A geirhou is a Khinasi band, or extended family. Geirhou are often egalitarian and have very informal leadership; the older members of the band, the geizada generally are looked to for guidance and advice and decisions are often made on a consensus basis with the guidance of the elders. The Khinasi have a strong sense of family and kinship. One principal pastime consists of tracing their lineage and relationships. They regard members of the geirhou as siblings and even more remotely related people as dear, close cousins. The geirhou raises the children communally into its own traditions, including the trades of the geirhou.
Because of problems with Khinasi trade and the law of Avani, Khinasi merchants primarily do business with relatives, someone in their geirhou. Doing business with family protects merchants because the law fails to address many important trade issues. So a successful geirhou contains the necessary trades to provide the core craft and merchant activity within the geirhou.

[top]Feuds and Duels

Dueling or open feuding between rival geirhou is fairly common, but such battles are usually wars of words, gestures, and stances. The more serious the slight that begins the feud, the farther the offended party may go to obtain retribution. If the son of one family dies at the hand of another, the victim's kin consider the matter resolved when the killer is slain. Any crime less serious than murder or rape the Khinasi can settle with an exchange of gifts or a public apology.

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