On the Connotations of Names : History, Land and Personal Names on Aneityum Island, Vanuatu

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  • 名の示すもの : ヴァヌアツ・アネイチュム社会における歴史・土地・個人名
  • ナ ノ シメス モノ : ヴァヌアツ ・ アネイチュム シャカイ ニ オケル レキシ ・ トチ ・ コジンメイ

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Abstract

<p>Personal names has have frequently been highlighted by cultural anthropologists, who understand that names - as well as the naming conventions that give rise to them - have important social implications. We can trace the study of personal names to Morgan, who pointed out the significance of names as well as forms of address. Since the 1950's, an anthropological approach to personal names has sought not merely to catalog tangible names or naming conventions, but also to regard them as clues for understanding social structures. Philosophically speaking, Karatani's distinction between singularity and particularity is suggestive. Particularity emerges only through general comparison. For example, the particularity of Japan as a nation-state is evident only when it is juxtaposed with the generality of a nation-state (group, type, or class), which would include such diverse national entities as the United States, Korea, and Papua New Guinea. On the other hand, singularity denotes what is "infungible" or "irreplaceable." Most importantly, Karatani insists that singularity is associated with proper nouns or personal names. He writes, "Singularity shown by a proper noun is not singularity in the sense of the one and only. We do not always use a proper noun when referring to it, even though it is the one and only. The singularity of anything emerges only when we use a proper noun to refer to it." On the other hand, Deguchi, in consideration of Levi-Strauss' argues, that personal names are indicators of a classification. Thus, he insists, "An individual is also part of a class. A personal name is something to classify." In his discussion, personal names do not connote singularity but particularity. Subsequent anthropological arguments focus on the meanings and functions of personal names. However, should we reject Karatani's perspective on singularity? This article explores the essence of personal names among the Aneityum islanders of Vanuatu. Aneityum Island, which has a population of about 900, is located in the southernmost part of Vanuatu. Its inhabitants depend on semi-subsistence agriculture, cultivating taro, yam, and manioc. A person on the island usually has two names: one Christian, and the other a name in the vernacular language. The former is bestowed with relatively few restrictions; however, strict rules govern the use of the other. The population is divided into kinship groups called netec on Aneityum, which form the units of land tenure. A netec has a stock of personal names that only its members can bestow. Other netecs have other stocks of names. Therefore, the netec is a collective holder of personal names. The names of people must not overlap; even though they are the members of the same netec, each person on the island has a different name. In the custom of the Aneityum, each male name is associated with a piece of land with its own netec. When a man is given a certain name, he is entitled to that piece of land. Personal names, then, are like "registration certificates" of land tenure. Therefore, the leaders of a netec have to remember all the personal names, as well as the traditional knowledge of giving names. However, most of that knowledge has already been lost. Since the beginning of contact with the West in the 1850s, Aneityum islanders have forgotten the names belonging to some netecs, whose members now find it difficult to name their offspring. In some cases, new names are created, even though that option breaks traditional rules. According to those rules, names have been bestowed repeatedly through history. The Aneityum people believe that men with the same name have the same personality. Thus, a man can be identified with his namesake from the past. On Aneityum Island, each person is consistently the only one bearing a specific name, because personal names do not overlap at any given</p><p>(View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)</p>

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