The Yao chief, Kapeni, belonged to the Abanda clan, and was succeeded on his death, not by any of his sons (who, of course, were not Abanda), but by the son of his sister, born of the same mother. Had any younger sons of his mother survived, they would have had the preference; but half-brothers or sisters (children of the same father, but not of the same mother), are not counted as relatives—except that they cannot marry. According to the Yao system of descent, a man should be able to marry his father’s sisters, but this is seldom done, and is, in fact, considered very wrong; but he may marry their daughters. Where _chilawa_ prevails, however, these too are forbidden—they are really reckoned as sisters. Native terms of relationship are often very puzzling. _Mbale_ is a word which may be applied to a brother, sister, cousin, or relative of almost any sort—sometimes even to a friend. There is no word for ‘sister’ or ‘brother’; but there are words meaning ‘elder brother (or sister)’ and ‘younger brother (or sister)’; and these are never used apart from their possessive pronouns. There is a word which means ‘sister’ when used by a brother, and ‘brother’ when used by a sister, but is never applied to one of the same sex as the speaker. A man will call all his father’s brothers ‘father,’ and all his mother’s sisters ‘mother’; and the term ‘grandparents’ may include all the great-uncles and great-aunts. Mr. Duff Macdonald well shows the process by which a family may grow into a small state. A man wishing to found a new village asks permission of his chief—which in most cases is readily granted—and moves out into the bush with his wives and children. Temporary shelters are built, and then the man cuts down the trees, while his wives hoe up the ground for gardens; and, when these are ready, and planted, more permanent dwellings are erected. If there are daughters old enough to marry, the village is soon enlarged by the sons-in-law who come and build their huts there. The new chief may be accompanied by his younger brothers, or by friends who call themselves by that name, and place themselves under his authority. As the new settlement grows in power and importance, it will be joined by others, and may grow wealthy by trading.