Parr

August 4, 2010

Completely exhausted, but just had some quick thoughts to share. The adorable new puppy kept me up all night last night! I guess it’s one of his first nights away from his mother and he slept outside. He cried the entire night! But he does have a name now, Kingston. My family thinks we’re totally crazy when we say hi to the dog when we get home from class.

Interesting observation in Bissa class today. We learned the vocabulary for members of your family. Parr in Bissa is family. It also means house. It’s really interesting how the words that exist within a language reveal a lot about the culture. In Bissa, there’s a lot of words to describe your family members. There’s three different words for aunt and three different words for uncle in Bissa.
Mother’s side:
•Doro – brother of your mother
•Naagouta – older sister of your mother
•Naapore – younger sister of your mother
Father’s side
•Pogdeba – sister of your father
•Babagouta – older brother of your father
•Babapore – younger brother of your father
I think the words you use to describe the family here are revealing of a culture where your rank based on gender first and then age, is so important. On your mother’s side, there’s 2 words for aunt but only 1 for uncle. Her brothers will always outrank her regardless of age. But, for her sister’s age order matters. On your father’s side, he will always outrank his sisters, so there’s only one word for aunt. But, age rank between brothers is really important, thus there are two terms for uncles on your dad’s side. Another interesting thing about the Bissa language is that there is no word for cousin. You use the same set of words you use for brothers and sisters. I think this reflects the very close nature of families here in Burkina Faso. Also, there’s a common practice here that if a man dies, his oldest brother “inherits” or adopts his family. The kids become his kids. If in a polygamous society, his brother’s widows become his wives. He has the responsibility now to take care of them. The kids of your siblings are also your children. Apparently, you can also call your uncles on your dad’s side “Baba” (or dad) as well.

In Moore, the most common local language here, the word husband has the same root as truth (“C’est vrai” in French, meaning it is true). Husband in Moore is “Sida.” “C’est vrai,” or it is true, truth in Moore is “Yaa sida.”