XVIL
We
kinlolk.
System
turn
now
of
Kinship Terminology
to the culturally patterned relationships
among
These relationships taken as an organized whole are here
referred to as the kinship system. As the relationships of kinship
grow out of parenthood and marriage, and, as among the Chamorros,
the elementary family unit in which parenthood and marriage take
place is of particular social significance, a consideration of relationships within this family group will occupy a large place in the
shall first consider the terminology of kinship
following analysis.
We
as a
mechanism
for
grouping and classifying relatives.
Referential
Terms
among the Chamorros of
the application of these
and
below,
Saipan are given in the
The
charts
the
terms is shown on
(figs. 23, 24).
accompanying
collected
the
same
as
those
for
are
Chamorro terms
previously
Saipan
The kinship terms
in referential use
list
by Thompson
for
Guam
(Thompson, 1945, pp. 14-15).
In actual
In order to illususe, the terms are joined with a possessive sufRx.
trate common usage, in the following list two forms of kinship term
are given, the root
word and
possessive suffix for the
first
its
form when combined with the
person, singular.
CHAAIORRO KINSHIP TERMS (REFERENTIAL)
father
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SAIPAN
244
have heard a cousin's children referred to by the son and daughter
terms C'la'hiho" and "ha'gaho"), though the usage is not general.
The
application of the kinship terms as
shown on the charts
In the extension
(figs. 23, 24) is the same regardless of the sex of ego.
of terms, the system is bilateral in that terms are extended as far on
the paternal as on the maternal side.
Likewise, neither side is
favored in the remembrance of genealogies. The Chamorros on the
whole are not concerned with remembering genealogies far back in
either the maternal or paternal lines of ancestry; more often than
not a man or woman cannot trace a genealogy back of the grandparental generation. It must be remembered in this connection that
Saipan was populated in relatively recent times from Guam, so
that the migration itself may have acted to remove concern with
genealogy.
Vocative
As
much
used
Terms
in referential use, personal names instead of kinship terms are
used in direct address among relatives. Names are generally
among
siblings, often
among
cousins,
and
for relatives of de-
scending generations in preference to kinship terms. For relatives
of ascending generations other than the parents, personal names are
also used more than kinship terms, but are often joined with the
respect prefix, tun or tan. The use of names and of vocative kinship
terms is explained in the following list.
For siblings of either sex: personal names are used; brothers
among themselves may occasionally use "lake" ("man," "son").
For cousins: personal names are generally used among children;
among adults either personal names or "primo" and "prima."
For parents: "tata" ("father") and "nana" ("mother") are employed. The terms are the same as those in referential use, but in
the vocative term the accent shifts to the second syllable. Actually,
the familiar forms "ta" and "na" predominate. Occasionally the
referential "ta'taho"
and "na'naho"
also heard the father's
of the father
word
name
may
be used vocatively.
I
have
used, preceded by the possessive form
("tatan").
For parents' siblings: Personal names are generally used, prefixed
with the respect form "tun" for males and "tan" for females. Interestingly enough, occasionally the terms for "father" and "mother"
Also,
{"tata" and "nana") are used for siblings of the parents.
the possessive form of the familiar word for "father" {"tan") may
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SAIPAN
246
be prefixed to the personal name and used for uncles who are "close"
to the family and who are frequently on the family scene.
The
possessive form of the familiar term for "mother" ("nan") may be
Thus there is a classificatory element in
similarly used for aunts.
the vocative terminology for parents' siblings that is not present
in the referential terminology.
For grandparents: In direct address, the referential terms "guelo"
and "guela" are seldom if ever used; during the period of field work
I never heard them used vocatively.
The most usual manner of
address for a grandfather is to use his name with a respect prefix.
This prefix is the possessive form of the father term, either "tatan"
Thus, vocative usage for "father" and for "grandfather"
For the grandfather the word "bihu" ("old man")
be substituted for "tan" or "tatan" as a respect prefix. The
or "tan."
is
often the same.
may
grandmother's name is used, preceded by a respect form, usually
"6//m" (possessive of "hihan"), meaning "old woman."
Likewise
"tatanbiJm" ("old father") for the grandfather and "nananhiha"
("old mother") for the grandmother may often be heard.
For grandparents' siblings: The personal name is correct, preceded by the honorific "tun" for males and "tan" for females. This
usage of "tun" and "tan" as respect prefixes may be extended in
direct address to all elderly people.
For own children Personal names, usually nicknames, are mostly
"
The kinship terms "la'hiho," or
'iho" ("my son") and
"
or
'aho"
"ha'gaho,"
("my daughter") may also be used. I have
heard the kinship term followed by the name.
:
used.
For nephews and nieces: Personal names are most frequently
employed. If a kinship term is used, which it is very frequently, it
is the son and daughter term, another reflection of a classificatory
element in the vocative terminology. This same usage holds for
the children of cousins.
For grandchildren The personal name
:
is
used for grandchildren as
well as for other related children of the second descending generation.
For the spouse: The personal name
is
used.
For the spouse's brother: The referential kin term, "cuniao," or
"hiao" (derived from "cuniado") is most frequently heard, although
sometimes the personal name is used. This is true regardless of
sex of ego.
For the spouse's
sister:
quently used; occasionally
I
Here the personal name
is
more
heard the kinship term, "hiao.
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SYSTEM OF KINSHIP TERMINOLOGY
247
For cousin's spouse: Brother-in-law and sister-in-law usage
is
also extended to the spouses of cousins.
For parents-in-law: Usage is the same as for parents.
For godparents: The godfather is usually called "nino" (shortening of "padlino," derived from Spanish), and the godmother is
"nina."
For godchildren: The godson is "la'hiho" or "iho," after the referterm for "son"; the goddaughter is "ha'gaho," or "aho," after
the referential term for "daughter." Personal names may also be
ential
used.
For compadre: In formal usage "compaire" is correct; on most
occasions the word is shortened to "paire." Names may also be
used, though "paire" is more frequent.
For comadre: Usage parallels that for compadre; on formal occasions,
"comaire" (informally "maire").
The most
significant differences
between the
referential
and voc-
ative terminology are the relative extent to which Spanish terms
have penetrated the system, and the presence in the vocative but
the referential terminology of a trace of a classificatory,
In the vocative terminology, Spanish
generation type principle.
not
in
terms for certain classes of relatives are not noticeably present, a
principal example being the use of "guelo" and "guela" for grandparents in the referential terminology but not in the vocative. The
second point is illustrated by the occasional use in the vocative system of parental terms for uncles and aunts, and of son and daughter
terms for the children of siblings and cousins, a feature absent from
the referential terminology. This usage may be a retention from the
pre-contact Chamorro system but the source cannot be determined
on the basis of available documentary materials. It is normally a
In view of
feature of generation type systems of nomenclature.
the pronounced culture change among the Chamorros since the time
of first Spanish contact, it is doubtful that the usage is a survival,
particularly in view of the fact that vocative terminology elsewhere
seems more susceptible to change than referential terminology
(Spoehr, 1947, 1949). Rather, it might be viewed as an expression
of a certain inadequacy of "fit" of the adopted Spanish terminology
to the behavioral system, the latter having in it certain elements
favoring the classing together of parents with parents' siblings, and
This tendency finds
of own children with nephews and nieces.
further verbal expression in the extension of the referential term
"manhaina"
to include parents
and parents'
siblings,
associated
SAIPAN
248
with a distinct respect relation to all persons in this category,
as a unit are particularly important at times of crisis rites.
who
Extension of Kinship Terms
It
has already been noted that the Saipan Chamorros as a whole
are not particularly preoccupied with remembering genealogies. On
the other hand, for a group in which the conjugal tie and the elemen-
tary family are particularly stressed and where unilineal exogamous
descent groups are absent, the Chamorros extend relatively widely
The lateral extension of
the limits of their kinship terminology.
is effected largely by using the known relationship of members
of the first ascending generation. Thus two men will recognize each
other as being second cousins because their fathers were known to
terms
first cousins; seldom will they bother to attempt to trace the
actual link through additional ascending generations.
be
Among the Saipan Chamorros, there are two distinct aspects of
terminological range: (1) assumed range and (2) observed range. If
one discusses the subject of kinship range in a general way with a
Chamorro, more likely than not he will say that kinship terms are
applied to third cousins, that they are included in the extension of
terms, but that they mark the outer limits of the system, fourth
cousins being too far removed to be referred to by a kinship term,
though logically the system can be extended indefinitely. This limit
marks the assumed terminological range.
Closer investigation will
then reveal that the terminology is seldom if ever applied beyond
second cousins. It is doubtful that any person knows all his third
cousins; they are not of particular importance. The observed range
Thus the assumed terminological range is wider
is here indicated.
than the observed range. For purposes of structural analysis, the
observed range has greater significance because
linked to behavior
among
it
is
more
closely
relatives.
In the determination of observed range, cousin and sibling relationships that is, consanguineal relationships within the same
—
—
generation are
It is this category of
of particular importance.
is principally relied upon to include or exclude
relationships which
individuals within the range of a person's kin term extensions.
Cousins are classed as "primo gi priniet grado," "prinw gi secundo
grado," and "primo gi terced grado" and the genealogical distinctions
that separate these classes are
known and remembered by
all
adults.