| woman from the moment of her conception is incorporated in the growing child.10 Though they acknowledge that a woman might consort with other men during her pregnancy, they appear not to allow for the possibility that a man might not have sexual relations with his wife in the same interval. Hence, whether or not a child is said to have many fathers, its mother’s husband is always regarded as being biologically linked with it and, by a means which is not explained, his sperm predominates. The child is credited with an identity of bone only with the man who was married to his mother during her pregnancy.11 It inherits his alimentary taboo alone. The clans with estates in the chiefdom |
| The royal clan, Gba’ differs from other clans in many respects. It provides the |
| chiefdom’s ruler. Sororal polygyny is permitted to its members, and not to other clans. Membership of this clan confers on an individual elevated status and special privileges to such a degree that one can speak of members of it as forming a category apart: I shall refer to them as “royals” as distinct from “commoners”. Most members of it are able to trace their descent from a chief, sometimes through four or five generations. Though doubtless any two members could deduce their genealogical relationship, one finds that they are not closely related, they are unlikely to know it, but choose appropriate kin terms to address one another in the manner described above. I refer t Gba’ as a clan, rather than a patrilineage, for this reason. |
| There are in the region of 40 commoner clans with estates within the chiefdom. Because |
| the membership of a particular clan may be dispersed throughout, and beyond, the Tikar chiefdoms, it is difficult to assess its size, but most clans in Ngambe probably number between 20-70 individuals. The head of each of these clans has a title which is peculiar to his clan, but al may be addressed by the honorific term Mgbè. They are known collectively as y  ng ’ y ng ’;each is directly subordinate to the chief of Ngambe to whom he owes his position. |
Apart from the distinction between lã Ndjuafhl  and the others, which will |
| be mentioned below, the commoner clans with estates within the chiefdom are not formally ranked. On behalf of his clan, each clan head is obliged to present a clanswoman as a wife to the chief of Ngambe on his installation, though in practice there may be a delay of several years before one becomes available.12 These exchanges appear to symbolize relationships of alliance 10A woman refrains from sexual intercourse when the movements of her baby are sufficiently strong to be taken as an indication that it has received “spirit” (mpü) and is now a complete individual who could survive a premature birth, i.e. at about six months. To continue sexual relations beyond this stage is thought to endanger the life of the child. 11Men say it would be foolish to divorce a woman when she is pregnant as it would risk losing the child. 12Though I heard of no instances, it is popularly said that the chief of Ngambe can take as a wife any unmarried woman (nshw  ) of the clans with estates in his chiefdom by the simpleexpedient of placing a spear in front of the house of the head of the clan to which this woman belongs. The clan head will understand the meaning of this gesture and should ensure that the woman is delivered to the palace as soon as is reasonably possible. If this custom existed in |