 When resources were plentiful, several tents would travel together as a "goum".While these groups were sometimes linked by patriarchal lineage, others were just as likely linked by marriage alliances (new wives were especially likely to have close male relatives join them).Sometimes, the association was based on acquaintance and familiarity, or even no clearly defined relation except for simple shared membership within a tribe.The next scale of interaction within groups was the "" (cousin, or literally "son of an uncle") or descent group, commonly of three to five generations.