Differences of Age Without Distinctions of Authority: Marking Juniority and Seniority in a Khoisan Language

Abstract

This contribution begins with the puzzle as to why there are kinship and naming systems that distinguish junior from senior, elaborately and systematically, even though these practices are embedded in substantially egalitarian societies. The case under investigation is that of Hai‖om, a Khoisan (Khoekhoe)-speaking group in southern Africa that shows such a combination of the elaborate encoding of age difference while at the same time providing elders with very little authority over juniors. The article briefly discusses explanations such as the possible effects of cultural domination by neighbouring groups in recent history, which could play a role, but I argue that there is little evidence for such explanations in this case. The alternative argument put forward here aims to show how birth sequence functions as a general means of social orientation. Moreover, what prevents age awareness from being turned into status distinctions are social hedging mechanisms that are enmeshed with the junior/senior distinction, particularly in practices such as cross-sex naming, but also in linguistic features such as the common use of reciprocals beyond dyads to express kin ‘belonging together’. The article concludes by outlining some general lessons derived from the Hai‖om case study in terms of decoupling seniority from superiority and gerontocracy.