Does any language have different family terms apply before and after transitional rites? The closest thing I can think of exclusively relate to kin-by-marriage, i.e. you become a son-in-law when you marry someone, and in some circles I bet you get some kind of specific terms for almost-N-in-laws.
However, it'd seem obvious that, say, the word for son or mother or grandfather or sibling or even cousin might change due to a ritual. It could also be possible, of course, that these changes are not symmetrical - i.e. a change in one term might not imply a change in another, and there may be acts for different parts of a relationship that change different terms.
The only even remotely similar thing I know attestation of is that in some tribes in America, there are rites that turn the word cousin into wife.
I am still surprised that no one called me out on the redneck-stereotype joke here :/
ReplyDelete