Tokmaleta is the founding ancestor of one of the nine exogamous patriclans (kanta) of the Konso. Like the other clans it is headed by a poqalla, a hereditary priest-chief whose ritual blessing underwrites the fertility of people and fields and whose office descends within the founder's line. The Konso clans are ranked and paired within a segmentary order documented by Hallpike, and their elders help regulate the generation-grade system that structures Konso public life. The clan name is recorded in several orthographic forms in the literature.