is based on what is formally known as an Iroquois kinship and reflects the matrilineal clan system and the importance of cross cousin marriage. Individuals in the Tanana society are born into their mother's clan. Their society was and still is composed of eight or nine matrilineal clans that are arranged in exogamous moieties named Raven (or Crow) and Sea Gull (or Wolf). Marriage was supposed to take place between a man and woman who are from opposite clan. Culture Religion Animism and shamanism Historically and traditionally, Tanana and other all Alaskan Athabaskans are practice animism and shamanism. The animistic belief system common to all Alaskan Athabaskan groups might be briefly characterized as follows: All creatures, and some inanimate objects, had spirits which were active and powerful components of those creatures. The spirits enabled an animal to know more than was immediately apparent to him. Thus, if human beings did something which displeased the animal's spirit, the animal itself would remain aloof from the people, and the people might starve. There were very definite rules which people had to follow in dealing with animals based on this belief in animal spirits. Aboriginally and in early historic times the shaman, called as medicine man or medicine woman (Tanacross Upper Tanana ) was the central figure of Athabaskan religious life. The shaman within this culture was the middle man/woman between spirits and the native peoples. Magicoreligious practices included omens, charms, amulets, songs, taboos, and beliefs about the supernatural. Beliefs and practices were associated with certain animals, and many centered on hunting. Animal spirits appear to have predominated in Tanana spiritual life, although an evil spirit was manifested in a half-man, half-animal being. Spirits were influential in the activities of the living and in guiding the dead to their final resting place. Athabaskan shamans guarded people against the effects of bad spirits. The shaman also diagnosed various illnesses and restored the health of those harmed by bad spirits. The shaman could also provide the valuable service of scapulimancy, which predicted the location of game when hunting was scarce. According to cultural anthropologist Richard K. Nelson (who lived for extended periods in Alaskan Athabaskan villages), Athabaskan traditions teach that everything in nature is fundamentally spiritual and must be treated with respect. This includes not only avoiding waste, but also following an elaborate code of morality toward plants, animals, and the earth itself. For example,