The family was the basic nucleus. Monogamous marriages were usual, though a man could have two women.
No hierarchy such as the of cacique was known among the Selk'nam people , due to the fact that they were organized in families.
Only the shamans, known as kon, who were recognized as having special powers were respected and feared. They cured the sick and took charge of religious ceremonies.
Social relationships were based on patriarchal kinship, expressed in the establishment of the married couple with the family of the male (virilocal). A family might consist of four or five generations.
Selk´nam territory, property of an extended family, was traditionally sub-divided in 40 family districts, which had limits known by all, according to the ethnologist Martín Gusinde. To travel to another territory, the Selk'nam must have the consent of their neighbors.