Ju/'hoansi Kin Terms
The Ju/'hoansi, a San foraging group of the Kalahari Desert, provide
another example of
an Eskimo
terminology, similar to English
and many other European systems
(Lee 2002:64-76)
.
Ju/'hoan Kin Terms with
Designations for
Older Cousins
 | |
Nuclear family members (shaded in green) are assigned unique terms, and
extended family members are grouped into categories on a bilateral basis
without any distinction between father's and mother's sides. Thus we could
provide an exact English gloss for any of the terms above: tsu
= uncle, ga = aunt, kuna/tun
= cousin, tsuma = nephew/niece.
The Ju/'hoansi pattern is typical for foraging societies in respect to
two essential conditions:
-
nuclear families assume an important identity as units which separate and
rejoin in the basic pattern of seasonal nomadic movements, and
-
bilateral kinship ties develop in response the need for flexible band composition
(See Ju/'hoansi descent
organization).
Beyond these obvious features, however, this specific example has some
percularities, which point out aspects of kinship terminology that are
not covered by the standard sixfold division.
-
The gender of the speaker becomes a significant factor in the term given
to nieces and nephews. Males use the term "tsuma" and females use the term
"gama", a reflection of the fact that they are reciprocals of "tsu" and
"ga". (Lee indicates that the gama term is only used for sister's daughter
but such a usage seems to involve an inconsistency).
-
The relative age of the speaker is also significant. The diagram above
gives the terms for older siblings and cousins. Younger relatives receive
a different designation as indicated in the following diagram. (Note that
the younger cousin terms -- kuma and tuma --
are reciprocals of kuna and tun.
Ju/'hoan Kin Terms with Designations for Younger Cousins
| |
While the speaker's gender is perhaps a minor feature of the system, relative
age is quite significant and must be appreciated in terms of a broader
structural feature that becomes apparent only when we extend the terminology
to consider more distant generations as in the following six generation
genealogy.
Identity of Alternating Generations, Older Relatives
| |
The main feature that can now be observed is that the terms for older
cousin (kuna/tun)are the same as the terms for grandparents,
representing a principle that Lee identifies as an "equivalence of alternate
generations". The same pattern is evident in the use of equivalent terms
for:
-
uncle and great-grandfather (tsu)
-
aunt and great-grandmother(ga), and
-
niece/nephew and great grandchild (tsuma/gama).
The same patterning is reflected in the identification of younger cousins
(kuma/tuma) with grandchildren as indicated below.
Identity of Alternating Generations, Younger Relatives
 | |
The relative age and alternate generation identities in the Juhoansi
terminology are not mere oddities and complications. They reflect two central
features of San social structure:
-
joking and avoidance relationships, and
-
namesake relationships.
©Brian Schwimmer
University of Manitoba
Created: Janurary 2001
Last updated: September 2003