Tribes
Kinship-based communities
Tribes are social groups often defined by shared ancestry, language, customs, and territory.
In anthropology, the term historically referred to small-scale societies organized around kinship, but its use has been criticized for oversimplifying complex social structures.
Tribes may have distinct governance systems, such as councils or elders, and unique practices like totemic rituals or clan-based land ownership.
The term is also used in modern contexts to describe informal communities united by shared interests or identity.
The tribes of the Pacific Northwest practiced potlatch ceremonies to redistribute wealth.
State of being related
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- chieftainsLeaders of clans
- clansRelated family groups
- nomadicWithout fixed residence
hunter-gatherers · bands · ethnography · rituals · totems · pastoral · matrilineal · patrilineal
Related family groups
- eldersSenior community members
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- reservationsDoubts or advance bookings
- nationsSovereign political entities
peoples · traditions · ceremonies · homelands · sovereignty · chiefs · native · aboriginal
Collections of related things
- subculturesGroups with shared alternative identities
- communitiesGroups with shared ties
- belongingState of fitting in
- identityWho someone is
in-group · loyalty · membership · affiliation · fandom · scenes · cliques · networks
Middle Eastern nation
- twelveOne more than eleven
- JudahPatriarch and namesake tribe
- BenjaminHebrew-origin masculine name
- LeviHebrew name, "attached"
lost · Israelites · Jacob · patriarchs · covenant · exodus · promised land · genealogy
Separate parts of something
- demographicsStatistical population characteristics
- nichesRecessed hollows or specialties
- audiencesAssembled viewers or listeners
- consumersThose who buy goods
brand loyalty · influencers · trendsetters · early adopters · advocates · evangelists · personas · psychographics
kinship
State of being related
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- chieftainsLeaders of clans
- clansRelated family groups
nomadic · hunter-gatherers · bands · ethnography · rituals · totems · pastoral · matrilineal · patrilineal · exogamy
clans
Related family groups
- eldersSenior community members
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- reservationsDoubts or advance bookings
nations · peoples · traditions · ceremonies · homelands · sovereignty · chiefs · native · aboriginal · First Nations
groups
Collections of related things
- subculturesGroups with shared alternative identities
- communitiesGroups with shared ties
- belongingState of fitting in
identity · in-group · loyalty · membership · affiliation · fandom · scenes · cliques · networks · followers
Israel
Middle Eastern nation
Levi · lost · Israelites · Jacob · patriarchs · covenant · exodus · promised land · genealogy · lineage
segments
Separate parts of something
- demographicsStatistical population characteristics
- nichesRecessed hollows or specialties
- audiencesAssembled viewers or listeners
consumers · brand loyalty · influencers · trendsetters · early adopters · advocates · evangelists · personas · psychographics · targeting
Tribesnations
Sovereign political entities
nation-states · empires · states · civilizations · kingdoms
Tribescrowds
Assembled multitudes
masses · mobs · strangers · publics · general population
Tribescosmopolitans
Worldly, well-traveled people
universalists · global citizens · melting pots · inclusive communities · meritocracies
- tribal councilIndigenous community's ruling body
- nomadic tribeMigrating group of people
- tribal societyKinship-based communal organization
- tribal traditionsInherited communal practices
- tribal ceremoniesFormal communal cultural observances
- tribal patternsTraditional indigenous designs
tribe, tribal, tribalism, tribalist, tribune, tribunal, tribute, tributary, attribute