Systems of Naming and Creolization: Authentic Acculturation and/or Authentic Tradition? The Yanomami Case

Abstract

Among Amazonian indigenous peoples, the first thing one may notice is a change in their appearance brought about by modern clothing, such as t-shirts, caps, shorts, or objects like watches and guns.In many cases the most striking feature is the adoption of a Western hairstyle.It is less often noticed that one of the symbolically powerful aspects of the composition of the person affected by creolization is that of naming.In general, the imposition of Creole personal and family names on the native populations quickly follows contact with missionaries and administrative State personnel.One main difference between Creole and indigenous peoples is that while the former employ personal names, both for vocative and referential forms, the latter mainly use kinship vocabulary.Within Western society, the registration of individuals through written lists of names is used for many purposes, which correspond to an administrative practice of identification.This mirrors the practice of Christian baptism and baptismal registers held by churches and missions to count converted souls.From the Creole point of view, personal naming corresponds to the normal but nevertheless obligatory system of personal identification within the framework of integration into the dominant State model, a crucial structural feature of the social and political control in general that accompanies the acculturation process.This topic will be illustrated by the naming system and the different uses made of foreign names among the Yanomami population, where the Creole naming process is more recent than in other Amerindian groups. 1 While personal names are particularly subject to strong taboos among the Yanomami, it can be thought that the use of names drawn from an external Christian or Creole corpus affects them deeply and corresponds to a considerable transformation of their identity.However, the Yanomami accept this kind of exogenous denomination with an obvious ease, which deserves exploration.2

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