532 



Kinship. — In the house the members of the agnatie 

 "greater family" live in close contact. The parents are 

 extremely fond of their children, nurse them carefully, fondle 

 them and play with them (comp. chap, iii., sec. 4). The 

 communism in the supply and preparation of food and in the 

 common meals, the communism in objects of daily use — all 

 these contribute to the establishment of bonds of kinship be- 

 tween the members of the household — i.e., between the 

 members of the agnatic or greater family. Brothers living 

 together, or a paternal uncle and his nephews living in the 

 same house were, as far as my observation goes, on much 

 closer terms with each other than relatives of similar degrees 

 living apart. This was evident whenever there was a question 

 of borrowing things, of getting help, of accepting an obliga- 

 tion, or of assuming responsibilities for each other. 



The paternal authority over the males soon becomes very 

 weak (comp. chap, iii., sec. 4), but I was not able to ascertain 

 to what extent this was conditioned by the pre-European 

 ciistom of sending the boys to live in the Duhu. The father's 

 rights over the female children persist even after their marriage 

 in the form of the gifts of pigs which he receives regularly, 

 and which entail the obligation of returning them (comp. chap, 

 iii., sec. 3). 



The bonds of kinship find at the same time a very strong 

 expression and enhancement in the custom of Veveni, which' 

 entails an extensive communism in food (comp. chap, iii., 

 sec. 1). 



The classificatory terms of kinship are very similar in their 

 main features to those found among the Koita by Dr. Selig- 

 man. (i^) In the following table I have adopted the mode of 

 presentation recommended by Dr. Rivers in the "Notes and 

 Queries." The letters in parentheses are to be read : — m.s. = 

 man speaking; w.s. = woman speaking. 



Father = A bd'i. 



Mother = A de'i. 



Son or daughter (m.s. and w.s.) = Oeva. 



Elder brother (m..s.) = Uiniegi. 



Elder brother (v7.s.) = Uiniegi. 



Elder sister (m.s.) = Uiniavetsa. 



Elder sister (w.s.) = Uiniavetsa. 



Father's brother (elder or younger) = ^6<2'«. 



Father's brother's wUe = Ade'i. 



Father's elder brother's son^Uiniegi. 



Father's elder brother's d3iVigh.ter = Uiniavetsa. 



06) Op. cit., pp. 66 and 67. 



