Re Geneology

Keeping track of family lines is highly important in Rafi culture. Each individual learns their own family history and passes that knowledge down in turn. However there is typically an official scribe tasked with recording the lineage of each family in the kutu (commune).

The 'proper' family structure of the Re is described in the Tefireane, but is believed to have been an established tradition centuries before. The use of this system means each Re may have one or two sets of parents, and having 2-4 parents is common. Re live in a turata, a family unit usually consisting of parents and their children, and often grandchildren and siblings of the parents.

Bonded Pairs & Mating Pairs
A firea (spouse) is a partner or bonded pair committed to a monogamous relationship and building a turata. Gender plays a pivotal role in the selection of a firea, irrespective of biological sex. Since the perpetuation of the culture is a primary tenet of Rafi beliefs, all firea are encouraged to raise children and pass on their knowledge to the next generation.

In many cases standard reproduction is impossible or impractical due to age, health, infertility, or the partners being of the same sex. There are also some Re that simply do not want to physically give birth. In these cases the firea have three options: Culturally, it makes no difference whether your niumu are your rema (biological parents). A tutefi (sexual partner) may or may not be a firea (relationship partner), so any individual may have two, three, or four parents.
 * A juvenile moving out of the naname may be looking for niumu ("parents"; parental figure(s) to mentor and protect). The firea would adopt the juvenile and they'd become a turata, likely to live and work together for most of the rest of the parents' lives.
 * A tutefi (mate) is a heterosexual partner or mating pair that comes together solely for the purpose of reproduction. One partner may seek a tutefi.  The tutefi would live with the firea long enough to conceive, birth, and wean a baby, then may or may not remain with the turata.
 * A heterosexual firea may be willing to act as surrogates. The two pairs would all cohabitate through weaning, then the surrogate pair may or may not leave but the child would be raised by the original pair.

Family Structure
The figure in the center of this diagram represents a Re individual, I will refer to as Ego. The gray branch above Ego represents the maximum parents. The red (left) side of the family tree represents those biologically related to Ego. The blue (right) side of the tree shows those considered part of Ego's turata, which is what Rafi perceive as family. The red and blue branches may (and usually do) overlap.

This family structure was first illustrated in the Tefireane where the roles were numbered in order of Ego's obligation (where Ego would be most responsible for protecting and providing for a spouse, and may have little to no responsibility for a biological offspring).


 * 1) Firea - a partner with which Ego forms a long-term committed relationsip and builds a turata; the pair formed by Ego and Firea is also called "firea"
 * 2) Nana - the child(ren) raised by Ego and Firea; Ego's nana may or may not be biological offspring of Ego and/or Firea
 * 3) Niumu - those who raised Ego; parents, though not necessarily biological parents; Ego's primary support system outside of Firea
 * 4) Rarata - Ego's sibling(s); those in the turata within Ego's own generation, also raised by Ego's niumu
 * 5) Rauafu - the nana of Ego's rarata
 * 6) Nuueka - the niumu of Ego's niumu; Ego's grandparent(s)
 * 7) Nierera - the turata of Ego's nuueka
 * 8) Tienaki - Ego's biological offspring; Ego's tienaki may or may not be Ego's nana
 * 9) Tutefi - the heterosexual mate with which Ego produces tienaki; the pair formed by Ego and Tutefi is also called "tutefi"
 * 10) Rema - Ego's biological parents
 * 11) Ferama - the tienaki of one or both of Ego's rema; Ego's biological full or half-sibling(s)
 * 12) Fenami - the tienaki of Ego's ferama
 * 13) Fema - the rema of Ego's rema; Ego's biological grandparent(s)
 * 14) Feata - the descendents of Ego's fema, outside of Ego's own line of descent

Naming Convention
It is typical for Rafi to have three names. An example is Rame Mimikakefe Muremi, the name of the current Premier of the Marafire Ministry of Society.

The first name, in this case Rame, is one's given name and how one is normally addressed in informal situations. The first name is given by one's niumu on the 55th eclipse after one's birth (just under 5 Earth years). This name is a child's primary identity when it goes to the naname around 1 year old (60 months). Prior to the 55th eclipse, children are refered to by simple identifiers (like "Nani's baby") or nicknames (like "Little Ear").

It is Rafi tradition to celebrate the transition to adulthood on the 5th birthday (~27 Earth) with a huge feast. Part of this five-day-long party is Rimufe Itemu (the "Self Ceremony") in which the celebrant officially records their full name in the scribe's book. At this point, if desired, the first name may be changed to one of the individual's choosing. The name recorded in the scribe's book is considered not only legal but culturally and socially permanent.

The second name, Mimikakefe in the example, is one's family name. Everyone within a turata shares a second name. When oustide of the home tree, one would usually be introduced with both first and second names. So our example would be called Rame by friends and family, but would be introduced to strangers as Rame Mimikakefe.

There is no need for second names in daily life for most Rafi, as turata live, work, eat, celebrate, and travel together and there is rarely any confusion about relationship dynamics.

The third name, here it is Muremi, is that of one's biological mother. The tradition of matrilineal geneology was not included in the Tefireane and is only noted as far as 350 years ago, starting in Masamineu and spreading through Marafire after Fune was added to the empire.