Naming in Kanak Groups: Names, Relations, and Personal Identity among the Paici Kanak (Ponerihouen, New Caledonia)
Résumé
From inquiries led in the paicî region of Ponérihouen, I. Leblic will show what are the various registers of names, their contexts of use, their transmission, in contact with the terminologies of relationship. We can be indeed named, except for his(her) various names, first names Kanak and Christians and nicknames, by a whole series of elaborate names: according to his(her) place of residence, its situation in its relationship (father of, grandfather of), of nicknames for certain categories of relatives whose names we cannot pronounce (i.e. « pot », « earth », « spirit »… for the aunt on father's side for example who, except this very precise custom, are rather of the register of the insults), etc. "Why" and "how" as it is crossed from a register to the other one will be the object of this paper.
From genealogical examples, we shall see how names are passed on as well by the paternal as maternal relatives and how they allow the tranmission of the local history of clans and individuals. We shall also see how they are an integral part of the constitution of the persons.