Although each village is ruled by its own chief, the oldest descendants of the first settlers are counted as nobility and also have a certain amount of authority. There is a clear social order among the Konyanke that ranges from nobility to commoners. The lowest and most despised class consists of craftsmen and former slaves. Their society is patriarchal , or male-dominated. The line of descent is traced through the fathers, and inheritances are passed down through the males.
Men commonly have more than one wife.
An age-set is a three or four year interval, with every child born in those years belonging to the same set. The children in an age-set go to school together and work together. A typical Konyanke meal consists of steamed rice covered with a spicy stew of vegetables and meat or fish. Mangoes, bananas, oranges, papayas, and cashews help to balance their diet. Usually, Konyanke women do all the domestic chores as well as the rice cultivation.