Clanic names. Joking kinship

With numerous ethnic groups in Africa, everyone has two names: their individual name and their clan’s name. For example, the Manding people in West Sudan refer to the clan name as jamu or kontong; in other languages the word is different. People who have the same jamu do not just bear the same surname, they are rather like relatives. As a rule, they derive their origin from the same mythical ancestor, and have the same food bans.

A jamu can be very large; some clan names are carried by dozens of thousands of people; of course, not all of them know each other. Besides, many jamu have “equivalents” among neighboring peoples. For example, if a Barmana person is from the djamu Jara, Maninka and Jula will classify him or her as jamu Koneh or Kondeh; Bobo and Senufo as Togola, and Wolof as Ndyai. Thus, no matter where a Bamana from the Jara clan goes, he will find brothers and sisters everywhere.

Another thing about jamu is that it has not only “kins”, but also “joking kins”. For example, if our Jara meets someone from the Traore clan, according to the etiquette, he will call him a dog’s offspring and a petty thief, and he will promise to sell him at a market for five pennies. He will be paid back with the same coin, but God forbid to be offended with such insults! A Jara may in no way harm a Traore, let alone shed his blood! This would be a breach of a sacred alliance once forged by the ancestors of both clans, and the ancestors will never forgive the infringer.

In some cases, the joking kinship ties entire ethnic groups, such as Bozo and Dogon, Dan and Guro. So, if at a funeral of a Dan village chief someone gets into a freshly-dug grave, and everyone, instead of forcing the impudent fellow out, beg him not to interfere with the sorrowful ritual and give him money, one can be sure: the person amusing people with his funny joke is a Guro.

In many countries of West Africa, blacksmiths are in  joking kinship with cattle-breeders Fulbe.  Guinea. The Kisi. Ye. V. Perehvalskaya. 2007