Episode number 11 of Series “Faces of culture”.
In many societies kinship and descent help serve the political, economic and religious functions that make societies work as a whole. This program covers tribesmen of Papua New Guinea who trace their descent back so far beyond human memory, that clans are descended from mythical ancestors. Compares patrilineal and matrilineal societies and shows how kinship and descent can solve problems of succession, inheritance and social order. Also contrasts modern western society. Narrated by David Carradine.