The Origins of the Tibetans

The tiv lived in a landscape dotted with compounds, each organized around a single older man. Within each compound, that man had near absolute authority. Outside, there was no formal political structure and tiv were fiercely a galetarian. All men aspired to become the masters of large families, but they were extremely suspicious of any form of mastery. The very qualities that allow a man to rise to legitimate prominence could, if taken just a little bit further, turn him into a monster. In fact, most tive seemed to assume that most male elders were witches, and that if a young person died, they were probably being paid off for a flesh debt.