Sangi Kinship
The city for conlangs
Contents |
[edit] Family Relationships an Kinship Terms
Sangi kinship terms follow bilineal, ambilineal and other systems depending on the situation.
[edit] Eskimo Kinship
The Eskimo kinship model for labelling family memebers is essentially the standard and used in the majority of cases, especially when tracing decent, family ties and clan and phratry membership.
┌─────────┬─────┐ ┌─────┬─────────┐
│ │ │ │ │ │
AUN╤UNC UNC╤AUN FAT═╤═MOT UNC╤AUN AUN=UNC
│ │ │ │ │
┌──┴──┐ ┌──┴──┐ ┌───┼───┐ ┌──┴──┐ ┌──┴──┐
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
COS COS COS COS BRO EGO SIS COS COS COS COS
In this system EGO would be the individual and the rest is clear.
Father = Arenno
Mother = Arenna
Brother = Faso
Sister = Fasa
Father's brother = Arempos
Father's brother's wife = Arempas
Father's brother's son = Talemo
Father's brother's daughter = Talema
Father's sister = Arempas
Father's sister's husband = Arempos
Father's sister's son = Talemo
Father's sister's daughter = Talema
Mother's brother = Arempos
Mother's brother's wife = Arempas
Mother's brother's son = Talemo
Mother's brother's daughter = Talema
Mother's sister = Arempas
Mother's sister's husband = Arempos
Mother's sister's son = Talemo
Mother's sister's daughter = Talema
┌────────────────┬────────┐ ┌───────┬────────────────┐
│ │ │ │ │ │
Arempas╤Arempos Arempos╤Arempas Arenno╤Arenna Arempos╤Arempas Arempas╤Arempos
│ │ │ │ │
┌───┴────┐ ┌───┴───┐ ┌────┼─────┐ ┌──┴────┐ ┌───┴───┐
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Talemo Talema Talemo Talema Faso EGO Fasa Talemo Talema Talemo Talema
[edit] Hawai'ian Kinship
The Hawai'ian kinship model for labelling family memebers much simpler than the Eskimo system but has quite a limited usage. In general it is only used in the presence of members of the family related to only one parent. This system is also used when an individual is deciding their surname later in life. It is also used to cement the larger family at social gatherings in which all the family is involved. In-laws however are given no individual kinship names and called by their first names or simply by a formal pronoun so as not to be too impolite. Although this system may seem harsh on in-laws it actually exists to solidify blood bonds and to reduce the chances of incest by calling and treating counsins and uncles and aunts as members of the nuclear family.
_________________ _________________
| | | | | |
...=FAT ...=MOT FAT_=_MOT FAT=... MOT=...
___|___ ___|___ ____|____ ___|___ ___|___
| | | | | | | | | | |
BRO SIS BRO SIS BRO EGO SIS BRO SIS BRO SIS
In this system EGO would be the individual and the rest is clear.
Father = Arenno
Mother = Arenna
Brother = Faso
Sister = Fasa
Father's brother = Arenno
Father's brother's son = Faso
Father's brother's daughter = Fasa
Father's sister = Arenna
Father's sister's son = Faso
Father's sister's daughter = Fasa
Mother's brother = Arenno
Mother's brother's son = Faso
Mother's brother's daughter = Fasa
Mother's sister = Arenna
Mother's sister's son = Faso
Mother's sister's daughter = Fasa
__________________ __________________
| | | | | |
Arenno Arenna Arenno_=_Arenna Arenno Arenna
__|__ __|__ ____|____ __|__ __|__
| | | | | | | | | | |
Faso Fasa Faso Fasa Faso EGO Fasa Faso Fasa Faso Fasa
[edit] Sudanese Kinship
The Sudanese kinship system makes clear distinctions between different family members, making eight distinctions alone among cousins. It is typically used during clan meetings and is used to single out members of a family while keeping them individual from the clan as a whole. Essentially this is a more formal system than the Eskimo kinship system used in a similar situation as the Hawai'ian system. Unlike the Hawai'ian system it does include the in-laws as it helps to unify the clan while keeping the family unit intact.
_________________ _________________
| | | | | |
AUN=FTB UNC=FTS FAT_=_MOT MTB=AUN MTS=UNC
___|___ ___|___ ____|____ ___|___ ___|___
| | | | | | | | | | |
FBS FBD FSS FSD BRO EGO SIS MBS MBD MSS MSD
In this system EGO would be the individual and the rest is clear.
Father = Arenno
Mother = Arenna
Brother = Faso
Sister = Fasa
Father's brother = Arenso
Father's brother's wife = Arempas
Father's brother's son = Salensos
Father's brother's daughter = Salensas
Father's sister = Ema
Father's sister's husband = Arempos
Father's sister's son = Salemos
Father's sister's daughter = Salemos
Mother's brother = Emo
Mother's brother's wife = Arempas
Mother's brother's son = Salemot
Mother's brother's daughter = Salemat
Mother's sister = Arensa
Mother's sister's husband = Arempos
Mother's sister's son = Salensot
Mother's sister's daughter = Salensot
__________________________ __________________________
| | | | | |
Arempas=Arenso Arempos=Ema Arenno_=_Arenna Emo=Arempas Arensa=Arempos
____|____ ____|____ ____|____ ____|____ ____|____
| | | | | | | | | | |
Salensos Salensas Salemos Salemas Faso EGO Fasa Salemat Salemot Salensot Salensat
You can also see that this system also shows differences between cross and parallel cousins so even though the names are different they still lower the chances of incest and unite the family across the two sides of the family, uniting uncles and aunts from different sides of the family together and the same with the cousins.
[edit] Clans
In Sangi society there are two lineages which are followed outside of the basic family unit. The first is the clan. An individuals clan membership is based on that of the mother. In other words, when a man marries his wife, his children will belong to her clan, not the one of his father. However, duing clan meetings, using the Sudanese kinship method, the clan becomes open to the male side of a persons family. This method is used in order to introduce potential new members through the opening and sharing of clan membership and hospitality temporarily.
Secondly there is a second lineage, traced down through the male lines, is called the phratry in English. Essentially it creates larger soial groups, including clans in other clans and increasing the area of social interaction. In other words, there can be many clans within a phratry and many phratries in a clan, spread across a large area. Overall a person will generally marry outside their clans and phratry combination in order to allow larger social ties over long distances.
For example if we were to start out with say 16 common ancestors, 8 female and 8 male, each starting one phratry or one clan each who all have one childe and their children have one child and so on then the sixteen possible outcomes for their great-great-grandchildren will be:
1*=2- 3*=4- 5*=6- 7*=8- 1*=2- 5*=6- 3*=4- 7*=8- 9*=A- B*=C- D*=E- F*=G- 9*=A- D*=E- B*=C- F*=G-
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
21*===43- 65*===87- 21-===65* 43-===87* A9-===CB* ED-===GF* A9*===ED- CB*===GF-
| | | | | | | |
41*=========85- 25*=========47- AB*=========EF- E9*=========GB-
| | | |
81*======================45- EB*=======================G9-
| |
41* GB-
1*=2- 3*=4- 5*=6- 7*=8- 1*=2- 5*=6- 3*=4- 7*=8- 9*=A- B*=C- D*=E- F*=G- 9*=A- D*=E- B*=C- F*=G-
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
21-===43* 65-===87* 21*===65- 43*===87- A9*===CB- ED*===GF- A9-===ED* CB-===GF*
| | | | | | | |
43*=========67- 61*=========83- C9*=========FD- AD*=========CF-
| | | |
63*======================81- D9*=======================CD-
| |
83* C9-
1*=2- 3*=4- 5*=6- 7*=8- 1*=2- 5*=6- 3*=4- 7*=8- 9*=A- B*=C- D*=E- F*=G- 9*=A- D*=E- B*=C- F*=G-
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
21*===43- 65*===87- 21-===65* 43-===87* A9-===CB* ED-===GF* A9*===ED- CB*===GF-
| | | | | | | |
41-=========85* 25-=========43* AB-=========EF* E9-=========GB*
| | | |
45*======================23- AF*=======================EB-
| |
25* EF-
1*=2- 3*=4- 5*=6- 7*=8- 1*=2- 5*=6- 3*=4- 7*=8- 9*=A- B*=C- D*=E- F*=G- 9*=A- D*=E- B*=C- F*=G-
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
21-===43* 65-===87* 21*===65- 43*===87- A9*===CB- ED*===GF- A9-===ED* CB-===GF*
| | | | | | | |
43-=========67* 61-=========83* CA-=========FD* AD-=========CF*
| | | |
47*======================63- CD*=======================AF-
| |
67* AD-
1*=2- 3*=4- 5*=6- 7*=8- 1*=2- 5*=6- 3*=4- 7*=8- 9*=A- B*=C- D*=E- F*=G- 9*=A- D*=E- B*=C- F*=G-
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
21*===43- 65*===87- 21-===65* 43-===87* A9-===CB* ED-===GF* A9*===ED- CB*===GF-
| | | | | | | |
41*=========85- 25*=========43- AB*=========EF- E9*=========GB-
| | | |
81-======================45* EB-=======================G9*
| |
85* E9-
1*=2- 3*=4- 5*=6- 7*=8- 1*=2- 5*=6- 3*=4- 7*=8- 9*=A- B*=C- D*=E- F*=G- 9*=A- D*=E- B*=C- F*=G-
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
21-===43* 65-===87* 21*===65- 43*===87- A9*===CB- ED*===GF- A9-===ED* CB-===GF*
| | | | | | | |
43*=========67- 61*=========83- CA*=========GD- AD*=========CF-
| | | |
63-======================81* GA-=======================CD*
| |
61* GD-
1*=2- 3*=4- 5*=6- 7*=8- 1*=2- 5*=6- 3*=4- 7*=8- 9*=A- B*=C- D*=E- F*=G- 9*=A- D*=E- B*=C- F*=G-
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
21*===43- 65*===87- 21-===65* 43-===87* A9-===CB* ED-===GF* A9*===ED- CB*===GF-
| | | | | | | |
41-=========85* 25-=========43* AB-=========EF* E9-=========GB*
| | | |
45-======================23* AF-=======================EB*
| |
43* AB-
1*=2- 3*=4- 5*=6- 7*=8- 1*=2- 5*=6- 3*=4- 7*=8- 9*=A- B*=C- D*=E- F*=G- 9*=A- D*=E- B*=C- F*=G-
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
21-===43* 65-===87* 21*===65- 43*===87- A9*===CB- ED*===GF- A9-===ED* CB-===GF*
| | | | | | | |
23-=========67* 61-=========83* CA-=========FD* AD-=========CF*
| | | |
27-======================63* CD-=======================AF*
| |
23* CF-
1, 3, 5, 7, 9, B, D and F are phratries while 2, 4, 6, 8, A, C, E and G are clans. "*" are males and "-" are females.
As odd numbers will be passed down male lines and even down female lines, the resulting individual of these marriages would belong to clan 8 and phratry 1. The 16 results of the 8 original pairings, as long as it was kept within their descendents and didn't allow any outside material, would be; 41, GB, 83, C9-, 25, EF, 67, AD, 85, E9, 61, GD, 43, AB, 23 and CF. This shows that even between just 8 clans a great number of social networks can be created
The phratry defines roaming areas while the clan only determines the location of settlements.
In the first example, 41* would be raised at his mother's Clan 4 location with trade links to his father's Phratry members at a settlement somewhere in Phratry 1. When 41* marries, this will be to anyone other than a member of Clan 4 or 8, he will move to this location but reatin rights over Phratry 1 roaming territory and maintain trade links with other members of Phratry 1.
In the second example, GB- would be live permanently at a Clan G location. However, she will only attend trade activities at a Phratry B location until she marries. If she were to marry say 41* then she would then lose her ties with her father's Phratry and instead accompany her husband at a Phratry 1 location.
The ties between clans created by the phratry system above can be demonstrated as such:
_____ | | 2<4>8 v 6
A<>G
C<>E
In the final processes of marriages, marriages between Cand E created only a system of reciprocal trade with each other as did marriages between A and G. Marriages from 4 however have created links between 2, 6 and 8 while 2 and 8 can trade with each other directly as well. Therefore the 3 marriages by Clan 4 women descended from the first 4 clans ended up creating a kind of "hub" family in which resources can pass through and extended family to another Clan through the phratry networks.
Including the Phratry territories the network would look like this:
┌-[B]-┐ G A └-[D]-┘
C-[9]-E
┌-[5]-┐ | | 2-[3]-8 4 | [1] | 6 | [7]
This diagram better illustrates how trade links between these 16 children would have come about before the time of their marriage. G and A are in a system of reciprocal trade with each other in 2 areas B and D through 4 children, yet all being female this link will be broken when all 4 are married assuming neither husband has rights to one of these areas. C and E are also in a system of reciprocal trade through 1 Area 9 through and like G and A both children are female so this system will shift upon marriage. The final system is much more complex and all involve males so this system will remain intact upon marriage. 2 and 8 are in a system or reciprocal trade through 5 and 3 but also both in trade through 3 with 4. 4 is also in a system of reciprocal trade with 6 through 1 while 6 has rights to 7 but outside of the trade links with any of the possible clans involved here. This may be a common feature among certain phratry areas if one clan is separated from another by a long distance.
Phratry lineages are generally kept track of by the production and passing on of a mobile item, such as a badge, seal, brooch, etc. which clearly can clearly be identified with that clan. Usually it depicts an object or place familiar in the Phratry location, a specific constellation, animal, plant or sometimes even an abstract design. Clans are much easier to keep track of. All the women in one clan are those women who are directly descended from the first female at that location, therefore simply living in that location includes you in that clan.
The clan and the phratry to overlap, however, at certain occassions. As said above, the Sudanese system is used at clan meetings, in which the clan will meet and also bring the husbands extended family, i.e. members of other clans. Typically, each clan will have their own design for clothing, identifying which clan a person is from. The phratry marker also helps idenitify a person's lineage and will therefore allow an individual to determine who he should be engaging in conversation. This is usually the family of the husband's maternal uncles as they will more often than not be a member of a different clan and a different phratery meaning that the person will provide new trade links for the clan if a male of that clan were to leave. A person will generally stay away from intimate relationships with members of their clan and phratry, especially those whose clan and phratry are identical to theirs and to a lesser extent will stay away from intimate relationships with people of the same clan and phratry as both grandparents but this, on the whole, will only apply to the extended family which is usually identified by a tattoo which contains more specific information about their lineage.
The tattoo will indicate the clan and phratry lineage back through the previous 3 generation back to the great-grandparents of an individual. So 41*'s tatto will encode the following information:
21*===43- 65*===87- 21-===65* 43-===87*
| | | |
41*=========85- 25*=========43-
| |
81*======================45-
It will then show the clan and phratry of all his 2 parents (therefore the individual's siblings will encode the same informortion), 4 grandparents (therefore all his aunts and uncles will encode one half of this information r the other whil his cousins will encode one of quarter this information or the other) and his 8 grandparent (therefore all of his great uncles and aunts will encode one quarter of this information while their children will encode one eight of the information while their children will include one sixteenth). Even if one eighth (tattoos accounting for marriage of couples) of the information about clan and phratry lineage of two people is identical in the area donating great-grandparents then they are likely to stay away from an intimate relationship unless they can show that the two greatgrandparent couples were not the same people. This usually just comes down to a first name being different, generally meaning that the other person's great-grandfather was the first person's great-great-uncle and the great-grandmother being the great-great-aunt which is typically considered enough of a gap to allow for the possibility of an intimate relationship. Any information that comes to close to being similar will often indicate even closer relation, even if this is not the case. On the hole it is best to stay away from people with even 1/8 the same tattoo in one of the great-grandparent sections though in order to safely avoid possible relation, even if there isn't one. This is one of the reasons for the Sudanese kinship terms coming into use was that at clan meetings involving non-clan members it helped to determine relation beyond the clothes, items and tattoos.
So 41* would could marry a member of any clan or phratry as long as one of their great-grandparent couples was not 21*=43-, 65*=87-, 21-=65* or 43-=87*. If not a single one of these pairs matches up then he would have the freedom to marry the person of their choice. Any greater number of similarities is certainly a greater incentive to refrain from marriage and is generally fround upon if it goes ahead, especaially if the parents section adds up.
Overall, links between clans are quite dynamic due to the nature of marriage and inter-relation but the continued use of certain areas means that position is static. Even various trading locations would presumably be settled in some phratry areas although the case is normally that a location will be decided upon at an earlier meeting or trade will happen sporadically on route to a number of set locations. This generally all depends on the phratry and multiple systems exist which on the whole mean that knowledge of the phratry area is needed by each member and this knowledge is actually used by the members to solidify their ties with each other. Knowing where a person will be and when would be similar to a reunion on Earth as well as a time of trade.
[edit] Origins of the Clan System
Obviously it cannot be taken that each individual who arrived on the planet was the progenator of their own clan or phratry. The clan system began ealier on, nine generations before the arrival, approximating to around 200-250 years or so, before the Sangi people arrived. At this point in time, seven or eight women became the original members of their clan and over time the clan grew. If a woman were to have say two daughters and her daughters had two daughters each and so on for the next eight generations then the resulting female population of that clan decended from her would be 256 and thereofre 2048 if the maximum of eight members was held to and each woman had two female children. Obviously, however, these numbers fluctuate greatly and some clans ended up with very few members who, in order to survive, joined another clan and set up their own village within the clan territory of the larger clan while some simply died out. The phratry lines only began properly on the arrival of the Sangi to the planet.
The Phratry territory and the Clan territory were once linked, with the men belonging initially to their wives clans but on the arrival of the people on the planet the phratry system which was in place before hand took on a new territorial meaning in which the male lineage was attached to the phratry territory no matter where he lived or what clan he belonged to. Over time, the seperation of the two territories became more and more obvious as the number of male members of a clan using the phratry territory became less and less while the male decendents of the clans original male members spread out into different clans coming back to their home territory to trade and hunt. For example, say a man has two sons who marry into two different clans, the two sons would move to two different locations but would use the original phratry territory to hunt and trade. Now both of these men have a son each, each one marrying into a different clan from each other, their fathers and their uncles. These two cousins would have moved further away from the original phratry territory and therefore the original clan territory in these two generations but would still come back to it in order to trade and hunt in the same place as their paternal grandfather had done. Given enough time and distance, this process could be continued to a point where the man can no longer travel to his phratry territory and hence becomes limited to his wife's clan area. This isn't necessarily a good marriage choice because of individual lack of trade links, but if her clan already had enough trade links then it would be acceptable. Now, this man, no longer attached to his phratry territory and limited to a smaller area without the ability to trade or hunt would have to find something else to do. In these circumstaces it would be typical for him to help his wife and the rest of the community to perform domestic and small agricultural activities or even use a skill he had to produce a trade item or a tool.
[edit] Original of Specialisation and Agriculture
In a clan area in which a large number of males are too distant to the phratry area it is possible for food production as a result of plant-based agriculture to increase. When this happens the amount of meat taken in from hunting might drop or it may continue as it is but it is likely that the increase social tendency to stay at the clan site would lead to an increase in domesticated animals, at least behaviourally to begin with but possibly moving on to genetic domestication. This would lead to a nearly purely agricultural clan with the increased food production leading to a higher population, allowing for the continued maintenance of land and the labour needed to support possible non-producers who would allow for specialisation. This specialisation, coupled with trade, would lead, possibly, to a situation similar to that of ancient Greek city-states exporting basic goods created as a result of specialisation to other clans for resources in order to continue making these items.
The build up of a possible surplus in food would possibly lead even to the trade in food for other resources, especially with less fortunate clan, leading to a clan hierarchy in which the agricultural clan instantly becomes the provider of food for a hunting clan which would have an obligation to provide the first clan with materials and resources. However, it is usually at this point where clan expansion and domination stops. The very idea of anything beyond this kind of interaction, i.e. hierarchical, would be despised by the vast majority of Sangi people so everything is done to limit the emergence of a hierarchical trade system and everything is traded on a need-need value basis. If your clan needs something and you have what they need then this is traded in a way that would also not harm the future existence of either clan. The act of deception is buffered by the fact that all the people who are trading with each other are related and decended, in their minds, from a single person, sharing common blood and deception on this level is seen as a crime worthy of mass blood-letting, often to the point of death. This punishment is because you are viewed as not worthy of the blood that keeps you alive.
[edit] The Prevention of Empire
As mentioned above, the idea of hierarchy is despised and deception during trade is a crime punishable by death, a punishment fully accepted given the manner in which it is performed and the cultural reasons behind it. The idea of an empire in general is foreign to Sangi culture yet it basic ideas would absolutely disgust any person born to any clan or phratry to the point where they would destroy the idea in all forms. This attitude to hierarchy alone has kept the Sangi from developing to a stage similar to that of Western Europe. Although this is true, the Sangi do see themselves as a single people. The clan system adopted even by non-Sangi speakers in the area has lead to the belief that even they, the non-Sangi people, to believe themselves to be Sangi. Essentially, through the clan-phratry system, all people that interact in it are viewed as a single united people.
[edit] Smaller Divisions of the Clan and Phratry
As the clans and phratries would be quite large and originally developing from up to eight famel members and eight male members their are smaller divisions within the clans which allow for the population of a clan territory to intermarry. These divisions are based along a similar idea to the clan-phratry system, but smaller in scale. An individual is given a middle name as well as the clan-phratry name, this middle name was orginally the surname of on of the original male members of the clan. This middle name thn passed to the wife who gave it to their children. This new middle name is passed down the clan line. When a man from another clan-phratry enters the clan, he passes in his surname, creating a division within the division. Say there are two women both of family A. One of them marries within the clan to a man of family B while one marries outside the clan-phratry to a man of family C. The children of the first woman will all be of family B while the children of the second will be of family C but they will all be of say clan 1 with the men being of either phratry 1 or 2.
Overall this creates a rather complex family tree but on the whole it is really rather simple. Women will always be a member of a single clan and men will always be a member of a single phratry which is essentially linked to an original clan. Children will inherit the middle name of there mother if their father was from within the clan, but if he was not then they will inherit his middle name, creating a new branch for the clan. The reason for this adoption of a new name is that the new man brought in new genetic material, therefore his children will be partially outside of the clan but technically still part of it.
So take this family tree of a certain eight family clan in which all the men and women in the first generation are members and they all have one child for however many generations.
(a11)-(A11) (b11)-(B11) (c11)-(C11) (d11)-(D11) (e11)-(E11) (f11)-(F11) (g11)-(G11) (h11)-(H11)
| | | | | | | |
(a11)-------(B11) (c11)-------(D11) (e11)-------(F11) (g11)-------(H11)
| | | |
(B11)-------------------(d11) (F11)-------------------(h11)
| |
(D11)-------------------------------------------(h11)
|
(h11)
Obviously just eight families with a single child each, given they could pair off perfectly would kill of the clan within four generations without outside sources, even if the last member were female without marriage the clan would be dead, so outside sources are needed. Now in this example take the same family tree but allow for the intake of new people
(a11)-(A11) (b11)-(B11) (c11)-(C11) (d11)-(D11) (e11)-(E11) (f11)-(F11) (g11)-(G11) (h11)-(H11)
| | | | | | | |
(a11)-------(B11) (I22)=(c11) (D11)=(j33) (e11)=(o99) (F11)=(k44) (g11)-------(H11)
| | | |
(B11)=(l54) (j13)-------------------(K14) (H11)=(m67)
| | |
(l14)--------------------------------------(K13) (M17)=(n88)
| |
(K14)=(c21) (n18)=(e91)
| |
(c11)------------------------------------------------(E11)
|
(E11)=(j33)
|
(J13)=(k32)
|
(k12)
The intake of new material and the production of enough female children per generation was enough to preserve the clan for eight generations while also bringing in more trade links. With enough children and enough female children this could in fact, preserve the clan indefinitely from its original sixteen members onwards. Notice in the above example the death and rebirth of familes E and C, showing the fluidity of the middle-name identity as male members take middle-names to other clans and can bring them back again. Marriage between people with the same middle name and of the same clan-phratry is considered incestuous even if the occurance of these names is down to say ten generations of movement, death and rebirth.
This lineage system implies a desire to have female children, as does the clan system. However, the phratry system places an emphasis on the desire to have male children. On the whole the desire for male or female children is down to the circumstances of the society at the time. If a clan has many daughters but few sons it is likely this generation will have the desire for sons to increase trade. If the opposite situation occurs in which there are more sons, it will lead to the eventual decrease in the clan size as they go off with their wives so more daughters will be desired. On the whole, though, a healthy 50:50 mix is usually preferred, especially in areas where outside marriages are easy to come by.
[edit] Keeping Track
Keeping track of lineage can be quite simple if the only concern is marriage. This is easy done by using the middle name and the clan-phratry name. Members within a clan-phratry can marry, assuming they don't have the same middle name. Members of the same clan, but of different phratries can also marry, assuming they don't have the middle name. Members of the same phratry but of different clans may also marry, once again, assuming the middle name isn't shared. To be sure of no common ancestory going back less that five generations, each individual has the names of their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and great-grandparents as well as the brothers and sisters of them all, ecxept the great-great-grandparents written down in order to find out how closely two people are related. If no common ancestor of less than five generations can be found but they are in the same clan and/or phratry without the same middle name then marriage is absolutely fine.
It should also be noted that arranged marriages are the norm but their are some compications to consider. Although marriages are arranged by parents, they are done for the perceived good of both clans, i.e. to increase the chances of a long term future as well as to open trade links. A second complication to the idea is that a man or a woman may, abviously, not be happy with the arranged marriage. Instead of divorcing, though, if both parties are unhappy with the arrangement the marry out of convenience but take on secondary lovers. This is done with extreme caution when it comes to sex, making sure the only father is the husband, with this done in order to keep going the ideas behind the arranged marriage. So although few will marry for love, some may likely fall in love with their spouse(-to-be) or fall in love with another person, although they may not have children with them unless they belong to the same clan, phratry and middle-name as that person's spouse.
[edit] Death, Burial and Ritual
When an individual dies their sex, lineage and marital status determines overridingly the location of their burial and also how they are "buried" (sometimes they're not even buried) and the "rituals" involved in the funeral.
[edit] Males
Because a male will change the location of where he lives upon marriage he may have two burial locations. Before he is married he will be buried at a grave site within his phratry area. At this funeral only his immediate family and the other members of his phratry in that clan will attend. Overall the vast majority of attendees are male. He is usually placed on a pile of wood which is set on fire in order the cremate the body. The ashes are then spread over the area while a portion is taken back to the clan settlement and later spread around the house where he lived.
If he was married at the time he will of course be living at his wife's clan settlement, but he is however still part of his phratry. Because of this his body is usually buried at some point on the clan boundary with his head pointing towards the burial site of his phratry. The attendees will include the members of his wife's clan as well as his extended family. Unlike the other funeral, the overall number of the two sexes is mixed and it is at this time the Sudanese kinship terms will be used. It is a time for mourning but it will also strengthen clan ties and may later lead to new blood.
[edit] Females
As a female will only ever stay in one location she will only be buried on one place, her clan settlement. Unlike her husband she will be buried standing upright. If unmarried she will be facing her home, but if married she, like her husband, will face the burial place of his phratry. Typically though their is only a single location for the female dead, unlike the male dead who are buried further out and form a kind of "morbid boundary" around the clan area.
[edit] Young Children
Typically, children under the age of about 3 to 5 of both sexes are buried within the settlement site of the individuals clan, the only instance in which males and females are buried together. They are usually buried at the back end of the parent's house. This ritual originated with the desire to keep within the family memory all people whether they died young or old. The practice also shows the idea that children are essentially a seperate gender, bing to young to really contribute any physical work to the community they have no physical affiliation to the clan or the phratry but they do to the family.
[edit] Names
Within Sangi society, the number of names is quite small compared to Western Europe. Thr pattern of naming is rather similar to that of the !Kung of Africa in which a person of one generation is named after another.
1st Son : Paternal grandfather 1st Daughter : Maternal grandmother 2nd Son : Maternal granfather 2nd Daughter : Paternal grandmother 3rd+ Son : Named after paternal uncles, then maternal uncles, then paternal great uncles, etc. 3rd+ Daughter : Named after maternal aunts, then paternal aunts, then maternal great aunts, etc.
The naming of people after previous family members of both lineages makes sure the clan and phratry remain equally important as well as tying the child back to the past, especially the first child. The relationship between an his family members is partly determined by this system. There is a three-way distinction in the generally expected social interactions with family members in which polite, informal and "impolite" interactions take. Formal interactions occur between an individual and their parents, children, uncles, aunts, nephews, great-grandparents as well as the opposite sex sinlings. "Impolite" interactions occur between the individual and their cousins, grandchildren, grandparents and same sex siblings. An intermediary between these two interactions is the interaction between a namesake who falls into the category of people the individual would usually have polite interactions with. In this instance the individual would interact with their namesake less formally than they usually would but not in the same way they would with other relatives. This rule extends to in-laws. An individual will interact formally with their parents-in-law, daughters/sons-in-law, etc. and will act "impolitely" with their cousins-in-law, grandchildren-in-law, etc. They will also have impolite interactions with the parents of their children-in-law and same sex siblings (as their spouse) of their spouse but will act formally around the spouses of their opposite sex siblings and the opposite sex siblings of their spouse.
Take for example a married man named after his fathers older brother. He will act formally around his parents, children, uncles, aunts, great-grandparents, great-grandchildren, neices, nephews and his sisters while acting impolitely around his brother, cousins, grandparents and grandchildren while acting informally around the uncle who he was named after. Within his in-laws he will act impolitely with his sisters-in-law and the parents of his children-in-law. This male-female rule is reversed for women who will act impolitely around brothers-in-law and the parents of their children-in-law but formally with other members of the family. Both sexes will act impolitely around grandparents and grandchildren-in-law as well as cousins-in-law.
Interactions within the family nuclear family are therefore formal but the head of the household is usually, jointly, the maternal grandparents and the father. The maternal grandparents maintain clan identity while the father maintains phratry identity, especially among male children. The formal relationship between a man and his son reflects well the interactions that occur during trade negotiations while the interactions with that child and his brother will allow for these negotiations to be less straining amongst same-generation males in the area. The maternal grandparents however act almost as parents, looking after the children and teaching them the skills necassary for later life, and the maternal grandfather maintains a continued idea of phratry interactions amongst men but is also an important figure in women's lives.
As you can see, household and family interactions can be quite complex, partly defining Sangi society in how in works as a whole and how relationships are maintained between large distances.
For an Example of names, look at this family tree:
FF=FM MF=MM
_______|_______ ______|_______
| | | | | |
FB(1s) FS(1d) F(2s)=M(1d) MS(2d) MF(1s)
_______|_______
| | | | | |
1s 2s 3s 1d 2d 3d
With names included the family tree would look like this
Gon=Satrin An.t.yy=Mo:shsha ________|________ ________|________ | | | | | | Gheebis Tanneja Maj=Genivia Rosha En.i ___________________|___________________ | | | | | | Gon An.t.yy Gheebis Mo:shsha Satrin Rosha
Including clan and phratry names the family tree would show lineage as well
Gon Macro-Pughiia=Satrin Maja-Sato An.t.yy Masco-Chelua=Mo:shsha Pragia-Sheno
___________________|________________ ________|________
| | | | | |
Gheebis Macro-Maja Tanneja Maja-Macro Maj Macro-Maja=Genivia Pragia-Masco Rosha Pragia-Masco En.i Masco-Pragia
_________________________________________________|_______________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Gon Macro-Pragia An.t.yy Macro-Pragia Gheebis Macro-Pragia Mo:shsha Pragia-Macro Satrin Pragia-Macro Rosha Pragia-Macro
As you can see, this follows the naming pattern given above as well as the taking of surnames in which the phrtry name in males comes first and the clan name first in females with these first surnames inherited in the same way. Each one of the last generation will be "impolite" with their grandparents and formal with their parents uncles and aunts. The boys will be formal with their sisters and vice versa. Gheebis and Rosha, though, will be allowed to interact informally with their namesakes. An.t.yy Masco-Chelua and Mo:shsha Pragia-Sheno will be the "impolite" heads of the house while Maj Macro-Maja will be the formal head of the house while Gon Macro-Pughiia and Satrin Maja-Sato would be pretty much detached from this family altogether.
[edit] Tribe
Sangi kinship goes one step higher after the clan-phratry system, a level often translated as "tribe". A tribe is made up of a collection of clans, usually numbering between three to ten clans depending on how close the original clan members were when they were chosen. With the number of families within a clan numbering at about eight on average, the number of families in a clan will be around twenty-four to sixty-four. As such, tribes are usually the most self-sustaining of all the mentioned levels of organisation.
It was more common to marry within the tribe than outside it, but it was not at all rare for men to move out into a new tribal area. This allowed for tribes to come together, much like on the clan level.
[edit] Settlement
Each settlement was divided into squares of equal size. In order to maintain a constant shifting of the settlement use, "John Conway's Game of Life" was instituted early on as a way of determining where a couple was able to live within a given settlement. The initial conditions of the clan settlement were mapped out in the appropriate scale and the program was run till it reached stability. Static areas were designated as areas for buidlings while dynamic areas were intended for agricultural land, allowing for crop rotation and field rotation. If a new building had to be added to the final plan, care was taken to ensure that this happened within an area where the house would be stable while at the same time, not affecting the final layout causing a complete resign of the settlement. Although a strange idea, it was adopted as a way of teaching about the changing nature of the world and the idea that stability could come from chaos.
