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Why birth order belongs on a family tree
Who was born first can change what a whole branch of the family calls someone.
Where relation words depend on who is older, birth order is not a small detail. If two brothers are recorded without birth dates, their children cannot tell from the tree whether to call the other Ntate Moholoho or Rangwane.
When dates are lost, write down the order instead: first born, second born, and so on. Elders usually remember the order long after the dates are forgotten.
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