The Rade practice
matrilineal descent. Descent is traced through the female line, and family property is held and inherited by women. The basic kinship unit is the matrilineage, and these basic kinship units are grouped into higher-level matrilineal
sibs (matrisibs). The Rade are further divided into two
phratries. The women of a matrilineage and their spouses and children live together in a longhouse. The lineage holds corporate property such as paddy land, cattle, gongs, and jars; these are held by the senior female of the matrilineage. The lineage also engages in the farming of common lands and maintenance of the longhouse. The head of the longhouse itself is a man, with the position most commonly inherited by the spouse of the daughter or sister-in-law of the previous longhouse head. Matrilineages and matrisibs are
exogamous, with both sexual intercourse and intermarriage prohibited. The phratries also impose some restrictions on marriage. Couples violating these restrictions must sacrifice a buffalo, though violating phratry restrictions is generally not seen as being as serious, and requires only the sacrifice of a pig. Residence is
matrilocal. Rade villages were traditionally autonomous and governed by an
oligarchy of leading families. Some villages became locally dominant, but none formed any larger political structures. Êđê society has retained some elements of
primitive communism. This can be observed in the custom of ''H'rim zít''. Whenever a new house is being built in the village, all villagers help the family in constructing their abode on the basis of
mutual aid; villagers assist each other either by collecting construction materials or helping with manual labour. The inauguration of the new home takes place when a row of trees is planted along the wall. However, people may move in before this. Women, led by a female head of the matrilineal family, are the first ones authorised to walk on the new floor. They carry water and fire to give coolness and heat to the new home. ==Literature==