The cultural protocols including kinship are important in the Gija community. The Gija term ‘ninggoom’’ is the oldest apical ancestor, from the Gija forefathers. Apical ancestor refers to the last common ancestor of an entire group. Shirley Drill explains, ‘Kinship is important in the Gija community. Kinship is the skin relationship between people in the community and it’s used to guide marriage and how people relate to each other. It also helps when Gija people travel to other communities because they can tell straight away what their relationship is to other people and how they should relate to them.’