tribelet

[ trahyb-lit ]

/ ˈtraɪb lɪt /

a tribe having few members, especially one that is a component of a larger tribal organization.

Origin of tribelet

First recorded in 1850–55; tribe + -let

It was close to a fishing place that the tribelet shared with the bAskaiya tribelet.

California Athabascan Groups |Martin A. Baumhoff
There is close agreement on the boundaries of the northernmost Wailaki tribelet on the western side of the Eel.

California Athabascan Groups |Martin A. Baumhoff
The name is nearly the same as that of the lowermost village of the tribelet.

California Athabascan Groups |Martin A. Baumhoff
Merriam gives the names chēs-kot kē-ah-hahng, chis-ko-ke-ah, and tōs-ahng-kut for the tribelet living in Horseshoe Bend.

California Athabascan Groups |Martin A. Baumhoff

When a man marries a woman from a distant locality, he goes to her tribelet and identifies himself with her people.

Sex and Society |William I. Thomas