If in the absence of an own cross-cousin, a more remote
cousin comes to be regularly substituted, we should have a whole class
of possible mates, of whom the nearest cross-cousin would be only
_primus inter pares_.
It must be understood that while special marriage regulations, like
exogamy, tend to be mirrored in nomenclature, there is no absolute
necessity for this occurrence. As the New Mexican Tewa have exogamous
groups without the Dakota principle, so the Miwok of California have the
cross-cousin marriage with little or no indication of it in
terminology.[67] One factor that must always be considered in this
connection is the time element. A recently acquired custom may not yet
have developed an appropriate nomenclature, while, as Morgan supposed,
the nomenclature may survive after the custom has become obsolete. That
the frequency of marriage according to a certain rule, and the
coexistence of other rules, possibly antagonistic in their effects, must
have an influence, is obvious. As regards the latter point, Mr. Gifford
shows that while marriage with the cross-cousin is not suggested in
Miwok nomenclature, marriage with the wife’s brother’s daughter is
reflected by twelve terms.
Among the Thonga of South Africa several interesting forms of
preferential matrimonial union occur. As among the Miwok, marriage with
the wife’s, younger sisters and wife’s brother’s daughter is considered
peculiarly appropriate, and these affinities are subsumed under a common
caption. Levirate extends only to the elder brother’s, not to the
younger brother’s, wife, and quite consistently these affinities are
distinguished by distinct words. A man may inherit his maternal uncle’s
wife and therefore classes her with the wife. On the other hand, logic
does not hold sway undisputedly. A man calls cross-cousins by the same
term as parallel cousins and brothers, yet it is possible for a man to
inherit his parallel cousin’s, but not his cross-cousin’s (father’s
sister’s son’s), wife. The explanation given by Junod seems quite
satisfactory from a comparative point of view. My cross-cousin cannot
belong to my gens, my parallel cousin must belong to it.[68] Since the
Thonga usually distinguish marriage potentialities with considerable
nicety, we may reasonably infer that the present terminology for cousins
is a recent innovation, which conclusion once more indicates the
relatively late development of Hawaiian features.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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