BURMESE KINSHIP TERMS

Abstract

Dr. K. Efremova’s article is devoted to the study of the Burmese kinship system based on investigation of Burmese kinship terms. Data for the study range from the first third of the 19th century to the second third of the 20th century. During this period the Burmese kinship system changed dramatically, and the kinship terms evolved accordingly. The difference between the traditional and contemporary kinship terms lie primarily in denoting spouses of one’s blood relatives. According to that finding, it can be supposed that the Burmese’ ancestors practiced cross-cousin marriages, i.e. a man married the daughter of his father’s sister, while a woman married the son of her mother’s brother. Thus, the ancient Burmese society was divided on pairs of exogamous kinships, bound together by the tradition of mandatory marriage. The analysis of the evolution of Burmese kinship terms has demonstrated that there is no dual-marriage groups any longer. They were replaced by lineage groups and the masculine / feminine divide (fraternal relatives vs maternal relatives).