In Search of the Lineage: The Cape Nguni Case

It has long been accepted that one of the basic features of Cape Nguni social structure is the patrilineage which, despite the presence of formal political institutions, continues to play an important role in social life, especially in low-level dispute settlement and in the ancestor cult. More detailed investigation shows that, despite the recognition of genealogies of four to six generations in depth, those whose names appear on them never come together or function as a group for any social or ritual purpose, nor are 'lineage' dead invoked, as a group, in the ancestor cult. What is socially important are the clans, hospitality groups ('mat-associations') and, especially, localised 'agnatic clusters', each under a genealogically-determined leader. The only relevance of the genealogical connexion between related 'clusters' is that it defines the ritual elder who must officiate at rituals originating in the various local agnatic clusters. Whether or not the Cape Nguni have 'lineages' is a definitional matter. Only in a very weak sense can what have been termed 'lineages' in the literature be considered as groups. What one finds is rather a set of people, the relationships between whom are structured on a genealogy, which can thus be used to solve certain questions such as agnatic cluster solidarity, relationships between these groups, the accommodation of new arrivals and the determining of the elder to preside over ritual matters.