Fighting, love, social climbing, political alliance, unexpected luck and sudden defeat. And again dominant males who abdicate to live like heremits and descendents of good families who become head of the herd, thanks to the support of the female clan. This is the story of the macaco rhesus observed by John Berard on the island of Cayo Santiago. The result of eight years of study gives us a completly new view of the social organizations of the macacos. The career of a male does not depend, as has long been thought, on his pphysical strength or his courage but on the constance and patience with which he participates in the life of a group. An absence of only a couple of weeks is enough to make him fall to a lower level in the social heirarchy and make him start from a stratch. The female is the red supporting structure of the macaco society. They are the ones who fight to keep the prestige of the community high and even go as far as fighting a real battle with other groups. And it is always the female who chooses her partner, immaterial of his physical strenght or the social role he occupies.