Kinship Again
With a new version of Nuim comes new kinship terms. Don't worry, I think I can do a better job of explaining them this time. I'll also explain how Nat (the speakers of Nuim) families actually work, which should help clarify some things.
First, Nat families. Unlike many humans families, Nat families are matrilineal. "Belonging" to a family is something that is passed down from mother to child. Both men and women belong to their mother's family but, importantly, husbands do not belong to their wife's family. Instead, a Nat husband continues to belong to their own mother's family.
This results in an interesting situation where husbands and wives live in totally different households. Husbands live in their mother's household with all of their siblings, and wives live in their mother's household with all of their siblings. While a father certainly can visit their children, and many do, they live in separate households. A husband is expected to pay more attention to the children of their own household, their siblings children, than they are their own children and a wife is expected to pay more attention to her own children and those of her siblings than the children of her husband's siblings.
To make a long story short, Nat live with their moms, not their pops, and the Nuim kinship system reflects that. The Nuim kinship system also reflects a certain lack of distinction between one's immediate family and one's extended family.
First, lets look at the terms used to describe people of one's own generation.
Matrilineal, Patrilineal, English
hosu, omyuna, sister
hepa, isyana, brother
Next, lets look at the terms for people of one's parent's generation.
Matrilineal, Patrilineal, English
tone, omruna, mother
seta, isruna, father
Now for one's parent's parent's generation.
Matrilineal, Patrilineal, English
cukkik, safomyu, grandmother
wakhus, safisya, grandfather
And finally for any generation below one's own.
Matrilineal, Patrilineal, English
omu, omkuyo, daughter
piso, iskayo, son
Not so bad when I put it like that, right?














