THE STORY OF RAGA: A MAN'S ETHNOGRAPHY ON HIS OWN SOCIETY
(II)KIN RELATIONS

TRANSLATION

THE STORY OF RAGA

Chapter 6

1)People help each other. But when women (of Bwatmahanga) see a man of Tagaro１） they are afraid and run away,and when women of Tagaro see a man of Bwatmahanga, they are afraid and run away. Today, when we see a pig or a fowl that is nervous, we say that the pig is scared or the fowl is scared２）. Women are scared or lalagi３）.(The custom of ) lalagi finished in 1930.In Qwatnapni４） of Aroaro(the custom of)lalagi is very strong. (There) when a married woman who carries her child on her back and who is accompanied by her husband sees only one man of the opposite moiety, she runs away with her child on her back as if she were chased by men. Then she does not think about her husband and is hiding５） in the bush６）. Her husband talks with his brother７） who is his kin８）.

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notes

1)In the origin myth(Chapters 1 to 5), Tagaro found a giant clam which is believed to be the ancestral creature of one of the moieties called Bule, while Bwatmahanga found a button shell, the ancestor of the other moiety called Tabi. A man of Tagaro has the same meaning as a man of Bule, while a man of Bwatmahanga, as a man of Tabi.
2)Lala contains the meaning of ‘avoidance'.
3)If lalagi is interpreted as lala-gi, its meaning is ‘a scare'. If it is interpreted as la-lagi, its meaning is ‘a relation of marriage-to-be'.
4)Qwatnapni is a village situated on the west coast of the Central Raga.
5)The literal meaning of du is ‘to keep staying'.
6)Ute vono means ‘uncultivated land'.
7)In this situation, those two men belong to the same moiety. If the exact kin relationship between such persons is not known or need not be stated, people use tua to express their relationship. Tua is used as a representative relationship between men(or women) in the same moiety.
8)In this context hava, which I translate as ‘a kin', indicates persons in the same moiety.
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2)If (a man of) Tabi with his wife and another (man of) Tabi with his wife stop to talk on the road,the two women,(that is),their wives hide in the bush. (A man of) Tabi and (another man of) Tabi say good-bye and part９）, then their wives come to salute each other and just talk for a short time, then they say good-bye. This is the case with those of Bule. In 1958 things were going well in (the area of) the Melanesian Mission１０） but it was not yet under Roman Catholicism１１）. The meanings contained in these two names, Bule and Tabi, are bulenana and mabina１２）. Bule is a line of Tagaro and Tabi is a line of Bwatmahanga. Women of Tabi and Bule are lala [scared] or matagu[afraid] (if we say it) today１３）. Only living things such as a pig and a fowl are lala[scared] or matagu[afraid] (if we say it) today.

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notes

9)Each word in the sentence Raru vi av dulei ba lingilingira is literally translated as follows: raru is ‘they two', vi is a future tense particle of the third person singular, av is‘to say', dulei is‘to separete', ba is‘in order to' and lingilingira is ‘to let them go'. Av dulei which is an idiomatic phrase is used when men who have finished talking say good-bye and turn their heads.
10)Uloilua means ‘a religion'.
11)In North Raga almost all of the villages are under the influence of the Melanesian Mission, that is the Anglican Church. David Tevumule himself was an Anglican Priest. Only Latano village and its surroundings are under the influence of Roman Catholicism. But the custom of lalagi is not alive in this area like the other parts of North Raga. David Tevimule wants to say here that in Central Raga,which is under the influence of Catholicism, the custom of lalagi is strong yet .In the Central district there are still a few heathen people and people of North Raga, all of whom are Christian, are conscious that the traditional custom is able to survive better in a Catholic area than in an Anglican one.
12)In this context, Father David may want to say that the name Bule originated from bulenana(one's bulena) and Tabi from mabina(one's mabi). I stated in the Introduction that when male ego marries his female mabi, her brothers become his bulena.
13)Recall the fact that in North Raga the custom of lalagi is extinct today.
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3)Then the rule of lalagi (is as follows:) (1) a woman does not call the name of her lalagi１４）, (2) she does not climb up near her lalagi１５）, (3) a woman does not laugh uproariously near her lalagi or on the land of her lalagi, (4) a woman does not touch gete１６） or tanga１７） which her lalagi's head touched when he stood up. (There is also) the rule for us,(that is,) men. All of your sisters are lalagi to the relations１８） of your sibi, that is, the father of your mother, all the sister's sons of your sibi, the younger brother of your sibi, and the brother of your sibi１９）. And you, man, you are (also) lalagi to those relations of your sibi as shown in the following:(1) you do not touch the head of your sibi, (2) you do not pass close behind him, (3) it is taboo to break wind near your sibi. Even if you break wind accidentally, you give gari２０） or bari２１） or something like this (to him as a fine). If your sibi is a chief２２）, you give (him) bwana２３） or a small pig (as a fine).

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notes

14)Lalagina is the same as sibina. As for sibi, see‘Relationship Terminology' in Section I in the Introduction.
15)This sentence means that a woman can not climb up a tree in front of her sibi.
16)Gete is a basket woven of coconut leaf. It is mainly used for carrying food. It is usually hung on something.
17)Tanga is a shoulder-basket woven of pandanus leaf. It is often hung on something when not carried on the shoulder.
18)Atalun sibimwa here means ‘those male members in the same cluster as your sibi'.
19)A verbal difinition of the relationship term sibi is made here.
20)Gari is a small shell which is used as a scraper.
21)Bari is a small red mat woven of pandanus leaves. It was a traditional G- string for men and a loincloth for women. It is also used with bwana in the ceremonial exchange. Ten baris have the same value as one bwana(see footnote 23.
22)Ratahigi is a man who reached the highest grade in the rank-taking system.
23)Bwana is a big red mat woven of pandanus leaves.Bwana and pigs are a kind of traditional money in North Raga and the exchange rate between bwana and pig is decided. .
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4)In this way (there is) a rule to give something to sibi (as a fine). Because people think strongly that(your sibi) is gamali２４） of your mother, a house of your mother, and a shelter２５） of your mother. Your sibi thinks that he looked after your mother well when she was little.The back of your sibi was the place for your mother to urinate２６）. (As) the swearing at a quarrel or a debate to insist that you are telling the truth, you say,“I go over the head of sibi" if you are a man. But when a woman swears, she says,“ I am telling the truth, by the head of sibi." (Then) the quarrel or the debate will finish. People believe that the person is telling the truth.

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notes

24)Gamali is a men's house. It is a symbol of political integration.
25)The meaning of lulu is ‘a hole'. It is often used as a symbol of a place of refuge.
26)Recall that your sibi is the tama(father) of your ratahi(mother) in your cluster.
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Chapter 7２７）

1)Tata is tau[to heap]２８） or tatalo[to carry]. Mua is muai[first]２９）. Sibi is ibi[to put a weight]. Sacred３０） mabi is gaiibi[something to put a weight on]３１）.Ahoaku is ahovwai[to cover]３２）. Tasalaku is halaku[my road]. Nituku is huku[my water dropped from my body]３３）.(1)Tata :Tatangan ginau[something which is piled up]which was piled up or the pile that was formed. This is what tau[to heap] means. (2)Mua :(Only) one big thing among small things. We call it muan ginau [the biggest one].(3)Sibi :Heavy gaiibi[weight] put on something.(4)Mabi :Heavy gaiibi[weight] put on something. The reason for the swearing(by the head of sibi) is that people give importance to these two names(of mabi and sibi). It is sacred and (should) be observed. If you eat(the poison crab called)gavgogona, you will die. (A tree called)nggalato causes a rash. the stone-fish３４） makes one sick３５）.

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notes

27)In this chapter, the meaning of relationship terms is described. Such terms are tata(tama or tamanggu if accompanied by the possessive particle in the first person singular),mua(ratahi or ratahiku),sibi or sibiku,mabi, or mabiku, ahoa or ahoaku, tasala or tasalaku, nitu or nituku, hogosi or hogosiku, tarabe or tarabeku, aloa or aloaku, tuga(tuaga or tuagaku), tihi or tihiku, bwaliga or bwaligaku, bulena or bulenanggu, vvwavwa or bilak vwavwa, and habwe or habweku. I do not translate such relationship terms into English. See ‘Relationship Terminology' in Section I in the Introduction.
28)The principle meaning of tau is ‘to put'.
29)Father David further explained to me as follows:The meaning of ratahi (mother) is ratahigi(a chief).
30)The meaning of sabuga is ‘a taboo' or ‘sacred'.
31)In my second field research in North Raga, Father David told me that the　meaning of sibi or mabi is mwa ibia(mwa = it, ibi = to put a weight, -a =it).
32)Ahovwai is used when one wants to express the idea that something is protected with some kind of cover which is above it but not touching it. The roof is an example of this kind of cover.
33)When a man pours water on himself, the water drops from his body. In this case, huku is used. But the metaphoric meaning of huku is ‘my semen'.
34)People say that a stone-fish moves in a similar way to an evil spirit. Here I translate vovoroi as ‘to make one sick'. Vovoro is a verb which is used for a sickness caused by an evil spirit, for example mwae.
35)Father David wants to say that if one tells a lie in spite of swearing by the head of sibi, he will be so punished as when he eats gavgogona, when he touches ngalato or he touches a stone-fish.
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2)To marry. Tasalaku is halaku[my road] leading to the father of my wife and the mother of my wife３６）. Ahoaku is havwainiau[covering me]. You say that something lying down (under a cover) is hidden or covered. A man always covers a woman by his powerful words.Hogosiku is hogoi[to give]３７）. Its second meaning is ‘one girl and one boy'３８）. A man and his female sibling call each other in this way.Tarabeku is tarabehina[old one]３９） or something which remains for a long time like dam tarabe[an old yam], ihi tarabe[an old banana], or malogu tarabe[an old kava]４０）. Taraben ira aloai４１） is a man. A yam grows downwards and makes a new yam４２）. A man is in decay and leaves his aloas which his female sibling gives birth to. In Raga or Aroaro, tarabe plants his coconut trees in his plot and there are pigs, fowls and everything in his house. In this way, he prepares (everything) for his aloas who are the children of his female sibling. This is why he calls (those persons) aloaku４３）.

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notes

36)Some people said that the meaning of tasala(wife) is tausala(a stranger).
37)When a man says hogosiku, it means ‘my sister', while when a woman says hogosiku, it means ‘my brother'. It is said that the word hogosi originated in hogoi(to give) because my parent gives me a sibling.
38)Vwalvwaliu means ‘equally balanced'. Thus nitu vwalvwaliu indicates a situation in which the male children and female children are equally balanced.
39)See footnote 42.
40)My tarabe here indicates tarabe in my cluster. When Father David refers to the relationship terms, he usually does so from the viewpoint of the genealogical relation. Dam tarabe means ‘an old yam'.In North Raga it is usual that people plant yams in September or October and begin to harvest them next April. They eat them all by November or December except for some yams which are preserved for a special occasion such as Christmas. Such a yam is called dam tarabe. Ihi tarabe means ‘an old banana'. In North Raga unripe bananas are used for cooking. Some bananas are not harvested and become ripe; such a banana is called ihi tarabe. Malogu tarabe menas ‘an old kava'. The root of kava is usually cut to make kava-drink one or two years after planting. The kava which live for five years or so after planting are called malogu tarabe.
41)Tarabe in the expression of taraben ira aloai has the same meaning as that in dam tarabe, ihi tarabe, and malogu tarabe. Here tarabe is not used as a relationship term. It means ‘old' or ‘old one'. Therefore taraben ira aloai means‘The old part of those persons called aloa(sister' children)'.
42)Hiv means ‘to go down'. A new yam grows downwards from a planted yam.The latter yam becomes old and rotten but the former yam grows bigger. Such an old and rotten one is called tarabehina while a new one is called garana. The meaning of gara is‘new'.
43)Aloaku in this context has two meanings. One is ‘my aloa(sister's children)' and the other is ‘my surrounding'. If alo is used as a verb, it means ‘to go round'.
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3)Aloa or aloaku. Its meaning is ‘to surround' or ‘to encircle'. The land of tarabe and the plants of tarabe will all go to his aloa. Everything that the tarabe surrounded is a present to his aloa４４）. The tarabe surrounds his aloa or encirlces his aloa. If tarabe dies, his land will go to his aloas and they will look after his wife and his children４５）.Tuga or tuagaku. Its meaning is tuamua[to stand first of all]４６）,‘bigness', ‘the most',‘big' or‘grand'. There are small trees under a banyan tree which is a big tree just like the mother４７）. Tihi or tihiku. Its meaning is tirigi[small]４８）.

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notes

44)Gaitabe means ‘a present'. Gaitaben nituku means ‘a present to my child.' Then in this context, gaitabena means ‘a present to his aloa (sister's son)'. Gaitabena here also connotes‘preparing everything for his aloa(sister's son)'.
45)A widow often remarries a male member of her husband's cluster which is his tarabe, tuaga, tua, tihi or aloa. Such a man calls the child of the woman nitu(child) before as well as after her husband's death.
46)Some people said that the meaning of tuaga(elder brother or sister) is tuagai(first born).
47)Father David wants to say that tuaga(elder brother or sister) is like a banyan tree.
48)Father David also explained to me that the meaning of tihi (younger brother or sister) is nu tahihi(nu = it, tahihi = to split unevenly).
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4)Bwaliga or bwaligaku. Its meaning is nggao[to pass or to span something with another thing] or bwalgaona[something which is used for spanning]. When a branch of a tree goes close to a branch of another tree, a man can pass from one (to the other). Bule４９） or bulenanggu is bubulusi[to stick], gaibulu, gaimalbihu or ihi bulu５０）. A man sticks to the sister of his bulena. (My) sibi sticks to my sister or (my)sibi sticks to my mother's mother who is my female tuaga. (My) sibi married her and they had (my) mother５１）. A man marries a woman but her hogosi is a man. This is why (the man is called) one's bulena. Vwavwa or bilak vwavwa. Its meaning is vwavwan imwa gaituvwa[one room of a house]. When your vwavwa and your tama were little, they stayed in the room of the house of their father and mother. Habwe or habweku. Its meaning is that two women just habwehabwera[ to meet each other]in one house which is that of the husband of either of the two. But (he was) lalagi to her the first time.

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notes

49)In this context one should say not bule but bulena(wife's brother).
50)Gaibulu is used when the trunk of one tree sticks to the trunk of another tree and they look like one tree. Gaimalabihu is used of trees which stand so close that they emit a screaming sound when the wind blows. Ihi bulu is a banana composed of two bananas stuck to each other.
51)Bav means ‘to bear'. In the case of an animal bahuhu(to breed) is used.
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5)(When you say) hava[kin] or havaku[my kin] (the meaning contained in such a word) is your head, your hand, your leg,or every part of you. Like this, all men of every vara５２） of a person called by this name are your hava５３）. Atamani[a man]. Its meaning is‘strong' or‘powerful'. Mani is manienie[dangerous].The edge of a cliff is dangerous.An old and tall coconut tree which is (well) shone on by the sun is dangerous５４）. In a slippery place, if you use a walking stick, you can pass there. (The word) manienie[dangerous] thus turns into (the word) atamani５５）. Vavine[a woman]. It has two meanings. One is‘very strong'. The other is‘soft like the skin of something'. (In the latter context,) vavine[woman] is vinu[skin]. You will see that:when she is little, her skin is soft;when she becomes daulato５６）, her body becomes elastic;when she becomes tabwalugu５７）, her body becomes bigger;when she marries, her body becomes strong;when she becomes pregnant, her body swells;when she gives birth to a child,her body becomes soft;when she bears children three times, it makes her body strong and she becomes powerful;then in a short time she is called bwatmetuaga(or bwatbwatutu or malangvatu)５８）.

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notes

52)Vara means ‘a matrilineal group',‘a matrilineal descendant' or ‘a matrilineal relation'. See ‘Social Organization' in Section I in the Introduction.
53)It is said that my hava(kin) is a part of my vara(matrilineal relation) and that sibiku, mabiku, tarabeku and so on are as it were my parts.
54)Because it may fall down.
55)Atamani may be composed of atatu[a person] and manienie[dangerous].
56)See footnote 58.
57)See footnote 58.
58)When a woman is a baby, she is called naturimemea (a red child). When she is an infant, she is called naturigi(a child). When her breasts are about to swell, she may still be called naturigi but may be sometimes called huhugasbora (breasts becoming big). Some years later, she is called daulato(a juvenile). When she starts to menstruate, she is called tabwalugu(a youth). After marriage, she is usually referred to by the term vavine (a woman). When she becomes old and has white hair, she is called batavwe( an old one) or bwatmetuaga(a matured head) or bwatbwatutu (a stump) or malangvatu(a stone cave).When she becomes very old, she is called tamaragai(see next section).
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6)Tamaragai is togo maragai[to stay for a very long time]. It indicates someone who is eighty or ninety or a hundred. He staggers.The body of mwalanggelo５９） fades away６０） then it becomes wrinkled６１）. His relations６２） only help him and his younger brothers as well as his sister's sons already take his land and everything of his as theirs. If he has a child who loves him, the child is in fvavor with his father６３）. Then he pays his father's debt and he stays (on the land of his father). If there is no such person, his sister's sons or his brothers pay his debt and then live their life (by the products)from his land.

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notes

59)When a man is a baby, he is called naturimemea (a red child). When he is an infant, he is called naturigi (a child). When his voice is about to break, he may be still called naturigi but may be sometimes called mwahiuboa(his voice being broken). Some years later, he is called mwalanggelo (a young fellow). When he begins to shave his face, he is called mwalanggelo or sometimes mwalannggeo tuturu(an energetic young fellow : tuturu = dripping). When he marries, he is usually referred to by the term atatu(a man). When he becomes old and has white hair, he is called bwatavwe (an old one).When he becomes very old ,he is called tamaragai.
60))Virugurugu has the meanings of ‘to disappear' or ‘to evaporate'.
61)Mwa nggolo in this context means ‘It fades away.' or ‘The fat in the body is reduced.'.
62)In this context ataluna indicates persons in his cluster.
63)Although I translate tabea as ‘to love him', it also means ‘to help him'. The noun form of tabe is tabeana and tabetabe. The former means‘a present' and the latter‘a favorite'.
64)In the traditional system, it was a rule that a man should leave the land of his father after the latter's death. But Father David seems to state that if a man payed his father's debt, he could continue to live there. I will discuss such a point in detail when I describe the land tenure system of North raga in ゛The Story of Raga IV".
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