Re: Naming customs was Re: (no subject)

Padraic Brown wrote:

> On Sun, 21 Feb 1999, FFlores wrote:
>
> > From: "FFlores" <fflores@...>
> >
> > Speaking of which, it would be interesting to
> > know about naming tendencies in concultures.
> > For example, are there first and last names
> > (surnames)? Which order do they come in? etc.
Here's some up-to-date info on Tokana naming
practices (which have recently been altered slightly):

Each Tokana belongs to two clans, a matrilineal
clan called the "kame" or "katia nyume" ("earth house")
and a patrilineal clan called the "otana" or "katia
moin" ("sea house").  Kame affiliation is determined
by one's mother, while otana affiliation is determined
by one's father.  Note that both kame and otana
are exogamous, meaning that one is forbidden from
having sex with another person belonging to one's
kame or one's otana.  Note also that the kame is
local, while the otana is non-local, meaning that
children are raised in their mother's (mother's)
household, and when a couple gets married, the
husband will leave his mother's household and
move into his mother-in-law's household.  The oldest
female member of a particular kame is considered the
head (or 'speaker') of that kame, while the oldest
male member of an otana is considered the head
of that otana.

Kame names generally come from names of
trees, while otana names come from names of
fish.  (Consumption taboos are observed, so
that a member of, say, the Douglas Fir kame is
not allowed to chop down douglas fir trees,
while a member of the Halibut otana is not
allowed to consume halibut.)

While clan names are determined by birth,
Tokana do not receive a given name ("esian")
until age sixteen, when they undergo a series
of rituals involving fasting, meditation, and
'dreamwalking', culminating in a secret
Naming Ceremony.  Most esian are unique
and meaningless, and are received by the
individual in a vision.  The Naming Ceremony
is considered the primary rite of passage into
adulthood.  In fact, the word for "adult"
in Tokana is "esiamoitoi", "one who has
received his esian".

Prior to the Naming Ceremony, children go
by a nickname, usually the diminutive form
of an animal or plant name (e.g. "Kihouna"
= "Little Bear", "Kilalin" = "Little Elm Tree",
etc.).  Many Tokana retain these childhood
names as 'use names' even after acquiring
their true names, dropping the diminutive
prefix and replacing it with the augmentative
prefix (so "Kihouna" might become "Tohouna",
"Great Bear").

The order of names is:  Kame name, otana
name, given name.  For example, if a man named
Sakial were a member of the Red Cedar (= "sekem")
kame and the Koho Salmon (= "kioso") otana,
he would be known formally as Sekem Kioso
Sakial.  If he married a woman named
Lunthakin Hofkahu Nyia (Nyia of the Spruce
and Halibut clans), and if they had a child
named Utihia, that child's full name would
be Lunthakin Kioso Utihia.

Generally, all three names are used only in
ritual contexts.  In day to day life, an
individual will be addressed by his relatives
using kinship terms, and by his friends using
his given name (or more likely, a nickname).
When dealing with people of other tribes, the
Tokana will use their tribal name in addition to
their clan names and their given name.  Thus
if Sakial were a trader, he might introduce
himself to foreigners as "Tokana Sekem Kioso
Sakial", i.e. "Sakial of the Red Cedar and
Koho Salmon clans, of the Tokana people".

Matt.