The term tribe was initially used by Victorian scholars as part of their attempt to construct a science of so-called ‘primitive’ societies. Pioneer anthropologists laboured to identify core features of the wide array of indigenous societies...

Used in joking reference to a family, especially a large one, ‘tribe’ can also be used as a collective vocative to family members. In Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, by Alan Sillitoe, a woman at a family Christmas party comes into a room...

A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states, though some modern theorists hold that contemporary tribes can only be understood in terms of their relationship to...