Queries on 'wan nem'

[Mesulam Aisoli]

"wan nem" Eva has touched on many expressions very much the same in many New
Ireland language groups, from the Tungak language (New Hanover), Tiang
language group (Djaul) Tigak, Kara and Nalik (west and north east and south
east and south west cost villages) of Kavieng town and continue towards
Namatanai District too. "wan nem" is not only expressed as in English
"namesake". It is sometimes associated with cultural identity, or it is a
ritual of a totem that only appears in "Malangan". For instance, Goerge is
as a Christian name, "Variu" is a Malangan name (hidden) in between, then
Robana is the father's name. So, George Variu Robana is the name of the
person, but often appears as "George Robana" in town but his village he is
known as "Variu" which is a totemic Malangan name. I think it is hidden
because it is something to do with paganism, or not so important, not being
christian like, as in the past Missionaries preached against it. We also
have place names like "Watut" stuck in the middle of the bush of the village
where I belong. Brought in from "Bulolo Wau" region during Gold Mine in the
Wau Bulolo years ago.

mesu

> ----------
> From: 	Eva Lindström[SMTP:evali at ling.su.se]
> Sent: 	Tuesday, 9 April 2002 7:34pm
> To: 	Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: 	Re: Queries on 'wan nem'
> 
> Interesting name stuff coming up!
> 
> In central New Ireland, the wan-nem relation (more often _wanain_) seems
> similar to what Martha McIntyre describes from Lihir: both people keep
> their names and are not allowed to refuse each other anything. The term
> in the (Papuan) Kuot language is bekula. Avoidance kin relations entail
> name taboos, which apply to the name rather than the person, so when e.g.
> a woman cannot say the name of her brother John, she cannot say the name
> of anyone else named John. In recent times some unfortunate naming has
> taken place so that mothers cannot say the names of their daughters as
> they were named after husband's sister -- i think this was avoided in the
> past. Names seem to be given by anyone who wants to give them, and some-
> times someone living away from a village will send word that the next baby
> born should be named by particular names. Most people have a tok ples name
> as well as a christian name, and namesakes tend to get both (but taboos
> apply more strongly to the tok ples name). Names appear not to be clan
> owned, but for each of the higher-level matrilineal clans, a minimum of
> one girl/woman is to bear the name of the clan. Sometimes she is called
> by this name, sometimes by another.
> 
> As to villages: I don't know of the significance, but Konos on NI east
> coast was in former times a bush village by the same name (while e.g.
> nearby Konobin changed to Sominim etc).
> 
> Eva
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> Eva Lindström
> Linguistics, Stockholm University
> http://www.ling.su.se/staff/evali
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>