10. Family, Children, Names

by George Weber

The traditional Andamanese attitude towards the family differed substantially from that of other societies. It is indeed unique. Primitive societies tend to have complex classificatory systems with matching elaborate nomenclature for family relationships. These are often based on the concept of the clan and can be of a complexity to stagger the modern city dweller who has problems distinguishing between cousins and nephews. Human societies tend to take the family, the people of the same blood, very seriously indeed. Not so the Andamanese: their term for "family" covered only the nuclear family of mother, father and children and even this was overshadowed to the point of near-invisibility by the local group. Grandparents, for example, were regarded as being another family. Under these circumstances it will not come as a surprise to find terms denoting degrees of relationship remarkably few. Indeed, the Andamanese languages are unique in having no proper terms for "mother" and "father." The words used in their place on closer inspection turn out to be mere terms of respect, honorifics, that were used to address older people generally.

Onge mothers with their babies. Deformed skulls excavated have led to the assumption that deliberate deformation was practices by the Onge until it was realized that it was just an incidental by-product of the way babies were carried

Degrees of consanguinity interested the Andamanese only insofar as they were needed to set limitations to marriage between blood relations. The detailed rules of who was allowed and who was not allowed to marry varied slightly from tribe to tribe but marriage between cousins seems to have been the generally accepted limit. Whether the bar to marriage extended to those related by adoption is not clear from the records.

The remarkably indifferent Andamanese attitude towards relationships of the blood was illustrated by remarks the anthropologist Radcliffe-Brown made when he tried and failed to construct a native genealogy. He modestly blamed his own inexperience in the use of genealogical methods for his problems but the system of child adoption alone would be a nightmare to even the most professional genealogist. There are no later publications of importance on the subject and Radcliffe-Brown's remains essentially the last word on the subject today:

The systems of relationship of savage peoples are often very difficult to study, even with a thorough mastery of the native language. My account of the Andamanese system is not perhaps complete and is therefore open to error . . . I have [since] had the opportunity of studying in Australia several examples of "classificatory" [i.e. clan-based] systems of relationship, and can now say very definitively that such a system presents an extreme contrast to the system of the Andamans. My failure fully to comprehend the Andamanese system was partly due to the difficulties of the language, in which I did not have time to become expert, and partly to the nature of the Andamanese terms, of which it is by no means easy to discover the meaning, even with careful observation.

The matter clearly worried him, for later in the same book he also wrote:

The difficulty of being really sure on these matters is due (1) to the fact that the breaking-up of the local organization has produced many changes in their [Andamanese] customs, and (2) to the difficulty of questioning the natives on matters connected with relationships when they have no words in their language to denote any but the simplest relationships.

How deeply the Andamanese respected their elders is illustrated dramatically by the absence of a specific word for "mother" and "father." In their stead, general honorifics were used: in Aka-Jeru t'a-mimi ("my mother") or aka-mimi ("his mother") as well as t'a-mai ("my father") or aka-mai ("his father") show how the honorifics mimi ("Lady" or "Madam") and maia ("Sir") were used. T'a-mimi aka-mai meant "my mother's father." Other Andamanese languages used different honorific terms but the system behind them all was the same. Mimi Oka simply meant "Mrs. Oka" and it tells us that Oka was older than the person addressing her. Oka aka-mai meant "Oka's father," aka-mai Oka "his father Oka." The following list gives additional examples.

Table 1. Terms of kinship in four Andamanese languages. 

Aka-Jeru			Aka-Bea
aka-mai	his father		dab maiola	my father
aka-mimi	his mother		dab chanola	my mother
ot-tire	his child		dia ota	my son (less than 3 years old, either parent speaking)
ot-otoatue	his older brother		dar odire	my son (more than 3 years old, father speaking)
ot-otoatue-tsip	his older sister		dab etire	my son (more than 3 years old, mother speaking)
ot-arai-tsulute	his younger brother		dia kata	my daughter (less than 3 years old, either parent speaking)
ot-arai-tsulute-tsip	his younger daughter		dia ba	my daughter (more than 3 years old, either parent speaking)
			dar odire-pail	my daughter (more than 3 years old, father speaking)
			dab etire-pail	my daughter (more than 3 years old, mother speaking)
			ad-en tobare	my elder brother
			ad-en tobare-pail	my elder sister
			dar doatinga	my younger brother
			dar doatinga-pail	my younger sister

Akar-Bale			Onge
da	father (common form of address when speaking to any older person)		m-inenare	my father (referred to)
ab-atr	father (description of father-child relationship)		m-uteddi	my mother (referred to)
in	mother		ume(ri)	father (addressed)
ar-bua	child (general)		kaya(ri)	mother (addressed)
ar-kodire	child (father speaking)		m-etelangka	my older sibling
ab-atet	child (mother speaking)		m-oykuta	my younger sibling
En-toaka-nga	older sibling		m-aye my	my son/daughter or stepson/stepdaughter (referred to)
ar-dotot	younger sibling		ale	son/daughter (addressed)

There were no special terms for grandparents. A grandfather from the mother's side was simply addressed as t'a-mimi aka-mai ("my mother's father") with grandmothers described similarly. These compound descriptive terms were, however, seldom used. The same applied to all other terms of relationships: the relative age was more important than his or her biological relationship. Nor are the 'precise terms' nearly as precise as they look. For example, Akar-Bale jat could mean specifically "grandchild" but the word was also used by any person of any child that could be his or her grandchild.

Children were much loved, pampered and spoiled by all the members of the local group. They could be reprimanded for improper behaviour but they were never punished. Childhood ended with the Onset of puberty, usually around 15 years of age for both sexes. Ceremonies with severe discipline had to be passed before the adolescents were accepted as adult. Boys then moved to a bachelor's hut of their own and had to cook and eat their own meals until they married. Girls lived with their parents, real or adopted. For earlier times there is some evidence that spinsters lived like bachelors in their Own hut until marriage.

Children Were the main purpose of marriage and no marriage Was regarded as consummated until a child had been born: a man returning to his Wife from a hunting trip would not greet her first if she had not given him a child, nor Would the surviving spouse be looked on as the chief mourner if the partner in a childless marriage died.

Infants were carried around by their mothers and occasionally by their fathers in bark slings. As soon as they could Walk, children enjoyed a very large measure of freedom. The traditional sex roles Were, however, playfully exercised from an early age. Fathers made toy bows and arrows for their sons When they reached the age of six and they could accompany the adult hunters On their expeditions, learning to be hunters themselves. Girls of the same age followed their mothers on gathering forays Where they learnt to distinguish edible from poisonous matter, to collect vegetables, to catch fish and to pick up anything edible in the reefs and On the beaches. Between such serious child's play, the children could also romp about and play games around the village and on the beaches, as children are wont to do anywhere. Aryoto children also spent as much time in the water as on dry land and learnt to swim as soon as they could Walk.

A peculiarity of all Andaman tribes was their system of adopting children. It was quite common for parents to give away their own child for adoption at age 6 to 10. Fertility always seems to have been low in the Andamans and children were much loved and highly prized. Orphans were adopted as a matter of course by another family within the same local group and thereafter were regarded by all and in all respects as children of their new parents. A much more unusual type of adoption took place when a couple gave away their child to a couple in another local group, often while adopting a child from yet a third couple themselves. Children adopted through this second type could marry within their adoptive family. They could also be adopted further without reference to the original parents beyond informing them where their child had gone so that they could keep up their visits. Couples could adopt as many children as they wished or could find but they were expected to treat them as their own, with kindness and consideration. The adopted children in return had to treat their foster parents with the filial respect so important to Andamanese society. The Onge also knew a temporary form of adoption when children were kept for some years by an adopting couple before they returned to their biological parents. Occasionally temporary adoptions could turn into permanent ones when the original parents did not request the return of the child. It is not difficult to understand that with all this going on, census taking or genealogical research was a hopeless task. The adoptive parents happily, and on their terms truthfully, declared their adopted children to be their own.

The dispersal of children among friendly septs took place without an element of coercion and with the utmost friendliness among the couples concerned. Everybody, including the children, simply took the system for granted. In view of the limited fertility, it may well be that this unusual system was of considerable antiquity. It certainly helped strengthen cohesion among groups and reduced the danger of in-breeding.

A baby would receive its first name as soon as the mother was known to be pregnant. The prenatal name, obviously, did not differentiate between boy and girls. The name that the unborn baby was to receive had to be agreed on by both parents. A child could be named after a living person who would then become something of a godfather or godmother to the baby. There were a number of names in use but the frequency of names varied with fashion from time to time and from place to place. As soon as the growing fetus had received a name, its parents would no longer be addressed by their own names but were known as "baby X's belly" or "baby X's father." This roundabout way of addressing the parents would be used for several months after birth by seniors. Juniors returned to the old standard forms of address at once. What comes through clearly in this system is that to the Andamanese, the baby was more important than the parents.

If the baby died - an all too frequent occurrence - the mother's next pregnancy received the same name. It was thought that the new pregnancy was the previous baby trying a second time to come into this world. Only babies who died in infancy were thought to be reincarnated in this way. There is no trace of a belief of transmigration of adult souls.

A few examples of prenatal names from northern Great Andaman with their meanings are: Buio (a plant with edible beans), Bol (the hibiscus plant), Tsop (a tree with edible nuts), Tsokbi (a turtle), Maro (honey), Meo (a stone), Tseo (a knife), Bani (a bird), Kea (one who turns in his sleep), Boitso (one who wrestles), Elpe (one who comes and goes), Kidseri (one who walks backwards and forwards) and Nimi (one who catches hold). Some of the names in use for Aka-Bea babies were Balea, Bora, Birola, Chormila, Dora, Golat, Jaro, Kala, Lipa, Nggongala, Potya, Punga and Yega.

Once the baby was born and its sex known, an Aka-Bea baby named Dora would then be known as Dora-ota if it male and Dora-kata if female until age three. After that age a boy would be called Dora-dala for life while a girl would be called Dora-pilola but only until she was given her flower name.

The number of accepted prenatal names was insufficient and there were always a few people in any local group with the same name. The problem was solved by the widespread use of nicknames. Sometimes a baby was given a nickname based on an incident or situation during birth or referring to a personal peculiarity. Nicknames could, however, be given at any time during a person's life and some people acquired several in a lifetime. There were some recognized stock nicknames but new ones were invented from time to time. Here are a few examples from northern Andaman: Ra-t'ot-betts (pig's hair), Renya-tsope (much baggage, or many possessions), Lau-tei (spirit blood), Luremo (rope), Remu-toi (a piece of iron), Tsokbi-tsiro (turtle liver).

Young women on their first menstruation received a flower name in a - for Andamanese elaborate - ceremony. The name was determined by a tree or bush in flower at the time of the ceremony. The plants used for flower names were all visited by honey bees and each had a distinctive scent that the Andamanese thought characteristic for its time of the year. Flower names differ somewhat from the names of the plants, which fact is thought to reflect older forms of the plant names.

Table 2. Girls' flower names in Aka-Bea and Aka-Jeru. 

Aka-Bea flower name	Aka-Jeru flower name	in flower	plant
Tsilipa	Tselibi	mid-November to mid-February	Diospyros densiflora
Moda	Mukui	February to March	Semecarpus sp.
Ora	Okor	March to April	not identified
Jidga	-	April	not identified
Yere	Dseru	April	Sterculia sp.
Pataka	Botek	April to May	Meliosma simplicifolia
Balya	Puliu	May	not identified
Retse	Re	June-July	Eugenia sp.
Tsagara	Tsokoro	July to August	Pterocarpus dalbergoides
Tsarapa	Tsarap	September to October	Calamus sp.
Tsenra	Torok	October	not identified
Yulu	Dsili	October to November	not identified (a creeper)

Once a flower name had been given, it replaced all other names in daily use until the girl had become a mother. On the birth of her first baby she would revert to her old name or to the new honorific chana ("Mother" or "Madam"). If the marriage remained childless, the woman would revert quietly to her own birth- or nickname. Boys did not receive a new name on reaching puberty but were known by their birth- or nicknames for life. They did, however, go through the turtle-eating ceremony when they received a ceremonial name. Girls went through the same ceremony but did not receive a new name. The ceremonial name was never used to address a person although the name itself was not secret.

A younger brother's wife (sister-in-law), a husband's younger brother's wife and a son's wife were in Onge collectively called m-ulitange. Among Onge, there was an odd relationship between a person and his or her m-ulitange. The m-ulitange had to be avoided, could not be touched or talked to nor could their personal names even be mentioned. Among the Greater Andamanese there was a similar custom but it concerned the relationship between the husband's parents with their son's mother-in-law, the aka-yat. A direct relationship with one's aka-yat was unthinkable and the two sides were said to be aka-yat to each other. Yet the man had to send a constant stream of little presents to his aka-yat through intermediaries. There is only one word in the Andamanese languages for "shy" and "ashamed" (in Aka-Jeru ot-jete) and this is what the Andamanese thought the two aka-yat parties were of each other. This strange relationship commenced with the marriage of the two children and lasted until death. A similar "shyness" also existed between two men who had been through the turtle-eating ceremony together. The Andamanese themselves had no explanation for this custom; it may be the last surviving remnant of a very old ritual prohibition. Such taboos among certain groups of relations are common in technologically primitive societies.

It was absolutely de rigueur for younger people to address older ones with the appropriate honorifics. When addressing an Aka-Jeru lady X, she expected to be called Mimi X by anyone younger than herself. As we have seen, even children did not address their parents by name but by their honorifics. Any youth would be expected to do the same with all elders.

Names are considered in all societies to hold a certain power, this belief is an universal human constant. Even most rational of modern scientists have been known to complain that naming a phenomenon takes the mystery out of it. The Andamanese were very careful in how they used names. If asked his or her name, an Andamanese person would not answer directly but would get some bystander to tell it. A woman would do the same. There were also occasions when the use of a name was to be avoided the parents' names could not be used after the birth of a baby, nor could the bride and groom be named directly for a short time after their wedding. Personal names were also avoided during and after certain ceremonies. After a death and during mourning, the mourner's name could not be used when speaking to or about him or her, nor was the dead person mentioned among Greater Andamanese during that time. The Onge had a much stricter taboo regarding the dead person's name which lasted until the dead had been forgotten. If the banned name had been a word of common usage, a replacement would have to be found for it. These rules surrounding names must once have had an underlying system, one that had been forgotten long before 1858.

Finally and outside traditional society, Andamanese known at Port Blair during the 19th century were given nicknames such as Snowball, Jumbo, Moriarty or Queen Victoria by the British, names that they considered "humorous." Genuine native names were not difficult to pronounce, nor were they long or hard to remember. The British nicknames were not vicious and were freely accepted by the Andamanese who probably did not understand their meaning. But they do indicate a certain lack of respect for the Andamanese who were seen as "entertaining black monkeys." 

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Last change 20 March 1999