Kinship terminology of the groups of the Mondé language family

Abstract

This article presents some preliminary results from studies on the kinship terminology used by indigenous groups of the Mondé branch of the Tupi language family. This investigation pays particular attention to the Gavião people of Rondônia, whose kinship terminology is described and considered in relation to naming and marriage pratices. Some kinship terminology data is also included for the Paiter (Suruí of Rondônia), Cinta Larga, Salamãy, and Aruá groups, and terminology for basic kinship relations in the Gavião, Cinta Larga, and Paiter are also presented to investigate variation within the family. Linguistic analysis of these terms reveals aspects of the indigenous view of kinship. Diachronic linguistic methods are utilized to generate findings on kinship terminology in the ancestral group, Proto-Mondé, and on the evolution of contemporary terminological systems.

Keywords
Mondé language family; Gavião of Rondônia; Paiter; Kinship terminology; Proto-Mondé