. She is the mother of Tiso.
We may conclude this summary of the social organization by giving a list of the relationship terms.
Koo is applied to a father and his brothers and also to maternal uncles. A senior Koo is described as Koo ngitane ("big father") [53] and a junior as Koo buwe ("little father").
Descriptive terms are used when necessary to distinguish a father's brothers from a mother's brothers. A father's or mother's brothers may also be addressed (if the speaker is grown up) by the title wan dikha, i.e. "my big brother"[54] . For "fathers" and elder brothers are classed together, so that a young person will address a grown-up elder brother as Koo, i.e. as "father".
It was surprising to find that a young man might address a paternal uncle by the same term as he addressed an elder brother, but it was stated that any grown-up man could drink from the same calabash of beer as a paternal or maternal uncle. This would be shocking to most Nigerian tribes. The Mambila do not show an excessive respect for elders, and a Mambila youth may, without any offence, sit himself down beside his seniors and join in their conversation, a practice which would never be permitted by e.g. the Hausa or Fulani of Nigeria. Another Mambila custom which in the majority of Nigerian tribes would be considered as a sign of insanity is that by which a man may drink beer simultaneously from the same calabash as a woman.
It is not permissible to address any Koo by his personal