A partnership is a relationship with people outside of one's designated kinsmen. These can be either informal or formal. Partnerships create a network of people you can rely upon other than close relatives. These friends are so close that they will swap wives or avenge each other's deaths. These friendships extend beyond territories and bands.
Names are very important to traditional Inuit.
Two people with the same name are spiritually interlocked. Every hunter had a number of sharing partners for each part of the seal meat and blubber that was to be shared - ideally 12. Names were attached to each part and people were referred to by those names. Partners were recognized as kinsmen and nonkinsmen. Parents usually selected a boys first partners in early childhood.