What is the difference between clans and tribes

Yorta Yorta nation is becoming a more common term to define Aboriginal mob. It is used to connect and identify who an Aboriginal person is and where they are from. Mob can represent your family group, clan group or wider Aboriginal community group.

Indigenous nations cover wide geographical areas, and have distinct borders. It should be noted that these kinship relations are not always actual but could be recognized via certain facts too. However,clan members reside together.

If the common ancestry is unknown in a clan, it is their usual custom to keep or have a symbolic kinship bond, and this is done by sharing a stipulated common ancestor. Another significant aspect is that this common ancestor may not be a human always.

It could be a non-human representation. Moreover, it is said that most clans are exogamous. The members are not allowed to marry from the same clan. That could be another reason for not having a common ancestry in a clan.

However, clans are a part of the mainstream nation and more or less similar to tribes. Therefore, a clan is a combination of unilateral families who believe themselves to share the same lineage of a real or mythical forbear. A clan is usually unilateral, and it is never formed with the combination of the lineages of both the mother and father.

It will always have an either patrilineal or matrilineal lineage. Just like a tribe that consists of several clans, several lineages get together to form a clan.

Clan names are formed after various grounds, such as a saint, a place, or a totem. The main function of a clan is mutual assistance and protection. Just like unity is the basis of any tribe, the members of a clan possess a strong feeling of togetherness, especially because they believe that they are the descents of a common ancestor.

When one member of the clan is harmed or injured, all the members get together to share his pain. A group of clans get together to form a tribe, whereas several lineages collectively form a clan.

A tribe is endogamous, while a clan is usually exogamous. Tribal people do not marry outside their tribe. In a tribe, the marriage inside the tribe is highly respected and appreciated. On the contrary, the belief that all the clan members share a common ancestor restrict them from marrying someone inside the clan.

Every tribe has a tribal chief who has the power to make significant decisions related to his tribe. A tribe is divided into a number of small clans, and each clan is headed by its own leader.