Basic social organization of the Mapuche people
Lof
Lof or caví ; formed the basic social organization of the Mapuche, Mapuche-Huilliche and the extinct Picunche peoples, consisting of a familial clan or lineage that recognizes the authority of a lonco (cacique).
The lof or caví is formed by diverse families that share the same territory and who are considered mutually related, descended from a common ancestor. Several lof form a rehue, and nine rehue formed the aillarehue. These formed one of the 3 or 5 great territorial confederations of the Mapuches, the Butalmapu.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Roland Gerrits / Anefo (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.