 Throughout the range of the Known Space books, the patriarchy is held by the Riit family.The patriarch has a range of privileges including a protected hunting reserve and the authority to assign full names to Kzin who have brought glory or honour to the Kzinti empire.There are in fact two Patriarchs as the smaller, lost colony of Kzinti on the Ringworld also has a Patriarch, in addition to the main Kzinti empire.