Fecal Animals: An Example of Complementary Totemism

Author(s): J. David Sapir

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Man, New Series, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Apr., 1977), pp. 1-21
Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2800990 .
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FECAL ANIMALS: AN EXAMPLE OF

COMPLEMENTARY
TOTEMISM

J. DAVID

SAPIR

University
of Virginia
The complementaryand opposing relationshipof person to his double: person/animal,
womb/anus,inside/outside,
postulatedby theKujamaat Diola (Senegal,WestAfrica)permits
two analogic extensions.One, that is based on interaction,provides a model of the major
categoriesof the Kujamaat social system,and the other,thatelaboratessameness/difference,
draws out, as a projectionfromthe originalperson/animalmetonymy,the system'simplicit
duality.In turn,thispaper describesthemetonymy,themetonymy'stwo analogic extensions
and finallyconcludes by showing how this kind of totemic 'thinking with animals' gets
used by theKujamaat to talkabout specificsocial relations.The shiftfrombeliefsas a system
to beliefsas applied to actual situationsnecessitatesa parallelshiftin theoreticalemphasisfrom
the structuralism
of Levi-Strauss's'totemic principle' to the notion of strategic'entitlement'
as argued by KennethBurke.

It may happenthatsometimein his lifean AjamaatDiola will defecatea live

animal.At its 'birth'theanimalwill runoffintothebushto searchout a place
whereit can expectto be safe.Frombirthon, theanimalanditscorrespondent
are
unitedso thatwhateverhappensto one will in someway affect
theother.
My present
taskis to explorethisparticular
andsomewhatesotericrepresentation
whichI shallcall a 'totemicdouble'. A doublebecause,as we shallsee,it is a discontinuousobjectification
of someessential
partof theself.A totemalso,because,
followingLevi-Strauss
(1962), it is a naturalobject(an animal)associatedwitha
socialcategory(an individual)thatis subjectto analogicextensionwhereanimal1
is to animal2as individual1
is to individual2.
Althoughheretheextensiontakeson
a complicating
twistin thatit is basedon complementarity
ratherthanhomology,
themorecommonformof totemism.
Acceptingat theoutsetLevi-Strauss's
I
proposition
thatanimalsare bona penser,
shallattemptto demonstrate
just how thesefecalanimalsare 'good to think';just
how theyserveas markersin a lexiconof naturalsymbolsthatarticulates
basic
notionsaboutthehumanexperience,
specifically
abouttheselfand abouttheself
in relationship
to others.To achievetheseendsI proceedas follows.Firstwe look
at therelevant
facts,abouttheKujamaatandabouttheirdoubles;thenwe consider
themetonymy
thatlinkspersonto double,whichin turnpermitsus to examine
two analogicextensions
in theirrelationship
ofthemetonymy,
to aspects
especially
ofthesocialstructure.
Thenfinallywe considerhow theKujamaattalkabouttheir
animaldoublesand how thistalkfitsin withthe more generalanalogicsof the
system.
I
TheKujamaatandtheirdoubles
The Kujamaat(sg. Ajamaat)Diola who occupyan areatheycall theKajamutay
numberover 8o,oooand make up thenorthernmost
sub-groupof theDiola, a
Man (N.S.)

12,

I-21.

J. DAVID SAPIR

and ethnicallyrelatedgroups living in the Lower

congeriesof linguistically
Casamanceregionof southernS6n6gal.AlthoughtheDiola languageis relatedto
otherlanguagesspokenin Senegal,suchas Wolof and Serer,theDiola findtheir
closestlinks,bothin languageand culture,to theManjakuand Balantof Guinea
makeup theBak sub-group
Bissau.The threegroupsspeaklanguagesthattogether
of West Atlantic(Sapir 1971). Like all theDiola, and theManjakuand Balantas
ricecultivators.
well,theKujamaatarepatrifilial
sedentary
The fecalanimal,thetotemicdouble,is calledan ewuuhm
(pl. siwuum)
whichhas
theliteralmeaningof ' resultoftransformation',
wheretheroot-wu'is commonly
suffix
-u'mis theresultive
used as a verbto mean 'reincarnate'and thederivative
I Ewutum
marker.
refers
onlyto theanimaldouble,andneverhasthesenseof' somewhichwould be awu'a(<-a, 'agentive').
one who reincarnates',
to keepin mind,formuchdepends
Wheretheanimalgoesto be safeis important
on it.Ifit is a man'sor an unmarried
girl'sdoubleit willusuallyfinditsway to the
or ifnot therethento some other
area of his(or,her)mother'sagnaticresidence,
'touches' (-gor),which
residence,otherthanagnatic,where the correspondent
would be anyplaceto whichhe or shehassomekindofuterinelink,FM's, MM's,
etc.A marriedwoman'sdoublewill usuallyliveat or nearherown agnatichome,
but may ifnecessary
go, like a man's,to some otherplace whereshe 'touches'.
linksa personto his double.Informants
are vague on
Common consciousness
thispoint,buttheywillalwaysaffirm
thata manandhisdoublearein communicaare
tion,eachfullyawareofwhattheotheris doingat all times.Whatinformants
nevervagueaboutis thatwhateverhappensto thedoublewill havea directeffect
If theanimalhurtssomepartof itsbody,itscorrespondent
on itscorrespondent.
will suffer
at thesamepoint.And iftheanimalis killeditscorrespondent
will become verysickand if appropriatemeasuresare not takenwill die. The reverse,
however,is not true.If the correspondent
dies,the double simplybecomesan
toldme thatit was as ifa cordwere
ordinaryanimalof thebush.One informant
runningbetweenmanand animalwiththecordattachedon one end to theman's
heart,and on theother,to theanimal'sfoot.Ifthecordgetsbrokenit woundsthe
man'sheart,hencethedangerfortheman; butfortheanimalit meanslittlemore
thana sorefoot.
A doublewill alwaysbe of thesamesex as itscorrespondent
and willalwaysbe
some kindof commonwild animal,an antelope,leopard,monkey,snake,lizard
and rarelya hyenaor a crocodile.The onlybirdevermentioned
as beingan ewuum
is saidto be a vulture,and theonlyfishreported
is theegonyong,
a smallbitingfish
thatinhabitstheinundatedricefields.Men generally
haveleopards,antelopesand
and womengenerally
haveantelopes,
lizardsandsnakes.At no timewill
monkeys,
a woman have a leopardnor a man a lizardor snake.The reasongivenis thata
womans ewuumnormallylives in the residentialcompound,while a man's
bush.
occupiesthesurrounding
correlation
betweenlargerfar-ranging
Beyondtheroughand imprecise
animals
animalsforwomentheKujamaatsee no likeformenand smallershort-ranging
ness,physicalor behavioural,
betweenpersonand hisdouble.In fact,throughout
the courseof his lifea personcan have a successionof different
animals,firsta
monkeyforinstanceand thenan antelope.
Siwuumare considered
animal.Anyonecan see
quiteas naturalas anyordinary

J. DAVID SAPIR

themfortheyare 'of theday' (watifulay)and are in no way connectedwiththe

supernatural
power of muyalwhichis associatedwiththenight(watikaltm)and
whichis availableonly to people with 'open vision' (mawung),
suchas witches,
curers,and talentedelders.The,siwuum,
along withwild and domesticanimals,
contrastwithwere-animals
and animalfamiliars
whichare both the productof
muyal.
Three criteriadistinguish
siwuium
fromotherwild animals.Habitat,theylive
closeto orinhumanresidences;
looks,theyhavestubbedtailsandtendto be somewhatbiggerthannormalanimals;and behaviour,theyactin peculiarways.Thus
ifa personconfronts
an ewutum
it will hold itsground,notbe afraidand willlook
rightat him.
In a sensesiwuum
conceptually
occupya positionintermediate
betweenwildand
domesticanimals.Hence a continuumlinkingman to nature:man; domestic
animals,thatlivewithmenbutareanimals,thoughbiologicallydistinct
fromwild
thatlive nearor withmen,but do not normallyenterdirectly
animals;siwuium,
intoman'sdailyaffairs
and thatarebiologically
likewildanimals;andfinally,
wild
animals.Siwuummediatebetweenwild and domesticanimalsin thattheyaresaid
to protectthelatterfromtheformer.And at one point,as we shalldirectlysee,
domesticanimalsmediatebetweensiwuium
and man.Were-animalsand animal
familiars,
beingsupernatural,
are outsidethecontinuum.
II
Man anddouble,
a metonymy
Personand ewutum
togetherdescribethe two halvesof a metonymybased on
commonblood and hencecommon'soul', yut(opposedto enil,'body'), whichis
locatedin the blood. A ritual,called kajupen,thatreplacesa destroyedor hurt
doubledemonstrates
thecommonsubstance.
The ritualmakesuse ofeithera goat,
a goat and a chickenin seriouscases,orjust a chickenwhenthedoublehas only
beenhurt.The domesticanimalis thesamesexas theinvalidand is necessarily
red,
'forthisis a matterofblood', as informants
alwaysputit.The ideais to transfer
the
animal'sblood-soulto theinvalid,and theritualwas likenedby one informant
to a
Westernblood transfusion.
Thereare at leasttwo regionalvariants.In one, the
invalid,legsapart,embracestheanimal,bellyto belly,withtheheadoftheanimal
on hisshoulder.In theother,contactis madefrommouthto mouth.In eithercase
theofficiant,
a nativecurer(alaaka)usinghispowersofmuyal,
effects
thetransfer.
He
terminates
theritualby tappingtheback of theanimal,'to see if theblood-soul
haspassedoverto theinvalid.'Aftertheritualtheanimalis killedand eatenby the
curerand spectators.
'Since it no longerhas a soul,it would have died anyway.'
With hisnew 'half' to his soul,theinvalidrecoversand is now in a positionto
producea new double.
By sharingcommon blood, the relationship
betweenindividualand double
becomestheend pointin a personalontologythatsolvestheconundrumof biologicaloriginsso oftenencountered
in mythicthought.The Kujaamatbelievethat
a childis conceivedwhenitsmotherand fathermix theirrespective
blood during
sexualintercourse
(Sapir1970: 1336-7). The contribution
of eachparentis saidto
be equaland ofthesamenature.Thustheproblem:how cana singleindividual,
of

J. DAVID SAPIR

one body and one blood, be the productof two people, of separatebody and
separateblood?The doublesolvesthisproblemby mediatingtheoriginalandfinal
state.It givestwo bodies(personand double)witha singleblood.
Fromconceptionon a childis 'pregnant'witha duality-hisdouble originwhichremainslatentuntilhe producesa double,at whichpointitbecomesirrevocablymanifest.
If thedoubleis destroyed,
so is theself,unlesstheselfcan be reimpregnated
withthelosthalfof itsduality.I use here,and perhapsloosely,the
terms'pregnant'and 'impregnate',butthisseemsto be whattheKujamaathave
in mind.At leastthisis thecase withthe variantof the kajupenritualthatis an
obvioustransformation
of theact of sexualintercourse:
legsapart,bellyto belly,
goat'shead on invalid'sshoulder.Insteadof the originalact thatproducedboth
thechildand thechild'spotentialto havea double,we have a ritualthatproduces
onlythepotentialto havea double.A goat,as mediatorbetweenmanand double,
becomesa stand-in
fora sexualpartner.2
Insteadof copulatingwithsomeoneof the
same speciesand of the oppositesex, theinvalid'copulates' withsomeoneof a
different
species(a goat) and of thesamesex.
Wherethedoublegoes developstheidea ofpersonaldualityby givingit a social
reference.
Recall thata double in findinga safeplace to live will usuallylocate
itselfin theproximity
of uterinelinkedkinwhenitscorrespondent
is male or an
unmarried
girl,and, whenthecorrespondent
is a marriedfemale,withherown
agnates.Thusfora manandan unmarried
girltheperson/ewu'um
the
splitreplicates
originalparentalsourceof theindividual:hispersonremainswithhisagnatesand
hencewithhisfather;whilehisdoublelocatesitselfwitha uterine
linkedresidence
groupandhencewiththecategorical,
ifnotalwaysactual,mother's
pointoforigin.
A marriedwomanand herdoublereversetheallocation.Her persongoes to live
with the husband,while her double returnshome to be with her fatherand
brothers.
At thislevel,therefore,
thetwo/onepuzzleis solvedas follows:To havea double
in a veryrealsense,is to denythephysicalfactthatan individualcan be onlyone
selfandat onlyone place,andto assertinsteadthesocialandpsychological
factthat
an individualis alwaystwo selvesat two places.
But therelationship
andunequal.
betweenindividualanddoubleis asymmetrical
A double is your lesserhalf.Considerthreeoppositions.i) The individualis a
humanbeing,his double is an animal; and like mostof us the Kujamaatput a
as an elder
highervalue on people thanon animals.2) Althoughbothoriginate,
', one is deliveredofthewomb,theotherevacuatedfrom
putit,'in thebelly(faar)
theanus.3) Both child and double are born outsidethe residential
compound.
Howeverthechildis broughtin by itsparent,whilethedoubleis leftto fendfor
itself.Traditionallya woman gave birthclose to, but definitely
outsidethe
to the debrisof
compoundin a specialarea called iijuj,'potsherds',in reference
brokenpotsusedforwashingthenewbornbaby.Nowadaysmothersuniversally
whichare
avail themselves
of maternity
facilities
providedby the government
likewise'outside'.The Kujamaatalwaysleavethecompound,evenin thedead of
bush.To defecatein anypartof theliving
night,to defecatein thesurrounding
areaitself
is considered
verybad form,beingpermissible
onlyto theveryyoungor
the very sick. In definingthe noun bulupat,'seriousfault,misdemeanour',informantstime and again offeredthe ostensivedefinition:'as when someone

J. DAVID SAPIR

in thecompound',
defecates
whichbrings
to,mindtheformulaic
insult,
nasandi
'he shitsinthecourtyard
kunyiil,
thenblamesthechildren.'
fank,nataken
Thuswe have:humanv. animal,
wombv. anus,comesinsidev. staysoutside.
Andevenwherethedoublegoes'to be safe',italwaysremains
on thepenumbra
of itsresidence:
in thesurrounding
bush,or ifinside,thentuckedawayin the
orintheinfrequented
corners,
up intherafters,
partsofthebackyard.
is a formof excrement,
An ewuum
something
disposed
of Butunlikefecesit
ofentirely.
is notdisposed
It is displaced,
setintothebackground
andis never
eliminated.
The asymmetry
betweenindividual
and ewuum
makesus qualifythesocial
of theself:thereference
duality
pointassociated
withtheewu'u'm
is defined,
in
contrast
to thatassociated
withtheindividual
person,
as somehow
secondary
and
lessimportant.
We canputit thisway:giventhattheselfhastwosocialfoci,he
in orderto havea viablesocialpersona,
must,
putto theside,displace,
renounce,
ina wordshitout,onefocusinfavour
oftheother.3
Thesymbolism
ofthesefecal
thevehicleforconceptualising,
animals
provides
or 'thinking
about'thissocial
fact.
III
Siwu'uim
as analogy
So muchfortheinternal
thatlinksa personto hisdouble.Thisis
relationship
themetonymy
oftotemism.
Butwhatoftheoverall
Whathappens
analogy?
when
notjustoneperson
we consider
andhisdouble,butinstead
a groupofpeopleeach
withhisorherowndouble?
Two analogicmodelsemerge.
Thefirst
andmorecomplexis aboutinteraction
anddevelops
fromthepermutation
ofthreeoppositions:
ego/alter,
person/double,
Thesecondandmoreabstract
ofduality
male/female.
continues
ourdiscussion
and
a common
feature
oftotemic
difference
issameness.
wherethere
develops
systems,
A comment
'A
Interaction.
byPierre
Smith
willmakea goodpointofdeparture:
inonewayoranother,
modeloftheselfisalways,
a corollary
toa modelofinterThe axesthattransect
a personhavea good chanceofbeing
personal
relations.
to thosethatlinkpersons
perpendicular
together'
(1973: 467). To applythisgeoof theselfinto
metric
case: The complementary
division
imageto ourpresent
suchthat
relations
ontothefieldofinter-personal
personanddoubleis projected
self.
or double)ofoneselfinteraTcts
with'one-half'ofanother
'one-half'
(person
a remark
ThuswhenanAjamaatistalking
aboutdoublesandtheir
correspondents
like'A spoketo B' canmeannotonlythata personA spoketo B, butalsothat
Thatis,
A'sdoublespoketoB, thereverse,
andthatonedoublespoketotheother.
arefourtypes
ofinteraction:
whenever
doubles
aretakenintoaccount
there
person
doubleto double.Thesefourin
to person,
personto double,doubleto person,
Now
turnbecomesixteen
whenthesexofegoandalterisaddedtotheparadigm.
conclusion.
an examination
of thesetofpermutations
leadsto a quitestartling
of
themajorfeatures
Takentogether
theyproducea nativemodelthatdefines
distinct
Thismodelsetsoutfourqualitatively
socialorganisation.
Kujamaat
types
and moreor
exclusive
of relationship
whicharemappedontosixteen
mutually
thesiwuum
becomean idiom
lessexhaustive
socialdyads.Fromthisperspective

J. DAVID SAPIR

thatpermitstheKujamaatto conceptualise
important
aspectsoftheirsociallifeby
defining
how categories
ofpeoplerelateto eachother.It is thismodel,as we shall
see,thatservesas thegroundplan fortalkaboutspecificincidents
involvingparticulardoubles.
Sincea man'sdoublegoesto liveata uterine
linkedresidence
whiletheindividual
himselfremainswithhisagnates,it followsthatthesiwutum
idiomdefinesforany
male,vis-a-visothermales,fourroles:as an agnate,a 'nephew',an 'uncle' and as
a matrilateral
parallelcousin.Thus,whenego's personinteracts
withalter'sperson,
thenboth ego and alterinteractas agnates.When ego's double interacts
witha
person,he is thenactingas a 'nephew'; whenit is thereversehe is 'uncle'; and
when both ego and alterare doubles,the two are matrilateral
parallelcousins.
Sincea marriedwoman'sdoublereturns
hometo heragnatesand notto herown
uterine
kin,an equivalenceismade,as faras doublesareconcerned,
betweenmother
and son.The rolesparalleling
herson'sarethen:as an in-married
woman-person
to person;as an out-married
woman-double to person;as brother's
wife-person
i shows
to double;as sisterto otherout-married
to
Table
women-double double.
thesepermutations
andaddsto themtheremaining
eightthathaveto do withcross
sex interaction.
TABLE I.

Ego (male)

B
agnates
(F, B, S)

b
Zch, FZch

B
MB, MF, MBS
(etc.)

b
Mch,MZch,MFZch
(etc.)

(female)

in-married
women
(BW, W, FW)

Z, FZ

Ego (female)

B
H, HB, HF

b
HZch, HFZch

B
F, B, BS

b
ch,Zch, FZch

HZ, HFZ

FW, BW, BSW

Alter
(male)

Alter
(male)
(female)

in-married
women
(own peers)

MBW, MFW, MBSW

(etc.)

M, MZ, MFZ
(etc.)

Z, FZ

Key: A=
a=
B=
b=

Ego-person
Ego-double
Alter-person
Alter-double

Let me elaborateeach of thesebasictypesof relationship

and thenconsidera
negativerelationship
thatis outsidethesystementirely.
i.

Personto person.

Agnates.Kujamaatsocial structure
is based on what we can call local patrigroups.At thelowestlevel will be a veryshallowpatrilineage,
goingback to at
mostthreegenerations
fromthe oldestlivingmember.Severalof theselineages
to forma namedcompound.Linksbetweenlineageslivingwithin
grouptogether
one compoundaredefinedin termsofcommonresidence,
butmayalsobe rationalisedwithvaguegenealogicalreferences,
suchas 'our forefathers
werebrothers'.

J. DAVID SAPIR

Severalhousesgroup togetherto forma w,ardwhose membersusuallysharea

A villagewill be comprisedof
commonexogamousand non-localised
patronym.
fouror morewardswithone of thepatronyms
dominatingthevillage.The reof agnaticco-residence
thejural rightsand dutiesof a corlationship
emphasises
porategroupand have thepotentialforinternalcompetition
overland and other
property.
In-married
woman (asek).Since marriageis virilocal,a woman by marrying
moveshersocialframeofreference
fromone patri-group
to another.Comparing
a man witha woman we can say thatin termsof residence,
actualtimespentat
thisresidence,
and participation
in a localisedcorporate
and potentialcompetition
group,a marriedwoman'srelationship
to herhusband'slocal groupis equivalent
to a man'srelationship
to his own agnates.That is, verysimply,a woman as a
person(notas a double)is equivalentto herhusbandand notat all to herbrother.
a woman relatesto otherin-married
Or, put morespecifically,
women as a man
relatesto his brothers.This parallelcomes out in the patternof witchcraft.
Althoughthe Kujamaatdo not go in muchforovertwitchcraft
accusation,those
casesthatdo surfacemostfrequently
involveeitheran in-married
womanagainst
herpeers,or a managainsthisbrothers.
All thishas to do withtheworld of personsand not doublesor doublesinteractingwithpersons.For agnatesand in-married
the siwutum
women,therefore,
idiomappliesonlyindirectly
or by way of contrast.
2.

Double to person.

an individualhaskinship
'Nephew' (asumpuT).
Beyondhisextendedpatri-group
tieswiththepatri-groups
of anyascendantfemale,mostparticularly
hismother's
and his father'smother'spatri-groups,
but potentially
withhis MM's, MMM's,
FMM's, FFM's (etc.) as well. All thesegroupsare terminologically
mergedwith
thephrasetanasumpuile,
'wherehe is sister'schild(asumpui)
withthe
', and contrast
'where he originates'.4 Marriageinto any of thesegroupsis
phrasetanakiine,
forbidden.
The relationship
that ego maintainswith one of his uterinelinkedgroups,
different
fromthosehe has withhisown, with
especiallyhisMB's, is significantly
theformer
theclassicMB/ZS patterntypicalof manyAfricansocietiesthat
fitting
have a strongpatri-bias
and thatdo notpermitcross-cousin
it is
marriage.Briefly,
is verymuchpersonto person,and is basedon mutualinterest
non-competitive,
MB offers
and concern.It is also asymmetrical.
help,protection,
advice,guidance
to hisnephew,whilethelatter,
alwayswithinlimits,hasthelicenceto do, take,and
say whathe pleases.As theKujamaatput it, 'it is whereI have therightto take
awaychickens'.ZS is in factsacredamongsthisuncles,forifanyuterinekindraws
hisblood whilehe is on theirpremises,
one of thespiritsassociatedwiththecomitsresidents
in perpetuity.
Thisis a uniqueformofspiritual
poundwill afflict
protectionand would neverapplyto fightsbetweenagnates.Such is ZS's libertyto
speak,thathe is oftencalleduponto adjudicatedisputes.
He hastherightto rebuke
and otherwiseadmonishkey eldersin thelocal group,something
junior agnates
would neverdareto do.
Out-married
woman(art'men).
A marriedwoman'sown agnaticgroupis equiva-

J. DAVID SAPIR

lentto a man's MB's and otheruterinelinkedgroups.At marriagea woman's

andwhatwassecondary
becomessecondary
originalandprimary
placeofreference
losesmuchofitsimportance
beingmoreorlesscombinedwithherformer
primary
group.Althoughaftermarriagea womanmaintains
contactwithherown uterine
Time spentawayfromthenew residence
kin,shevisitstheminfrequently.
will be
withherown agnatesbackat herold homewhereshehas
spentalmostexclusively
'marriedsister',or more correctly,
takenon the termof arimen,
'out-married
femaleagnate'.
like an asumpu'l
An arimen,
(i.e. herown, herZ's or herFZ's son), has a wellrole havingto do with the welfareof her agnaticlocal
definedand distinctive
group.Amongotherthings,sheand herfellowmarriedsisters
(collectively
called
to overseethebehaviourofin-married
havetheresponsibility
thefurimen)
women,
wives.Theyalsoplayan important
theirbrothers'
and areexpected
partat funerals
thatmightarisebetweentheirmale agnates.
to diffuse
anycasesof witchcraft
sacredstatusandhisrightto do andsayas he
A roughequivalentto an asumpu'l's
calledtheebunwhichis a spirit(enaat()witha local shrine
pleasesis an institution
At approximately
thatis undertheexclusivecontrolof thefuri'men.
fiveto tenwhenthefurimen
return
theshrineis celebrated
hometo theiragnates
yearintervals
fora periodof severalmonths.Duringthistimetheyhave therightto demand
favoursfromunrelatedmen thatrunfromrequestsforsmallsumsof moneyto
demandsforsexualaccess.
The dyad of double to person,and its converse,is obviouslythe heartof the
idiom. It is the directsocialprojectionof the individual'sperson-double
siwu'um
metonymyand as such marksa sharpcontrastwiththe faceto face,personto
person,relationsthatobtainbetweenmale agnatesand theirwives.In termsof a
local groupit allowstheKujamaatto include,yethold apart,the disparticular
and theirchildren,the kusumpu'l.
persedfurimen
the
Moreover,it differentiates
fromthekusumpu'l
whenwe recallthatwomen'sdoubles(lizardsandsnakes)
furimen
livein thecompounds,whilemen's(leopardsand monkeys)alwayslive
generally
in thenearbybush.In spatialtermsthisrepresents
thefactthatwomen,as agnates,
werebornin andhadspentthefirst
partoftheirlivesin thecompound,whilemen,
whosedoublesarepresentbecauseof theirmothers(or some othermaternallink)
werenot.
The majorpoint,however,is notto separatethefurimen
fromthekusumpu`l,
but
to appreciatetheimaginative
paralleltheKujamaatmake betweenthesekin and
look fora safeplacewhere
theiranimalmarkers.
siwuiuim
Thus,justas thevulnerable
fromhunters,
theyaresureto be 'takencareof', givenwaterto drinkandprotected
at theirMB's and thefurimen
at theirbrother's
finda readyhaven
so thekusumpu'l
is verymucha huisclosandis so oftencharacterised
fromhomelifewhereexistence
overproperty,
rancidarguments,
byjostlingand competition
jealousyand witchAndthen,
as residual-fecal-material
craft.
liveon thepenumbra
justas thesiwuum
in thesurrounding
bushor hiddenin secureand out of theway
of theresidence,
and kusumpuil
cornersof thecompound,so, sociologically
speaking,do thefurfmen
also live on the social penumbraof the patri-group
overseeingits welfareand
residualaspectsof rightswhichbecauseof marriageor birththeyhave
exercising
had to renounce.The menhavetheirresidualrightsto takechickensand to speak
theebunspirit,
as theyplease,andthewomen,whentheycelebrate
regainfora turn

J. DAVID SAPIR

at theirplaceofbirthand
therights
theyhadrenounced
at marriage:
residence
access,
sexualandotherwise,
to menotherthantheirhusbands.
3. Personto double.
'Uncle'. Sincea manis simultaneously
'uncle' to someand 'nephew' to others,
therelationship
of double to personalwayshas forego its reciprocal,
personto
double.Terminologically
MB is calledampaywhichis usuallyglossedas 'father',
sinceit coversall + i generation
(F, FB, MB). All maleuterine
maleconsanguines
kin are,however,distinguished
from+ i maleagnateswiththecovertermsipay
in contrast
to kumpay,
thepluralofampay.And F and MB arealso distinguished
in
directaddresswhereF is calledpapa and MB by his givenname.Followingthe
Omaha pattern,
if
MBS and evenMBSS are mergedwithMB, althoughneither,
to as ampaom,
theyare thesame age as or youngerthanego, would be referred
'my father',onlycollectively
as akilasipayom
'he (isone of) mymaleuterinekin'.
Brother'swife.From a marriedwoman's pointof view brother'swife is the
femalereciprocalto ar(men.By marrying,
a woman assumesthe obligationto
respectherhusband'smarriedsistersand to help him take careof his nephews.
Theselatterreferto heras inyam,
'my mother'whichis extended,
or inyayom,
collectively
at least(sinyayom),
to includeMBD, MBSW, etc.
4. Double to double.
implyanother.This will
Matrilateral
parallelcousin.The MB/ZS relationships
(ZS) rightsat thesame
be betweenthosedispersed
consanguines
who have-sumpu'l
place.Includedareall matrilateral
parallelcousinsin thebroadestsenseoftheword,
your MZ's children,at your MB's residence;your FMZchch at your FMBS's
place,etc. Relationships
betweenthesedispersedcousinsare sporadic,personto
person,and non-competitive.
Theybecomefocusedwhen,as a group,thecousins
ritualsand whentheyadjudioverseeeimportant
eventssuchas funerals,
initiation
catedisputesat theircommonuterineresidence.
Sisters.Like a man to his matrilateral
parallelcousins,a marriedwomans reand FZ) is personto personand
lationship
to herfellowfuri'men
(hermarriedsisters
equal,receiving
collectivefocusonlywithregardto theircommonagnaticgroup.
theimage
For theseequal and sporadicrelationships
idiompresents
thesiwu'u'm
to each
of a groupof animalsof a varietyof different
specieslivingin proximity
other.Althoughoccasionallythesiwu'u'm
are said to act in concert,as when they
collectively
expressdisapprovalof one of theirnumbers,they,forthemostpart,
andwhen
haveverylittleto do withone another.Eachgoesaboutitsown business,
interaction
takesplaceit is betweenanimaland person,onlyveryrarelybetween
animals.
5. Neitherperson,noranimal.
Absentfromthetotemiccalculusarea marriedwoman'sown uterinekinand a
man'sin-laws(kulol),whichincludebothhis W's and hisZH's kin. Actuallythe
as I have alreadymentioned,
former,
tendto be collapsedwithheragnatesand at
certaintimesa marriedwoman's double may resideat the home of one of her
uncles(cf.case s). This can be expected,forbeyondlivingin or livingout of the
Both are
and asumpu'l.
compoundthereis no clear separationbetweenfurimen

J. DAVID SAPIR

Io

themajorcontrast
fora married
animals.As faras theidiomis concerned
womanin
herinterpersonal
relationsis betweenhermaritalresidence(personto person)on
eitheras an arimenor as an asumpuil
the one side and her consanguines,
on the
other(animalto person).
aresomething
But a man'saffines
and I was toldon severaloccaverydifferent,
would a manhavehisdoublelivingnearto his
sionsthatunderno circumstances
in-laws.'It would surelyget killed.'To have his double livingtherewould be
aboutas safe,perhapslesssafe,thanhavingit runwild in thebushor livingnext
In all suchplacesit would be nothingbut 'fairgame'.
to completestrangers.
The presenceof a maleewutum
has therightsof an
impliesthatitscorrespondent
and suchrightsscarcelyapplyto an in-law.Relationswithbothsetsof
asumpu`l,
in-laws(ZH,WB) are distant,
hostile.And, followingthe
politeand potentially
in thatwife-takers
areexpectedto
commonpattern,
theytendto be asymmetrical
Your ZH is saidto have 'shame' (-punyor)
to wife-givers.
in your
show deference
presence.This distincttype of relationship
providesthe major reasonfor an
absoluteaversionto cross-cousin
marriage.It would seriouslycompromisethe
As we just saw MB has the obligationto look out forthe
-sumpulrelationship.
andadvice,notto mention
welfareofhisnephewandto accepthisadmonishments
WB has no suchobligations.He expectsZH to
his freedomwithMB's chickens.
and respect,to do himfavours(hardlythe
show him at leastminimaldeference
reverse),and he has no need of ZH's uninvitedcounsels.In factit would be consideredgrosslyout of placeforZH to offeranyat all.
*

thesefourdyadscan be sumTogetherand with theirnegativecounterpart

marisedlikethis:
Closed corporategroup,competition,
Personto person
witchcraft.
Double to person Particularistic,
asymmetrical.Uncle gives, nephew
HZ oversees.Doublesprotected
takes;BW respects,
by
persons,doublesprotectdomesticanimalsfrompredaPersonto double
tors.
Double to double Particularistic,
equal, sporadic.Doubles only rarely
interact.
Neitherpersonnor
double

Strangersand a man's in-laws. Distant,polite and

hostile.
potentially

With thissketchit shouldnow be apparentthatthesocialdeductionfromthe

person/ewu'um
metonymy,
thathas beenmadein termsof interacting
dyads,gives
a good overviewof themajorcategories
ofinterpersonal
relations.
The deduction
is especially
satisfying
becauseit accountsforandfitswithwhattheethnographer,
with otherless imaginativemeansand withoutrecourseto cosmology,might
to be like,as 'it reallyis'. The opposing
reasonablyconsiderthesocialstructure
of ego/alter,
categoriesthathave been definedby thepermutation
male/female,
thecontrasts
person/double,
especially
betweenagnatesand uterinelinkedkinand
betweenin and out marriedwomen,areall basicto Kujamaatlifeand no account

J. DAVID

SAPIR

II

can ignoretheirimportance.
Here thenis a nativemodel
of theirsocialstructure
morethan'just one view amongothers'.
thatis something
in thesiwuum
idiomand thathas to do with
contrast
Thereremainsone further
thatis developedby oursecond
cross-sex
equivalents.
It is thisaspectofthesiwu'um
model.
andmatrifiliality.
aredevelopedanalogicWhentotemicsystems
Sameness,
difference
findsimilarity.
And
whereone would otherwise
allytheyalwaysshow difference
are no exception.Such differentiation
has beenimplicitin
theKujamaat'ssiwuum
muchofwhatI havesaidso far,but sincemy attention
has been on a modelfor
it has tendedto slipby unnoticed.I havebeenconcerned
withtherelainteraction
tionof one-half(personor double) of one selfwiththehalfof some otherself.
Considernow theanalogicsof thewhole self,bothpersonand doubletogether.
formoftotemism.
rather
Whatemergesis a distinct
Becauseofthecomplementary,
thanhomologous,relationofpersonto double,thesystemproducesa setofmirror
images.Theseimagesin turnpointto themostgeneraland pervasivecorrelation
betweenthe'model of theself'(to returnto Smith'sremark)and the'model of
interpersonal
relations'.
livetogether
bytheirrespective
andaredifferentiated
i) A groupofmaleagnates
doubles,whichare dispersed.The rangeof placesa man's double may go conhis uniquenessamong agnatesas beingdefinedby who his 'mothers'
ceptualises
peoplefromeach other.
(sinyay)are.Doubles differentiate
parallelcousins,as doubles,live togetherand are
2) A group of matrilateral
As theconverseof i),
differentiated
persons,who aredispersed.
by theirrespective
doublesfromeach otherand uniquenesswithinthegroupis
people differentiate
determined
are.
by who yourfathers
Takingintoaccountthatall parallelcousinsare calledsibling,we might,from
thepointof view of ego, put it thisway: The Kujamaathave 'male' brothers,
agnateslivingtogetherinsidea compoundor ward.At thesame timetheyhave
matrilateral
parallelcousinslivingtogether
animal,fecal,or 'female' brothers,
outsidesomecommonuterinelinkedresidence.Only ego's fullbrotherwould be
both'male' and 'female'.
or mirrorimage,of
Withrespectto agnationa woman'ssituation
is thereverse,
a man's.3) A groupofagnaticsisters
as doublesand aredifferentiated
livetogether
women,who are
persons.4) A groupof in-married
by theirrespective
dispersed
are togetheras people and separatedby theirdisperseddoubles.Only
unrelated,
when sistersmarryat the same place would two women and theirdoublesbe
simultaneously
together.
Table 2 setsout thecontrasts.
This play of mirrors
highlights
two cross-sexequivalentsthatwe have already
mentioned
inpassing,andgetsus to theultimate
dualityofthewholesystem.Foregroundedas humanis theequivalenceof husband(agnate)and wife (in-married
woman).Backgroundedas a fecalresidueis theequivalenceof a mother(as arimen)
withherson (as asumputl).
What thelatterequivalencedoesis to give a matrifilial
As a person,a man lives
socialorganisation.
reflection
to an otherwisepatrifilial
hisfather's
brothers
and theirchildren.But as a double,
togetherwithhisfather,
he livesinsteadwithhis mother,hersisters,and theirchildren.This tellsus that
a complementary
stateaboutagnationis necessarily
implicitin a man'sstatement

J. DAVID SAPIR
Table 2

maleagnates <
femaleagnates

People

Doubles

together

dispersed

dispersed

together

dispersed

together

together

dispersed

Where: (-) maleagnates=matrilateral

parallelcousins
women
(-) femaleagnates=in-married
heremarkedas 'together'.
NB. Table I is derivedfromthefourcategories

Or, in the languageof alliancetheory(which the

ment about matrifiliation.
ratherwell), a man is the productof a transaction
model approximates
siwu'u'm
and wife-takers.
betweenwife-givers
birthand defecaof opposingbodilyfunctions:
What startedas a consideration
tion,now finallybecomesa propositionabout the dualisticnatureof Kujamaat
The progressof oppositionis as follows:
socialorganisation.
womb
birth
human
inside

SELF

anus
defecation
animal
outside

GROUPS
agnaticresidence
(virolocal)
male agnates
peers)
(in-married
husband-wife
wife-takers
patrifilial

avuncularresidence
(agnatic)
matrilateral
parallel
cousins
sisters)
(out-married
mother-son
wife-givers
matrifilial
(...)

applies to women

IV
Talkingaboutsiwuum
quarters,
movedmeandmybaggageto morepermanent
WhenArufuofJipalom
roofand no ceiling,I remember,
a new cementplasteredcube witha corrugated
on entering,
lookingup to see a snakeslidealong theledge betweenthe centre
butwas assuredthatthesnake
mysurprise,
beamand theroof.Loudly,I expressed
else
was divertedto something
was nothing,that'it was harmless'.My attention
end
the
so thatby thetimeI looked up again thesnakehad disappearedbehind
did it live up
Furtherquestionsaboutthesnake... was it reallyharmless,
rafter.

J. DAVID SAPIR

I3

there?... broughtno responseat all. No one,Arufu,hissons,my assistant,

none
ofthemseemedinterested
in talkingaboutthatsnake.Surely,snakeswereanimals
theseKujamaattook verymuchin theirstride.But not so muchin strideas it
turnedout when,a monthor so later,a greymamba thathad come onto the
verandaof themainhousewas choppedto bitsamidsta terrific
commotion.Why
a fussaboutone snake,andnoneaboutanother?Was it thatonewas poisonousand
theothernot?Suchwas mypragmaticconclusionat thetimeand sincemymind
I let the
was thenon Kujamataygrammarand phonology,and not symbolism,
matterrestat that.
Lookingbacknow, fromthevantagepointof theinquiriesthathaveinformed
thatthesnakein
thepresentdiscussion,
I can saywithassurance,
ifnot certitude,
the rafters
was ignorednot becauseit was just harmless,but becauseit was an
It was a harmlesssnake; a common
arimen.Four reasonspermitthe inference.
doublefora woman.It was up in therafters
of thehouse; one of thecompound's
bywaysfrequented
by femaledoubles.That the snake appearedat the precise
had settledin fora
momentit did.Justwhena stranger,
of startling
provenience,
was not onlylookingme over,but was
long stay.By showingherself
theari'men
or not,
also providinga signto markmyarrivalas an eventthatwas,auspiciously
in some way notable.But the main reasonforcallingthe snakean arimenwas
precisely
theconspicuouslack of any responsefromArufu.
AlthoughtheKujamaatwill freelyspeakof thegeneralprinciplesthatgovern
and give typicalexampleswithoutspecificreference
siwuu'm
(case i), they are
usuallyreluctant
to talkabout particular
siwu'um
thatdirectlyaffecttheirlivesof
themoment.In frontof outsiders
. .. otherKujamaatas well as ethnographers
...
one saysnothingaboutanysiwuum
thatmightbe livingaround.Theyarevulnerto strangers,
able and secretsabout themare not to be entrusted
especiallyif the
live in thevicinity.
strangers
Not thatparticulars
With persuasion,persistence
and
are neverforthcoming.
will givecases,thoughalwayswithincertain
upon fulleracquaintance
informants
bounds.Firstof all, no one everadmitsto anybodyof havinga doublehimself.
kinshouldknow who has a double,and they,sincetheyknow
Only responsible
already,neverhave to be told. Secondly,thecasesthatare givenreferalwaysto
And finally,
thatdo notapply,or onlypartially
pastincidents
applyto thepresent.
doubleswhenthey
informants
are morewillingto talkin detailaboutparticular
aresurethattheirquestioner,
knowslittle
who is pryingintotheirpersonalaffairs,
aboutthepartiesconcerned.
Thatis to say,mybestexampleswerefrominformants
who, thoughI knewthemwell,came fromvillagesaboutwhichI knewnextto
nothing.
caseanalyses
Theselimitations
certainly
precludeanyfinegraineddramaturgical
of thesocialwhy'sand wherefore's
doubles.Nevertheless
thedata I
of particular
obtainedpermitreasonableinterpretations
of at leastsome of therecordedincidents.But whatis muchmoreimportant,
thedatawithoutquestiondemonstrate
how theKujamaatput thesiwu'um
idiomto use.
To beginwithall siwu'um
Further
incidents
involveinter-personal
relations.
the
interaction
theydescribealwaysfollowthepatternsetout in our model(tablei).
At all timestheincidents
or negafocus,eitherdirectly
or indirectly,
positively
tively,on thesocialrelationsof thefur'men
and kusumpu'l.
By directfocusI mean

J. DAVID SAPIR

14

is saidaboutthefurJ'men
or kusumpu'l
thoseincidents
wheresomething
themselves,
to eachother(animalto animal,rarelyoccurring)
eitherin relationship
or between
themand theagnaticcore of male agnatesand theirin-married
wives(animalto
person,as in mostcases).Indirectfocuswould be incidents
whereprimaryreference is to the agnaticcore (personto person).They appear underthe general
ofthesiwu'um
frame:someone'streatment
definestherelationship
betweenagnates
orbetweenspouses.Exampleswouldbe case2, wherea husbandpraiseshisdeceased
wifeand case4, wherea man takesrevengeon hisbrother.
Positiveincidents
markthefurimen
or kusumpu'l
as operatingin an
relationship
exemplarymanner.Case 2 is a fineexample,and so is case 6, even thoughit is
associatedwitha death.But the majorityof casesare negative.They indicatea
and offera commentary
of therelationships
on theconsequences
malfunctioning
All thesecaseshaveto do withillnessor deathand each drawsa
ofthedysfunction.
in Africancosmologies)betweenbody and social
parallel(so oftenencountered
pathology.
The followingcases are all typicalwith the exceptionof thepenultimate
(5)
whichis uniqueand decidedlyuntypical.I includethiscase to illustrate
the conceptualboundarythatseparatesbeliefsabout doublesfrombeliefsabout wereanimalsand witches.For each exampleI have added a numberof interpretative
remarks.
*

i) A young man huntedin the forestnear his residenceand over a period of the time managed to kill a number of antelopes. Aftera while his asumpul(probably FZS) complained
tellinghim to stop, 'I (i.e. my double, which is a leopard) musteat'. If the 'uncle' refusedto
stop, then the asumpulthreatenedto 'come to the house', as a leopard, and starttakingthe
goats and cattle
Remarks. This incident,which was recountedto me as typicaland without referenceto
particularpeople, is an imaginativeplay on the rightsof kusumpul.As a person,an asumpu'l
has the rightto take chickens,but has no rightsto otherdomesticanimals,cattleand goats,
whichbelong exclusivelyto his 'uncles'. As a double, especiallywhen the double is a leopard,
an asump4lhas the rightto hunt wild antelopes,but has no rightto hunt domestic animals
which he is supposedto protect.Thus the metaphoricequivalence: chickens= antelopes,with
goats and cattlehavingthe same positionin both domains.Now if an 'uncle' encroacheson a
double's rightsto wild antelopes,thenthe double will encroachon the 'uncle's' rightsto the
domestic animals. In strictlyhuman terms,and without using the siwu'u'midiom, we can
paraphrasethe incidentas somethinglike: 'If you deny my rightsas as asumpu'l,to take
chickens(and to do otherthingsbesides),thenI will exaggeratetheserightsand demand more
than I otherwisewould.'
of the Boyas ward ofJipalom,had a nightadder (?) (yew)as a double.
2) Howa, an art'men
The snake had been found by Jalaj,Howa's brother'swife, who put out food for it to eat.
When Jalaj died the snake disappeared.Jalaj's husband, Abdu, was Howa's brotherby the
same father.Their motherswere sisters.(Recounted by Abdu.)
Remarks. One of the few cases where I knew all of the partiesconcerned.Abdu relatedit
to me in I970, eight years afterhis wife's death. He had been extremelyclose to her and
created a minor scandal by refusingto remarryfor well over five years afterher death,
despiteJalajhaving lefthim with threechildren,and despitehis having assumedthe responsibilityof fourotherchildrenas well. It was only afterconsiderablepressurefromhis agnates
thathe reluctantlyconsentedto remarry.Beyond sentimentAbdu had good reasonto mourn
his wife'sdeath,forby Kujamaat standardsshe was as close to being an ideal wife as one could
hope. Among otherthingsshe had had the reputationof being particularlyrespectfulof the
and perhapsmore than anythingelse thiswas the real test of being a 'good wife'.
furtmen
Thus by recountingthe incidentAbdu was entitlinga theme thatran throughmany of our

J. DAVID SAPIR
conversations:thathis late wife had been a most remarkablewoman. Leaving out food for
Abdu's sister(her double) was surelyan indicationthatshe knew how to take care of (sof)her
femalein-laws.
3) Arufuof Boyas (Howa's and Abdu's father)was a richelder who, as is occasionallythe
case with outstandingmen, possessedtwo doubles, a monkey and an antelope. They both
lived next to the adjacentward of Buben (at about i km. to the west ofBoyas). Althoughhis
motherand his mother'smotherwere fromJirego,a village 61 km. to the east of Jipalom,it
was said in thisaccount thathis MMM was fromBuben. One day Jambolang,a well-known
cattlethieffromJijak,a village about 8 km. to thesoutheast,approachedArufu'sclassificatory
brotherLuntuland reportedthathe (i.e. his double) had seen Arufu'santelopeget shot.The
replacementritualwas performed.But just beforethe ritualand on the thirdday afterthe
accidentArufu'smonkey presenteditselfin the open saying 'he has killed me' (i.e. he has
killed my companion). But Ajambon, an inmarriedwoman at Buben told the monkey that
she had recognisedhim as Arufu.She thensaid to the monkeythatthe youthwho had killed
him (his companion) was young and had not known who the antelopewas. It was a mistake.
Finally,she told the monkey to go away. Ajambon has seen it fromtime to time. It is now
(I965) very old. (Recounted to 0. F. Linaresby Ajambon.)
Remarks. Ajambon volunteeredthisstoryas proof thatArufuhad uterinelinksto Buben,
specificallyvia his MMM. Apparentlyhowever, Arufuhimselfwas not of thisopinion, for
I was
Unfortunately
accordingto hisgenealogyall hismatrilinealascendantscame fromJirego.
never able to straightenthe discrepancyout, though I would guess that it was Arufuwho
was correct,mainlybecause ifboth his motherand his MM came fromJirego(which no one
doubted) then,given the marriagepatternsin the area, it was highlyprobable thathis MMM
came from the same general locality. But if probabilitysupportedArufu,general opinion
supportedAjambon. Not only did the people of Buben insistthatArufuwas one of their
but also Arufu'sown childrenall identifiedBuben as thehome of theirFMMM. The
asumpu'l,
major reasonpromptingBuben to make the claim was thatit permittedthemto bridge the
social segmentationof thevillage. Such a linkwas to theiradvantage,forArufu,in his prime,
had been the unquestioned'big man' of the village ('a giantsilk-cottonamong lessertrees',
according to one informant).Reciprocally, by having -sumpal rightsin a neighbouring
householdArufu'schildren(especiallywhen young) could make demands,close to home, for
hospitalitythatwould not have otherwisebeen theirdue.
In a contextthatasserteda strong-sumpu'lrelationship,but thatrestsat best on a remote
genealogical connexion, an appeal to the siwu'u'midiom is a very useful device. It places
beyond dispute the existenceof the relationship.Regardless of what Arufuhimselfmight
believe,a well attestedcase involvinghis doubles livingat Buben was primafaciegroundsfor
sayingwith assurancethathe was a Buben asumpul.As an Ajamaat would put it, 'Why else
would his doubles be living there?'
4) An elder by the name of Jaan and of the village of Jiremhad the habit of settingout
waterforthe siwu'umof his house. His brotherLanding would sometimeshide and shoot the
animalsas theycame to drink.In thisway he was responsibleforthe death of threekusumpu'l.
Landing
JaanreprimandedLanding sayingthathe had done bad to hide and kill the siw4uum.
did not exist and thatthe animals were ordinary.To thisJaan retorted
replied thatsiwu'u'm
thathe was not so crazy as to set out water forwild animals.
AtJaan'sfuneralthekusumpu'l
collectivelycursed(enum)Landing to a deathby fire.Shortly
when some upland fieldswere being burned over, Landing got severelyburned
thereafter,
and subsequentlydied. (Recounted by AnyaraJeme,one ofJaan'sasumpu'l.)
Remarks. We can interpretthisincidentas a posthumoussettlingof accounts.On his death
bed Jaan recountedthe storyof his kusumpt'lby way explainingwhy several of them had
had littleotherchoice but to
died in recentyears.AcceptingJaan'sexplanation,the kusumpu'l
curseLanding,even thoughtheyhad always consideredhim to be a good man. Not to have
cursedhim would have put them in jeopardy, for withoutJaan's protectionthey(i.e. their
doubles) would become an even easier prey to Landing's huntingexcursions.What motitivatedthe disputebetween the brothersis unknown, though such fraternalanimositiesare
not infrequent,indeed they are common. What is uncommon here, however, is thatJaan
which is normallyto
forceda reversalof thejural role customarilyassignedto the kusumpufl,

i6

J. DAVID SAPIPR

settledisputesbetween agnates,not to avenge one at the expense of another.And further,

and of particularinterestto our discussion,is that the reversalwas entitledby way of the
siwu'utm
idiom. Jaandid not accuse Landing of being an evil man who wishledeitherovertlyor
as a witchill of his kusumpu'l,
but ratherhe accused Landing of being ignorantin his obstinate
refusalto admit to the verityof Kujamaat cosmology, to the brute factthat siwu'umexist.
The animositybetween the brotherswas framedthereforein the contrastbetween Jaan's
traditionalbeliefsand Landing's modem debunkingof thesevery beliefs5.
5) A dangerousewuum.A veryprettygirl,'red like a Fula', had a kalibsnakefora double.
This snakeis small,rare,and verycolourfuland pretty.It is also consideredextremelypoisonous, so poisonous thatit need only entera compound or just look into it, and someone will
die in the near future.I was never able to identifywhat kind of snake a kalibis and I should
not be surprisedifit is entirelyimaginary.6The girl,who was married,was told by herfather
to get the snake away fromher agnatic residence.At the same time her mothertold her to
keep the snake away from her residence,that is, away from the girl's mother'sbrother's
home, the logical second choice fora marriedwoman's double. So she removedher snaketo
the residenceof some remote uterinelinked kin where therewere many doubles. But these
distantrelativeswere just as unhappy as her fatherand motherabout the double and, after
consultationwith appropriatediviners,decided the only solution was to poison the snake,
which theydid. To save the girl,theythenperformedthe replacementritual.The girl,who
never produced another double, terminatedthe entire affairby moving permanentlyto
Dakar. (Recounted by a fellowvillagerwho was unrelatedto thegirl.)
Remarks. A contrastingincidentwas reportedby AnyaraJeme forhis house at Jilasuk:
6) A pythoncame out into the courtyardand the people standingby closed in on it, but
it went away. Anyara's brother,Abuilak,said thatit was somethingspecial and not a bush
snake. ShortlyafterthatAbuilakdied. The snake was Anyara's FZ.
Anyara furthercommentedthat 'the courtyardhad not been clean. There was something
bad thathad come inside ... An ewuumwill know of badnessin thecompound and will show
itselfas a sign to the responsiblehousehold members.'
The two casesdiffer
in thatfor5) thegirl'sdouble was takento be thecause of theaffliction,
while in 6) thedouble provideda signof an impendingaffliction.
In thelattercase thewoman
was identified,by way of theidiom, as fulfilling
her role as an artmen.
That someone died was
not to be blamed on her. She had forewarnedthe death, and to have preventedit was the
responsibilityof others.In contrast,5) has the girl and her kalib snake reversingthis protectiverole assignedto thefuri'men.
But thereis more,forin termsof theidiom thisincidentis unique. Normally siwu'um,
even
leopards,are benign.They may commitsome aggressiveact,but only when provoked. Here,
however,the veryexistenceof thekali'bsnakewas a threatto the safetyof thosenearto where
it was living. It was dangerousby nature.The incidentrepresentsa limitingcase markinga
transitionfromtheidiom of siwu'um:benign,usuallyvulnerable,animalsneedingprotection;
to thatof were-animals:witcheswho transform
themselvesinto animalsforthe sole purpose
of doing some kind of harm.It is unique in anotherway as well. The woman and her double
shared a specificquality in common: they were both very pretty.(Recall that outside the
rough and overlappingcategoriesseparatingmen's fromwomen's siwuum,the typeof double
a personmighthave is usuallythoughtto be entirelyarbitrary.)Beauty also implies another
sharedcharacteristic:
poisonous. Given theirextremeegalitarianframeof mind,theKujamaat
are suspiciousof any personwho is openly outstandingin any way. A richman has assuredly
stolen from others,a consistentlysuccessfulfighteruses supernaturalpower (muyal),and a
a person'sbeauty,if it is exceptional,has been bought with muyalby his motherfromsome
kind of bush spirit.Thus, a girl of physicalperfection,whose perfectionis of dubious origin,
is here representedin the siwuumidiom by a beautifuland poisonous snake. This leads to the
association:'(beauty) of dubious origin' equal to 'poisonous', which in turnpermitscharacterisingthe girlas being sociallyimperfect.She reverses(ifunwittingly)her role as an ari'men.
She afflicts
ratherthan protectsher agnates. The exceptional use of the idiom is, finally,a
single instanceof a common theme in Kujamaat thoughtwhere individualphysicalperfection is associatedwith social imperfection.7
*

J. DAVID SAPIR

I7

The questionto answernow is why do theKujamaatmake use of thesiwuum

idiomat all? Why talkabout someone'sanimaldoublewhen one can talkabout
thepersonhimself?Of thevariouspossibleanswersmostaretoo narrowin scope.
Forexamplethoseinterpretations
thatwouldconsiderthesiwu'um
idiomas a means
forexplaining
illnessor as a formofindirect
accusation
tendto be strictly
utilitarian
and unableto accountforall cases.Theyalso ignorethecomplexity
of theidiom
itself.A fullerinterpretation
would insistboth on thiscomplexityand on the
interdependency
of idiomwithitsspecificapplication.At thesametimeit would
raisethemoregeneralproblemofmetaphoric
statement
where,in I. A. Richards's
terms(1936), a vehicle,in thiscaseanimals,conceptually
interacts
witha tenor,the
generalnotionof beingfuri'men
or kusumputl,
and togetherproducea metaphor
whichis thesiwuumidiom.8From thisangle,fromthe angle of metaphor,the
idiombecomesa deviceformakingsuccinctand precisestatements.
Actualrelations
betweena particular
MB and hisnephew(or betweenB and his
out-married
Z) arecomplexand diffuse
involvinga uniquehistory
and extending
beyondthelimitsof anykinshipcategory.However,thesiwuumidiom refersto
thoseaspectsof therelationship
thatare definedsolelyby thekinshipcategoryof
being an asumpuil
or an ari'men.
Thereforeto apply the idiom to any particular
situationallows the Kujamaat to define,or as KennethBurke would say, 'to
entitle',thissituationas fallingdirectlyand exclusivelyunderthe kusunptul
or
furtmen
categories.To say thatthisis 'a matterof siwut'm'is to say thatthisis a
matterofbeingkusumputl
in thefullest
and ofbeingfurimen
senseoftheword.The
veryentitlement
bringsintoplay all thatwe have said about siwuumin general,
aboutthedualityof theselfand of Kujamaatsocietyand abouttheparticularistic
and asymmetrical
relationship
betweenpersonand animal; betweenuncle and
nephew,and betweenbrotherand sister.
Thereremainstheinterdependency
of theidiom and itsapplication.In a particularly
suggestive
paperKennethBurke(I966) arguesthatthesemioticcanon,
'words are the signsforthings'can be reversedto say 'thingsare the signsfor
worksforthesiwuum
words'. Now thiscertainly
idiomwherenot onlydoes the
idiom,a cosmologicalword,entitle... is a signfor.. . a particular
an
situation,
also
ewuu'm
is
but
that
incident
a
an
experiential
evocation
any
sign
for,
of,
'thing',
theidiomitselfThat is,each timetheKujamaatassociatean instanceof illnessor
some othersituationwitha particular
thetruthof
ewuumincidenttheyreinforce
theidiom.Altogether
thismakesusconsidertherelationship
ofidiomtoitsapplication as beinga tautologyof mutualreinforcement.
Situations,especiallywhen
theyinvolveillness,'need' to be definedor entitledby cosmology;cosmology
'needs' incidents
so thatit mayentitleand therebypersistas valid.
V

Conclusions
thegroundsoftotemicinquiryfrom'thoughtsaboutfood' to 'food
By shifting
forthought',whereanimalsare not 'good to eat' but 'good to think',Leviwithan intellectualist
Strausshasprovidedanthropology
programmethathas,for
influenced
the
of
betterand forworse,greatly
course symbolicstudiesover the
this
pastdecade.The challengingaspectof
programmehas been the contention

i8

J. DAVID

SAPIR

thatanimals. . . and by extensionall otherexternaland concretereferents

. . . are
' thoughtwith' by way of theanalogicsof difference,
oppositionand correlation,
thebasisof all imaginative
and thattheseveryanalogicsrepresent
thought.
the
My presentconcernhas not been to argueforor againstthe universality,
noreventhenecessity
of thisprogramme.
Nor hasit beento providea
sufficiency,
testcaseon whichtheentireenterprise
mightstandor fall. . . an impossibility
anyand theuttercomplexity
of theprogramme
way giventhecombinedabstractness
It has
of humanexperience.Insteadmy problemhas been purelyethnographic.
setout in theopening
beento attempta fullaccountof theKujamaatproposition
linesofthisarticle:thatan AjamaatDiola mightat somepointin hislifedefecate
a
shibbolethand its attendant
live animal ... For thisend Levi-Strauss's
analogics
have been,in thiscase at least,mostproductive.It led me firstto considerthe
ofpersonto doublewhichturnedoutto be one ofdualism
metonymic
relationship
of homology.
and complementarity,
ratherthanthe more commonrelationship
me to deduce two analogicmodels.
In turn,the dualisticmetonymypermitted
and it wasjustifiedfirstbecauseit accurately
Model I had to do withinteraction
ofKujamaatsocialrelations
and secondlybecauseit
predictedthemajorcategories
IfModel I wasjustified,
vmincidents.
providedthegroundplanforall recordedsiwvi
so too was Model 2, forone was nothingmorethana rewriteof theother.But
beyondthis,Model 2 setin relieftheinitialdualityby extendingit to includethe
to husband=wife.
crosssex equivalenceof son= motherin contrast
Normallya structuralist
analysiswould stop here and turnto comparative
fromneighbouring
tribesand fromotherDiola sub-groups
so as to find
materials
and describeany transformations
thatmight(and surelydo) existin theidiom.9
has beento Kujamaatethnography
and not to strucHowever,my commitment
it was
turalismand in orderto approximatea completeethnographic
statement
talkaboutthesiwthism.
forme to considerhow theKujamaatthemselves
necessary
I made thejump fromsystemto applicationwiththehelpof thesymbolicaction
of KennethBurke,wheretheidiomservesto entitlesituations
which
perspective
in turn,onceentitled,
on thespecific
casesadhered
validatetheidiom.My remarks
more-or-less
to thisperspective.
The caseshoweveralso raisedor at leastimplied
otherquestionswhichled away fromthenotionof siwu'uam
itselfBut suchis the
One problemonce raised,grasped,organisedand
untidynatureof ethnography.
solvedonlyraisesotherproblemsto be solvedfromotheranglesand withtheincorporationof otheroverlappingdata. That is to say,in good ethnography
one
thingalwaysleadsto another,and thefinalword is neversetdown.
But to graspat a closingifnotfinalwordletme endby mentioning
a factabout
idiomthatuntilnow I have chosento ignore.Not everyAjamaathas
thesiw(u'um
a double.In truth,
mostpeopledo not.Moreover,myinformants
assuredme that
thereare fewerdoublesaroundnow thanin the past.This does not vitiatethe
idiom.Justas a fewstrategic
will maintainthestructure
marriages
of a restricted
so a limitednumberof siwu'u'm
will maintainthevalidityof the
marriagesystem,
idiom.But theattenuation
is nevertheless
forit is certainly
an indiproblematical,
cationofsomeformof decadence.Thereseemto be threereasonsforthediminishtheKujamaatby acceptingIslamhave turned
ing quantityof siwi'u'm.
Culturally,
of theirtraditional
away fromthecomplexities
cosmology.Socially,thelimitsof
Kujamaatlifeextendtodayway beyondtherestricted
fielddefinedby theidiom

J. DAVID SAPIR

I9

in operation.No longeris an Ajamaatconfinedto hisagnatesand

and traditionally
uterinelinkedkin,but insteadhe operatesin an open systemthatincludesother
Kujamaatand otherethnicgroupsas well. No longeris he tieddown to a small
patchof ground,but insteadtravelsfromone end of Senegalto the other.But
thereis anotherreasonthatis equallyimportant.
It was suggestedto me by an
informant
whenhe gavehisanswerto thisquestionaboutfewersiwuum.'Because',
he said,'therearefeweranimalsand fewerplacesforanimalsto hide.'The greatly
increasedquantityof efficient
guns (as opposed to the old muzzle loaders)has
allowedtheKujamaatto depleteto thepointofextinction
whatwas oncea plentiful
reserveof game animals.And a greaterrelianceon peanutsas a cashcrophasled
theKujamaatto turnintofieldsand bushhugetractsofforestlands.Thisraisesan
extremely
if simple,pointso oftenbelittledby semiologists
interesting,
(though
not at all by Levi-Strauss).
The concretereferent
is a vitalpartof a metaphoric
construct,
especiallywhenthereferent
is an animalor some otherdiscreteobject
of nature.Withoutsome personalexperiencewith the animal vehiclesout of
whichthe siwu'u'm
are developed,theidiom losesits aptnessand risksbecoming
in timebut a passingcliche.I would say then,withthehelp of my informant,
thattheKujamaathave fewersiwu'u'm
forpreciselythesamereasonour barnyard
metaphors
(called'dead metaphors')serveas littlemorethancolourfulornaments.
To call someonethe'cock of thewalk' is to substitute
a synonym
forsomething
like 'he is sexuallyvain'. The substitute
amuses,butit hardly'bringsnew knowledge' as,accordingtoAristotle,
all good metaphors
must.But ifwe,urbandwellers
thatwe are,knew somethingaboutcocksand hens(otherthanthattheyare good
to eat and thata cock is somehowvaguelyassociatedwiththemasculineorgan),
wouldnotthemetaphorsaysomething
morepreciseaboutthemanthan
infinitely
to sayonlythat'he is sexuallyvain'? So letmyclosingwordsservebothas a pitch
foranimalconservation
and as an empiricalcaveat.'Animalsare good to think',
true,butonlywhenthereare animalsaboutwithwhichto think.
NOTES

My ethnographicmaterialson theKujamaat Diola were obtainedduringthreefieldtours,in

I960-6I, I964-66, and 1970 and were funded respectivelyby theWest African Languages
Survey,theNational Instituteof Mental Health (administeredby the AfricanStudies Center at
Boston University)and theJointCommitteeon AfricanStudiesof the Social Science Research
Council and the AmericanCouncil of Learned Societies. During each of my staysin Senegal I
worked under the auspicesof the InstitutFondamentald'Afrique Noire (formerlythe Institut
Francaisd'AfriqueNoire). The finalversionof thisarticlewas writtenin itsentiretywhile I was
a memberof the InstituteforAdvanced Study (Princeton)and I would like to thankmy host,
ProfessorCliffordGeertz,forprovidingtheperfectconditionsforgoing about themostarduous
task that ever confrontsa field ethnographer:the final 'writing up'. Earlier versionsof the
articlewere given on many different
occasions and each time I benefitedfromthe constructive
commentsofferedby my audience. In particularlet me acknowledge with thanksProfessor
Claude Levi-Strauss,Patrick Menget, Renato Rosaldo, Pierre Smith, and RoyWagner who
made specificsuggestionsthatwere eventuallyincorporatedinto the finaldraft.
I Cf. Sapir I965. For the sake of simplicityI have altered my original orthographyfor
Kujamutay (the language of the Kujamaat, and heretoforecalled by me, Diola-Fogny). In this
articleI markthe tensevowels with an acute accentin contrastto the lax vowels which are left
unmarked.Vowel harmonyis not marked and thus,for example, a word spelthere arinmen
is
pronounceda'ri'me'n
(or arimen).(Cf. Sapir 1975 fora discussionof variationin Kujamutay vowel
harmony.)
2 In the village where I did the bulk of my field work the men used the expressioneku's
ejameney,'disembowel the goat', as an euphemismforesak, 'to copulate'.

20

J. DAVID SAPIR

3 Pierre Smith (1973), in a veryinteresting

paper on dual conceptsof the selfin the Western
Sudan, takesthe idea of renunciationto be the key featureto all notionsabout doubles. However,thiswould narrowtheconcepttoo much forthereare in factthreeconditionsat play when
one talksabout doubles: i, thatthe personand double are discontinuous(thisis the only necessary condition); 2, thatperson and double share a common destinyor consciousness;and 3,
that person and double are complementaryto each other,such that one is foregroundedat
theexpenseof the otherwhich is renounced,or simplyleftin the background. The Kujamaat
systemfulfilsall threeconditions; the Sudanic cross-cousinas double, mentionedby Smith,
foundamong otherDiola sub-groups
fulfilsonly i and 3; and thehomologous systemofsiwu'u'm
fulfilsonly i and 2 as do the animal souls of the Mayan Chamula as describedby Gary Gossen
('975).
would offer
Freud's (1953) concept of bi-sexualityand the processof unisexualidentification
to thosenotionsabout doubles thatfulfiltheconditionof renunciaan interesting
interpretation
of the secondarysocial focus
tion. Thus in our case, the displacementinto the world of siwu'u'm
would be reinforced,on thepsychologicallevel, by the renunciationof the opposite sex identification.On thislevel a man, by producinga double, defecateshis femaleness,thoughsince the
double is the same sex as its correspondentwe have a transformation
(already noted) of nonsame sex (i.e. femalefor a male) > non-human(i.e. wild animal).
In contrast,Otto Rank's (I971) theoryabout doublesperse is of littlehelp. His interpretation
considersdoubles as being a formof projectionhavingto do withnarcissism,love and death . . .
(i.e., just about everything).Although this position applies with insightto examples from
nineteenth-century
Western literature(OscarWilde's Dorian Gray, Poe's Mr Wilson, etc.), it
sheds no light whatsoever on the problem of siwu'u'm,
or, for that matter,on other similar
which
representationsfound in the Western Sudan, if not beyond. The crucial difference,
separatesthe examplesin Westernliteraturefromthoseat hand, is thatwith theformer,but not
with the latter,a greatdeal is made out of the directinteractionof personwith hisown double.
And it is thisinteractionthat servesas Rank's major point of departurefor his theory.
4 When necessarythe remote 'nephews' can be distinguished
fromZS and FZS by the term
which is unmarked,contrasts
asala'nken,which glosses as 'repeat asumpu'l'.Thus tanasumpu'lum
with the marked tanasalankenum.
5 We mightnote also that,by theirnames,Landing was a Muslim while Jaanwas not. Thus
perhapsJaan was strikingout not just at Landing's denial of the siwu'u'm's
existence,but at his
new religionas well.
6 This incidentwas recountedaftermy informant
had seen in the PetitLarousse a pictureof
the American coral snake which he identifiedas looking like the kalib.
7 Cf. Sapir (1977b) for a discussionof thistheme as it appears in a Kujamaat folktale.
8 From the point of view of the whole selfthe relationof person to ewu'u'm
is, as we have
have been saying,one of metonymy.Each representsa separatepartof the same whole. From a
more analyticalperspective,however, the relationshipof animal, qua ewu'u'm,
to being an
arimenor an asumpu'l
is metaphoricof the genus forgenus ratherthanthe analogic variety,with
the common ground sharedby ewu'u'm
and the social categoriesbeing the marginalpositionof
each vis-a-vis the residentialcore. (Cf. Aristotle'sPoetics,ch. 21; also, Sapir 1977a.) An
interestingreversalof the relationshipwhere the tenor becomes vehicle and vehicle tenor, is
when theKujamaat use a person,an arimen,to designatean animal: barimen,
'red finch',a small
bird thatflocksin groups of ten to twentyand thatis seen most frequentlyhopping about the
edges of the cooking area, especiallynear the mortarsused for pounding rice. Here we have
similarity
(kankan
nenfurtmen,
'is like thefurimen'(literally:'makes as the furimen')) and not
identity,an equivalence reservedfor an arimen'sdouble (yo omi arimenake, 'it is a particular
artmen'(literally:'it, thatis an arimen,a certainone')). Thus,just as thefurimensupervisefrom
a distancethebehaviourof thein-marriedwomen, so thebari'men,
fromtheedges of thecooking
area, supervisethesesame women as theydischargeone of theirbasic duties,the preparationof
food.
9 A paper comparingthe Kujamaat's with otherDiola's notionsabout the siwu'u'm
is in preparation.
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