[Note: this transcription was produced by an AUTOMATIC OCR engine]
1
F
1 74
t
MALEKULA
Ale (2nd sing. nemule).
Primary meaning: Sis.H. (m.s.).
Extended to: D.H.; B.D.H. ; M.yB.D.H.; H.B.DlH.
Vilnmp limbu (2nd sing. vilnmp limbu timmgk).
This term means literally " the sacred girl “,1 and is
used by a woman for her husband's sister. How
far it is extended is not clearly determined. It will
be noticed that the possessive form of the word is not
built up through the addition of the close possessive
suï¬Åix, but by that of the distant possessive prononn._
M ar limbu (mar limlm tinungk).
This means literally the “ sacred man “,1 and is used for
the wife's brother. As regards its range and the
possessive form, what has been said of 1/ilamp limbu
holds good for marlimbu also.
Nimamo 14/in ngunggu mar limbu. '
This is a descriptive term used for the wife of the wife's
brother. Its extended use is doubtless dependent upon
the extension of the term mar limlm.
We may note ï¬Ånally that the following aï¬Åinal relatives are
addressed by the personal name always and not by a kinship
term: W.ySis. ; W.B.W. ; W.Sis.H. ; W.F.eB.Ch. ; eSis.H.
(w.s.); eB.W. (m.s.); H.Sis.H.; F.yB.D.H. (w.s.); H.Sis.Ch.
To what extent other kinsfolk use the personal name when
speaking to or of one another there is little to tell us, but as
regards siblings the evidence of such texts as we have strongly
suggests that it is at least more usual to employ the kinship
terrn. There are, as will be seen, certain kinsfolk whose personal
names must never be spoken.
In addition to the above terms, which, it will be observed,
go back for four generations in the male line, there is the word
oZ’0l used for the greatgreat-great-grandfather. Like those
kinship terms which are frankly descriptive, such as mm’ limlm
and vilamp limbu, ol'ol takes the form of ol'oZ timmgk in the
ï¬Årst singular possessive. This suggests that ul'ol is not a. true
relationship term, and this appears to be conï¬Årmed by the state-
ment of one informant that the 0l’ol was " like ï¬Årst man belong
line belong you â€ù, that is, the ï¬Årst ancestor.
1 The true word for “ sacred " in the Seniang dialect is ilm, limbu having this
meaning in Wilemp. For some reason, however, the people of Seniang have
got into the habit of using the Wilemp word in certain cases, instead of their
own, and thus we ï¬Ånd mar limbu and I/ilamp hmbu instead of mar Um and
vilamp aw.-A. B. D.
it
rlilï¬Åmieae;-1-I ~