Bis Burunko/Gender and Age
Gender
To the Burundaz, all things can be defined according to whether or not they can act under their own power. Those that can - including humans, deities and spirits, animals and some natural phenomena - are called bui 'animate'. Those that can't - including most materials, plants, landscape features and objects - are called nabui 'inanimate'.
Within the bui category, a further distinction is made based on the Burungian concept of natural gender, which classifies animates as acchi 'masculine', demechi 'feminine' or iriji 'middle'. These concepts are partly based on physical sex, although other qualities such as age, personality/nature and societal role are important.
Age
The Burundaz divide the lives of humans, gods and - to some extent - animals into four stages:
- Pumebu 'childhood' is the period from birth until puberty
- Garaapu 'youth' is the period from the onset of puberty to full initiation into adult life
- Koziji 'adulthood' is the period from initiation, through family and work life, until elderhood
- Hajji 'elderhood' is loosely defined, but can be based on the loss of physical ability, social or family standing, or wisdom.
Gender and Age
The concepts and words connected with gender change over a person's lifetime.
The general words for people of different genders, regardless of age, are deme 'female', az 'man', and haya 'iriji person'.
Childhood
All human children (pume) are iriji, regardless of their physical form. Their lack of physical and social development means they are seen to have an undecided gender, the middle gender being one that incorporates both masculine and feminine elements, seen as somehow more balanced and ideal.
Children are given gyomi 'little names' or affectionate childhood nicknames, based on some distinguishing feature or trait, or the whim of the parents, such as Meiko 'little dark one' for a dark-haired child, Loking 'fond of sleep', Xambéito 'little pot belly' or Yitaz 'star'.
At the onset of puberty, children will prepare to enter garaapu 'youth', at which point they have a gender assigned. This is decided through a long process involving the child, family and elders, which takes into account physical form, abilities and personality amongst other things.
Youth
Once a child fully enters puberty (usually after a female's first menstruation and male's first ejaculation), they will undergo a public initiation into youth, which includes the assigning of gender and the giving of an adult name. This is a period of growth and learning, in which people of certain classes or bound for certain roles are often fostered by another of the same gender.
Assigned females are now called madash 'girl, lass', males are called goi 'boy, lad' and middle gender poda 'youth'.
Adult names (gyo) are composed of two elements, chosen according to a person's gender and designed to give a sense of a person's talents or personality. The elements might consist of animal or plant names, natural phenomena, landscape features, weapons or war-related words, positive adjectives and titles. Some families might use one element in the names of all their children, often taken from one of the parents' or grandparents' names.
An individual's adult name replaces his/her gyomi as their public name, although childhood names are often retained as nicknames within family and friendship groups. It is usually considered disrespectful to use an adult's gyomi in a public context, or for strangers and acquaintances.
Adulthood
Adulthood is generally reached about the age of 17, although this varies according to the personal development of the individual. The timing is usually decided by parents, elders and the individual. Another initiation ceremony marks official entry to adulthood, after which the person is legally free from their parents, able to marry as they wish and forms a fully fledged member of society.
The specific words for adults are xoz 'woman', gyong or gis 'man' and búrus 'adult haya'.
| Gender | Child | Young Adult | Adult | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acchi (masc.) |
az | |||
| goi | gis, gyong | hoz | ||
| Demechi (fem.) |
deme | |||
| madash | xoz | axoz | ||
| Iriji (mid.) |
haya | |||
| pume | poda | búrus |