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{{for|other uses of "clan" or "clans"|Clan (disambiguation)}}
{{Anthropology of kinship |concepts}}

A '''clan''' is a group of [[people]] united by actual or perceived [[kinship]]<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Clan|volume=6|pages=419–421}}</ref> and [[Ancestry|descent]]. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or [[apical ancestor]]. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolic, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a symbol of the clan's unity. When this "ancestor" is non-human, it is referred to as a [[totem]], which is frequently an animal. 
The word clan is derived from the Gaelic ''clann''<ref name=EB1911/> meaning ''children or progeny'' but not ''family'' in the [[Irish language|Irish]]<ref name="Focloir_Dineen">{{cite book |last1=Dineen |first1=Patrick S. |title=Foclóir Gaeďilge agus Béarla an IRISH-ENGLISH DICTIONARY |year=1927 |publisher=The Educational Company of Ireland, Ltd |location= Dublin and Cork, Ireland}}</ref><ref name="Focloir_De Bhaldraithe">{{Cite book |last1=Ó Dónaill |first1=Niall |title=Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla |year=1992 |publisher=An Gúm |location= Dublin, Ireland |isbn=1-85791-037-0 }}</ref> and the [[Scottish Gaelic]] languages. According to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', the word was introduced into [[English language|English]] in around 1425, as a label for the nature of the society of the [[Scottish Highlands]] ll.<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=clan "Clan"], ''Online Etymology Dictionary''</ref> Clans in indigenous societies tend to be [[Exogamy|exogamous]], meaning that their members cannot marry one another. Clans preceded more centralized forms of community organization and government and are in every country. Members may identify with a coat of arms or other symbol to show they are an independent clan.

== Clans as political units ==

In different cultures and situations, a clan does not usually mean the same thing as other kin-based groups, such as [[tribe]]s, and [[Band society|bands]].  Often, the distinguishing factor is that a clan is a smaller part of a larger [[society]] such as a [[chiefdom]], or a [[Sovereign state|state]]. In some societies, clans may have an official leader such as a [[Tribal chief|chieftain]], [[Matriarchy|matriarch]],<ref>{{Cite web
| url = http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/matriarch
| title = Definition of MATRIARCH
| website = www.merriam-webster.com
| access-date = 2016-03-02
}}</ref> or [[patriarch]]; in others, leadership positions may have to be achieved, or people may say that "elders" make decisions.

Examples include [[Irish clans|Irish]], [[Scottish clan|Scottish]], [[Chinese clan|Chinese]], [[Bon-gwan|Korean]], [[Japanese clans|Japanese]], [[Jat]] and the [[Nair|Nair (Malayala Kshatriya)]] clans, which exist as [[kin group]]s within their respective nations. Note, however, that tribes and bands can also be components of larger societies. However, the early [[Norse clans]], the ''ætter'', are often translated as ''house'' or ''line''. The Biblical 'tribes' of Israel were composed of many clans.<ref>See, for example, 1 Chronicles 4 and Numbers 26 in the Old Testament.</ref> [[Tribes of Arabia|Arab clans]] are sub-tribal groups within Arab society. [[Ojibwa]] bands are smaller parts of the Ojibwa tribe or people in [[North America]], as one example of the many Native American peoples distinguished by language and culture, most having clans and bands as the basic kinship organizations. In some cases more than one tribe recognized each other's clans; for instance, both the [[Chickasaw]] and [[Choctaw]] tribes had fox and bear clans whose membership could supersede the tribe.{{citation needed|date=August 2011}}

Apart from these different historical traditions of kinship, conceptual confusion arises from colloquial usages of the term. In post-[[Soviet Union|Soviet]] countries, for example, it is quite common to speak of "clans" in reference to informal networks within the economic and political sphere. This usage reflects the assumption that their members act towards each other in a particularly close and mutually supportive way approximating the solidarity among kinsmen. [[Poland|Polish]] clans differ from most others as they are a collection of [[families]] who bear the same [[coat of arms]], as opposed to claiming a common descent (see [[Polish heraldry]]). There are multiple closely related clans in the Indian sub-continent, especially south India.

== Clans by continent and/or region ==

The Irish Gaelic term for '''clan''' or {{clarify span|less identifiable family group|date=January 2015}} is ''fine'' {{IPA-gd|finɨ|}}; ''líon tí'' is a term for "family" in the sense of "household"; and ''muintir'' is a term for "family" in the sense of "kinsfolk".<ref name="Focloir_De Bhaldraithe"/>

{{Aligned table
 |class=hlist |col1style=font-weight:bold;padding-right:1.5em;

 | Africa |
* [[Clan (African Great Lakes)|Great Lakes]]
* [[:Category:Serer families|Serer]]
** [[Serer maternal clans|maternal]]
** [[Joos Maternal Dynasty|Joos]]
** [[Joof family|Njuufeen]]
* [[Somali people#Clan and family structure|Somali]]

 | Americas |
* [[Anishinaabe clan system|Anishinaabe]]
* [[Cherokee clans|Cherokee]]

 | Asia |
* [[Clans in Central Asia|Central Asian]]
* [[List of Baloch tribes|Baloch]]
* [[Bon-gwan]]&nbsp;([[Korean name|name]]s)
* [[Chinese clan|Chinese]]
** [[Chinese family name|family name]]
** [[consort clan]]
** [[Punti]]
*** [[Tang Clan|Tang]]
*** [[Hou (surname)|Hau]]
*** [[Peng (surname)|Pang]]
*** [[Wen Tianxiang|Man]]
*** [[Liao (surname)|Liu]]
* [[Japanese clans|Japanese]]
* [[Kazakh tribes|Kazakh]]
* [[List of Manchu clans|Manchu]]&nbsp;([[Manchu family name|names]])
* [[List of medieval Mongolian tribes and clans|Mongolian]]
* [[Ng (surname)|Ng]]
* [[Tibetan Empire|Ngoche]]
* [[Pashtun tribes|Pashtun]]

 |style4.1=text-align:right;font-style:italic;font-weight:normal;padding-right:1.5em;
 | South Asia |
* [[Ahir clans|Ahir]]
* [[Ao Naga]]
* [[Arain]]
* [[List of Bhuiyar clans|Bhuiyar]]
* [[Bunt (community)|Bunt]]
* [[Gakhars]]
* [[List of Gurjar clans|Gurjar {{smaller|(Gujjar)}}]]
* [[Jat clan system|Jat]]
* [[Khatri]]
* [[Kshatriya]]{{\}}[[Maratha clan system|Maratha]]
*[[Bhat family]] / [[Deshastha Brahmin|Peshawe Family]]
* [[Meena]]
* [[Mukkulathor]]
* [[Nai (caste)|Nai]]
* [[Nair|Nair {{smaller|(Malayala Kshatriya)}}]]
* [[Rajput clans|Rajput]]
* [[Tarkhan (Punjab)|Tarkhan]]
* [[Vanniyar]]
* [[Vellalar]]
* [[Yadav]]

 | Middle East |
* [[Tribes of Arabia|Arab]]
* [[Israelites|Israelite]]
* [[Seven Parthian clans|Parthian]]

 | Eurasia{{nobold|{{sup|a}}}} |
* [[Armenian nobility|Armenian]]
* [[Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic|Nakhchivani]]
* [[Teip]]
* [[Oghuz Turks#Traditional tribal organization|Turkish]]
* [[Yeraz]]

 | Europe |
* [[Irish clans|Irish]]
** [[Sept (social)|sept]]
** [[Chiefs of the Name]]<ref>See [[Edward MacLysaght]], ''Irish Families'' –&nbsp;note: ''Families'', not ''Clans''&nbsp;– Irish Academic Press, Dublin, 1985.</ref>
* [[Norse clans|Norse]]
* [[Polish clans|Polish]]
* [[Scottish clan|Scottish]]
** [[Armigerous clan|armigerous]]
** [[Scottish clan chief|clan chief]]
* [[List of Albanian tribes|Albanian]] 
* [[Montenegrin clans|Montenegrin]]
* [[Sippe]]

 | Oceania |
*  [[Rapa Nui]]
*  [[Hapū|Māori]]
}}<!--(end Aligned table)-->
{{resize|95%|{{sup|a}} Meaning the [[List of transcontinental countries|transcontinental]] area between Asia and Europe.}}

== See also ==
* [[Extended family]]
* [[Clan (video gaming)]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Ethnicity}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Clans| ]]