Basic Principles
Two basic principles most be kept in mind. First, Nowans are matrilineal, i.e., they trace their kinship through their mothers but not through their fathers. Nowans are not unaware of the biological relationship, but for social and cultural purposes they figure much less prominently than in bilateral kinship systems. Fathers in matrilineal societies are much like Uncles in our bilateral system, they have a more open and joking relationship with less of the responsibility for their children's social and cultural development. The latter is the responsibility of the Mother's Brother who actively guides and shapes the childrens' growth. In Nowapan, this is often supplemented by clan Patriarchs who are know longer resident in a band.

Second, the basic unit is the band, not the family, at least not the family as Homo sapiens know it. This is discussed more fully elsewhere. Because of the band structure, it is often difficult to ascertain who is the true biological father of a child, thus all the adult males resident in a household take on the role of father and they are all called the same term, r�wonba. Similarly, all adult, breeding age females are called y�wonma although a child usually shortens the term to wonma when speaking to his/her true biological mother.

Caste
Caste is a term often misunderstood in the Nowan term. Caste refers to one's ancestor's roles in the community. Originally, probably at the clan level, certain groups specialized in certain roles in the community. This resulted in a kind of self selective breeding where Matriarchs would continually chose husbands for their wards who could best carry on the clan's role. Over time, these roles became stabilized into a few larger groups that are now referred to as castes. The number of castes has changed with time, originally there appear to have been 4, roughly corresponding to a Shamans', a Warriors', a Herders', and a Farmers' caste. Through processes of fission and fusion, the present number is nine, a division going back to at least 1200 AD.

tt�we Artisan Caste

The Tt�we are reknowned for their art and fine craftsmanship of both luxury and household goods. They are often the designers of everyday culture.

tt�nelpir Courtesan Caste

An unfortunate although not wholly inaccurate name. The Tt�nelpir are indeed the caste which provides a large percentage of the courtesans of Nowapan, but is also a caste known for the beauty of its' members and they are also often the musicians, the movie stars and the fashion models.

tt�qa'�pir Farmer Caste

As their name implies, the Tt�qa'�pir are the farmers and herders of Nowapan. Although many people have their own gardens, a popular pastime, the Farmers' Caste largely feeds the nation.

tt�w�pir Laborer Caste

The Tt�w�pir are the factory workers, the manual laborers, and interestingly enough, the engineers. This is the most numerous caste in Nowapan and they wield a great deal of political power at the ballot box.

tt�sh� Merchant Caste

The Tt�sh� are the businessmen, the traders, and the merchants.

tt�xo Nurturer Caste

The Tt�xo are the caste of shamans, doctors, nurses, childcare workers, and often the teachers of elementary schools.

tt�ra- Ruler Caste

Formerly the noble class and their descendants, this is also the caste of bureaucrats, of clerical workers, of lawyers, and of judges.

tt�pozh� Scholar/Priestly Caste

The Tt�pozh� do not have the power they once had but their members dominate the ranks of college professors, philosophers, poets, and of course, the priests and monks. Many lawyers and judges are also drawn from their ranks.

tt�hanpir Warrior Caste

The Tt�hanpir are descended from old warrior societies. Many members can trace their ancestry back through generations of fierce Keepers of the Peace (a term which better reflects the meaning of their name. This caste makes up the bulk of the frontline forces of the Nowan Armed Forces but its members also contribute significantly to the ranks of athletes, both professional and amateur.

One's caste is not fixed forever in stone and it is not impossible to change castes or at least to marry into another caste. One simply demonstrates sufficient ability in another caste's role and petitions for either membership or consideration for marriage.

Clan
Below the caste, the next level of kinship is the clan. The clans are somewhat fluid in that new ones are easily formed. A clan is a group of bands, all of whose females are descended from a common ancestor. All reproductive incest taboos reside within clan membership and one may not marry someone from the same clan. New clans are formed for a variety of reasons but the most common one are because of some social schism, typically disagreements or relocation.

Kinship Terms
Nova forms kinship terms along three main axes. The first is lineage, is the relative in the same clan as Ego or not. The second is generation, is the relative in the same generation as Ego or in one of six other levels ranging from great-grandparent to great-grandchild. Finally, is the relative male or female. There exist three other morphemes which are used to clarify the basic terms where needed. These are: pt'� social relative, i.e., one is not truly related but is treated socially as though he or she were; p� affine relative, one related by marriage or if necessary, a person who is a relative but not a member of the same household, (e.g. to diffentiate a cousin from a sibling); and dt� biological relative, rarely indicated but the converse of the first and used to emphasize biological relationship. These three terms are not indicated in table below the list of Basic Kinship Morphemes as they simply clarify the relationship rather than indicate the nature of relationship.

Basic Kinship Morphemes

• Lineage
  • y� endolineage relative
  • r� exolineage relative
• Generation
  • s� grandchild generation
  • ph� grandparent generation
  • q� great grandchild generation
  • gho great grandparent generation
  • pho offspring generation
  • won parent generation
  • m� sibling generation
• Gender
  • ba male
  • ma female
• Social Relationship
  • pt'� social relative
  • p� affine relative
  • dt� biological relative (Normally zero-form)

Usage of Kinship terms

The key to remember is that lineage relationships trace only through the female line. Thus male speaker and female speakers will have different perspectives and usages. A biological father will call his daughter r�phoma, "exolineage offspring female", the girl's mother would call her y�phoma, "endolineage offspring female". Ego's Father's Brother's Son is usually r�m�ba but conceivably could be y�m�ba if the boy's mother is from the same clan as Ego. Conversely, Mother's Brother's Son will always be r�m�ba because Mother's Brother is in the same clan as both Mother and Ego and the mother of his children must be from a different clan and thus, exolineage.

Caution must extend to generations older than Parent, typically, Father's Father, Father's Mother, Mother's Father are all exolineage, but Mother's Mother's Brother is endolineage. If descent is not through the Mother, the Mother's Mother, or the Mother's Mother's Mother, then the relative in question is exolineage except in the unusual circumstance of an exolineage relative marrying another endolineage relative as noted in the words for sons.

Revised August 29, 2001

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