A Reinterpretation of Choc Society

Author(s): Louis C. Faron

Source: Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, Vol. 17, No. 1 (Spring, 1961), pp. 94-102
Published by: University of New Mexico
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3628872
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A REINTERPRETATION OF CHOCO SOCIETY*

LOUIS C. FARON
ACCOUNTS of the Choc6 (Panamanianand Colombian)
arealtogether
and,in themselves,
sociological
inadequateto significant
sketchy
Aside fromsomegood descriptions
of materialcultureand the
interpretation.
of
ofnumerous
accountsrecordlittlemorethanobservations
incorporation
myths,
has been
however,
literature,
quaintcustomand belief.This scantyethnographic
and interpreted
summarized
byDavid Stout1in an articlewhichservesas a good
in thearea of social
introduction
to Choc6culturebutwhichis quitemisleading
structure.
inthefield,2
I wouldliketomakelimited
obtained
On thebasisofinformation
on the systemsof kinship,marriage,and residencewithspecific
observations
abouttheChoc6:
tothefollowing
statement
reference

PUBLISHED

to whatextent
is not
All threegroupsof Chocdappearto be exogamous,
though
to
thereis also obligatory
in reference
known.Asidefromthisexogamy,
exogamy
ideallypatrilocal,
lineageswhichmaybe clans.. . . Marriageresidence,
patrilineal
in
forwomenhaveownership
andmatrilocal,
is alternately
rights
patrilocal
actually
resomeof theagricultural
periodically
theyand theirhusbands
plots;consequently
housetoworkherland.Thuseachhousehold,
turntothewoman's
composed
parents'
hasa constantly
ofseveral
units,
membership.3
shifting
conjugalfamily
DEMOGRAPHY AND ETHNIC RELATIONSHIPS

of Panamaand
The Choc6area riverine
thetropicalforests
peopleinhabiting
Colombia.Thereare possiblybetween
4000 and 5000 Choc6scattered
alongthe
riversystems
of Darien.Between800 and 1000of theselivein thestudyareaon
theChicoRiverand itstributaries,
between
thetownof Yaviza and theSerrania
delDarien.
is thefactthattheyhave
of Choc6society
to an understanding
Of importance
* I wouldliketogivecredit
ofthis
ofthefinal
draft
toMrPhilipYoungfora critical
reading
from
I benefitted
which
substantially.
paper,
1 DavidStout,"The Choco"(in Handbookof SouthAmerican
Indians,J. H. Steward,
vol.4, pp. 269-276,
ofAmerican
1948).
143,Bureaul
Ethnology,
ed.,Bulletin
couldnothavebeenaccomplished
2 The fieldresearch
whichhasmadethispaperpossible
of theNationalScienceFoundation.
assistance
thegenerous
without
Duringtheresearch
period,
as El Naranjal.
of 1960,twoweekswerespentontheChicoRiverina placeknown
thesummer
information.
andquantified
HereI obtained
mymostdetailed
3 Stout,
op.cit.,p. 273.
94
VOL. 17, 1961

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CHOC6 SOCIETY

95

forcenturies.
northfromColombia,apparently
beenmigrating
Theyexplainthis
as theresultof a desirefornewand adequatelands,stimulated
bythe
migration
are
The
colombianos
of
an
impinging
Negro (colombiano)population.
pressure
from
but
also
in
Colombia
also movingnorthand aredisplacing
not
Choc6, only
theircenters
in Panama-thelowerreachesofthemainrivers
of earliersettlement
andlargertributaries.
housesof theChoc6are thoseof colombianos
amongtheriverine
Interspersed
nationals
ofPanama).A rounded
and (a few)panamefos(predominantly
negroid
studyof theChoc6wouldof courseincludea detailedappraisalof relationships
feature
themostimportant
withtheseNegropeoples,but,forpresentpurposes,
not
that
Choc6
do
It
is
be
stated
of therelationship
marry
succinctly. simply
may
withotherpeoples,Cuna included.Theyarean ideallyethno-endogamous
society,
to thisideal.
and thereseemsto be a nearlyone hundredpercentapproximation
in PanamaCity,thereis notmuchevidenceof
Even in theChoc6"settlement"
maintainthattheyare able to live
Panamefios
and colombianos
miscegenation.
in closeharmony
withChoc6becausetheyneithermolestnorattemptto marry
betweenChoc6 and Negro
interaction
Choc6women.While thereis significant
the
and its corollary,
Choc6 endogamy
(economic,
magico-religious,
recreative),
notionof "racialdistance,"serveto maintainethnicintegrity
amongthissmall
and shifting
population.
GREATER CHOC6 SOCIETY

this
When Stoutdescribed"all threegroups"as exogamousand contrasted
in patrilineal
descentgroups,he poseda problem
to obligatory
exogamy
exogamy
thathe meanteach "group"
Whileit is inconceivable
insolubleof interpretation.
other
two
to the
was exogamous(withreference
groups?),we are,nevertheless,
twokindsof exogamicunits.It is likelythatStoutmerely
facedwithdefining
is in evidenceamongall Choc6and thatonemight
meantthata ruleof exogamy
of thisrulecouldbe madewithreference
at leastbe certain
thata partialdefinition
withmorethanunfortutopatrilineal
are
confronted
We
here,however,
lineages.
of theory.
a
indicates misapplication
natephrasing.
Rather,thiskindof statement
In anycase,therearenopatrilineages
inChoc6society.
is thatthe conceptsof cultureand
of Stout'ssummary
A further
difficulty
not
are
Among
distinguished.
alwaysclearly
society
"all threegroups"areincluded
on theCaribbean.We have
theColombianCatio of theUrubfiregion,fronting
thentheNorthern(Panamanian)and Southern(Colombian)Choc6alongwith
is made
thisidentification
theColombianCatioin somesortof triad.Presumably,

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96

SOUTHWESTERN

JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGY

on thebasisof Severino's
of theCatio.4It is myimpression
thatthe
description
Catiodo notcomprise
a segment
ofgreater
Whilethereareobvious
Choc6society.
cultural
similarities
between
of sustained
Choc6andCatio,thereareno indications
socialintercourse
between
from
the
cultural
aside
similarities,
them--and
language,
seemno greaterthanthosebetween
Choc6and Cuna. But thereis reallyno adeaboutCatio society
andwhatever
quateinformation
mightexistwith
relationships
othersocieties,
no
on
and, therefore, justification sociological
groundsfortheir
inclusionamongtheChoc6.Whatevertheirrelationship
withtheChoc6,it remainstobediscerned.
I would,however,
theNorthern
Choc6as comprising
a
and Southern
classify
Stout lumpsthem
singlesociety,althoughthishas not been done heretofore.
but thisis a classification
of a different
order.Wasskn5distinguishes
culturally,
betweenTrue and Nonomi Choc6 (in Colombia),primarily
on the basis of
dialectdifferences.
With respectto kinshipterminology,
dialectdifferences
cerAt leastthree
tainlyexist,buttheyin no wayalterthepatternof nomenclature.
suchdifferences
werenotedalongtheChicoRiverand seemto be a fairlywideunderstandable
as a resultofcontinual
movement
spreadphenomenon,
population
andsocialinteraction.
It seemstomethatthisis a datumofgreatvalueinsuggesting
thatthekinship
is
the
for
same
both
Panamanian
and
Colombian
Choc6.I make
system essentially
thispointsimplybecausethecustomary
division
of
the
Choc6 into
ethnological
northern
and southernpopulationsseemsto denyit. Wassin's description
of
householdcomposition
and domesticrelationships
among (atypical)Colombian
Choc6families6
Choc6.My fielddata are
holds,as faras itgoes,forPanamanian
also in agreement
withStout'sobservation
thatpersonsmakee::tendedvisitsbetweenthetwoareas.'Thereis evidence,
thatthesocialsystems
in both
therefore,
areasare alikeand thatthereis sustainedsocialintercourse
betweenbothareas.
If it werenotfortheinternational
and thewatersheds
withwhichit
boundary
it is unlikely
tendsto coincide,
thatethnographers
wouldhavemademorethana
betweenthe Northernand SouthernChoc6.
passinggeographicaldistinction
between
themand have
However,theyhaveseenfitto makeculturaldistinctions
notseriously
considered
thearea of socialrelationships.
The culturaldifferences
areslight,and thosewhichexistare in evidence
amongColombianChoc6in their
4 (Fr.) Severinode Santa Teresa,Creincias,ritos,usosy costumbres
de los indiosCatiosde
la prefectura
apostdlicade Urubd(Bogoti,1924).
5 HenryWassen,Notes on SouthernGroupsof Choc6 Indians in Colombia (Etnologiska
Studier,no. 1,pp. 35-182,G6teborg,
1935).
6 Idem,pp. 43-44.
7 Op.cit.,p.271.

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CHOC6 SOCIETY

97

nativehabitatand do not,therefore,
fromSouthern
serveto distinguish
Northern
Choc6.Sincethereis no evidencefromtheethnographic
literature
and nonefrom
I feelthatthegeneralizations
myownfieldnotesof thiskindof separateness,
madein thispaperhold forbothPanamanianand ColombianChoc6.I suggest
thattheycomprise
a singlesocietythroughout
whichkinshipterms(unavailable
to Stoutwhenhe summarized
the material)and institutionalized
behaviorare
extended.
generally
STRUCTURAL CORRELATES OF THE TERMINOLOGICAL SYSTEM

in usebothin Panamaand Colombia(dialectdifferences

Kinshipterminology
notindicated)appearson theaccompanying
ego-chart(Table 1), and is identito Murdock,8
fiableas Hawaiian.According
theHawaiiantypesystem
correlates
TABLE 1

withreference
Choc6kinshipterminology
to Ego*

I. Imberana:
exogamic
group
GFs,GFBs,GMBs
GMs,GMZs,GFZs
F
M
FBs,MBs,FZh,MZh
B,Z, c-Cs,p-Cs
Bch,Zch
S
D
Sw
Dh
gch
II.

zawand
pakond
data
papa
droa
jaba
teabea
hurra
kau
hurra
kimaorhaingti
kaukimaorbigsd
ainzake
restricted
cognates:marriage
Recognized
byage only
c-Cssp,p-Cssp
jabdkima
c-Csch,p-Csch
teabea
c-Cschsp,p-Cschsp,Bchsp,Zchsp
teabeakima
c-Csgch,p-Csgch,Bgch,Zgch

,iinzake
* Termforh (husband)and w (wife)is kima.Thereis littleor
no distinction
between
vocative
andreferential
arenotalways
usedin direct
address.
butterms
Explanation
terminology,
of symbols:
GFs meansgrandfathers;
c-Csstands
Z standsforsister;ch standsforchildren;
forcross-cousins;
The sameterms
areused
sp standsforspouse;gchstandsforgrandchildren.
whether
ofage.
Egoismaleorfemale,
regardless
8 GeorgePeterMurdock,SocialStructure(New York: MacmillanCo., 1949).

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98

SOUTHWESTERN

JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGY

withthepresence
ofkindreds
ordemes,groupsinwhichsiblingterms
significantly
suchsocieties
tendtobe extended
toincludecrossandparallelcousins.In addition,
are characterized
the bilocalextended
by the limitedappearanceof polygyny,
andthebilateral
ofincesttaboos.
extension
family,
one may discernthesediagnostic
Allowingfor importantqualification,"
criteria
thefeatureof
amongtheChoc6.Forthepurposesof thispaper,however,
mostimportance
is thatof thenegativecorrelation
of Hawaiianterminology
and
unilineal
with
to
of
which
statement
exogamous
probability respect
kingroupsl0--a
theChoc6serveas a caseinpoint.
Thereis an infinite
extension
ofkinship
terms
taken
amongtheChoc6,whether
as a localsector,
or an ethnictotality.
a regional(riversystem)population,
When
to an etiquette
non-relatives
kinshiptermsare used in addressing
theyconform
of generational
difference
or similarity
withregardto thestatusof twopersons.
Uncle,nephew,and siblingtermsare widelyused in thisway.They are always
usedamongco-residents
of anysector,generally
amongpersonslivingalongany
riverand,whenever
salutations
aremade,frequently
amongall Choc6.In a sense,
all Choc6arekin.Kinshiptermsare notextended
to non-Choc6.
Creationmyths
all Choc6as "people,"sometimes
tobothNegroand
inspecific
distinction
identify
Cunawho,inan ultimate
socialsense,arenot"people."
existsonlyin the
The "equivalence"of siblingsimpliedby theterminology
of
to
status
with
sense
It
membership.
verygeneral
equivalence respect generation
does serveto symbolize
limitedsolidaryrelationships
mates
amonggeneration
withinanysectorof intermarrying
between
as wellas thedistinction
households,
contiguous
generations
(bothon thelevelof thesectorand thehousehold)with
fortheincorThis is of considerable
importance
regardto dailysocialintercourse.
ofnewmembers
intoanyresidential
nucleus.Butitinno wayimplieslifeporation
in a specificactivityamongmembersof any
long or long-term
co5peration
fullsiblings
included.
with
terminological
category, orwithout
regardto residence,
The actorsshownon theego-chart
a segment(kindred)of
mayconstitute
thelocal sectorwhich,however,
fallsshortof achieving
statusto the
community
extentthattheideal of local group (deme) endogamy
is not fullyrealized,and
theresidents
ofthesectorengageinno corporate
As shownon thechart,
activities.
theextension
of siblingtermsto firstcousinscorrelates
withthedefinition
of the
incestgroup(imberana).But the termsthemselves
reallydo not indicatethis
9 These are qualifications
of thesortwhichwillbe discussedin a forthcoming
paperdealing
withmarriage,residence,
and the domesticcycleamong the Choc6 of Darifn,and whichwill
considercertaininstitutions
in the lightof "economicchange"and structural
continuity.
10 Murdock,SocialStructure,
p. 228.

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CHOC6 SOCIETY

99

sincetheyare extendedfar beyondthisgenealogicalunit-extended

definition,
as statustermsof anotherorder.One is forbidden
to marrya personwhostands
in a relationship
closerthanthatof secondcousin.It is saidthatthisruleis never
broken,and mydata do notindicateits infraction.
Beyondthelateralcategory
of firstcousin,and thelinealcategories
of Bch,Zch, S, D, gch and,if children
havebeenbornto them,Sw andDh, therefore,
theconceptof "family,"
"closerelatives,""kindred"(imberana)does not apply,and genealogiesare usuallynot
knownwithanydegreeof accuracy.I takethisextension
of incestto definethe
kindredin Choc6 (or any) societyand, sinceI am especiallyconcerned
with
Stout'sobservations,
to indicatean absenceof exogamous
unilinealkingroups.
The factthatgenealogicalconnection
is imperfectly
knownbeyondcousins
of theseconddegreemakesresearchin thisarea of relationships
mostdifficult
and timeconsuming.
For example,in anylocal sectorthereare almostno granda significant
social
parents(havingnubileor married
grandchildren)
comprising
With respectto marriageable
is
this
a
category.
persons,
two-generation
society,
fromall indications.
Becauseof shortlifespanon onehandand physicalmobility
on theother,
connections
sectors
between
to asceralongthesameriveraredifficult
tainwithregardto consanguineal
and affinal
and
of
connections
bonds,
possible
thissortwhichstretch
acrossentireriversystems
to verify
areimpossible
means
by
of standard
Add to thisdifficulty
thefactthattheChoc6
ethnographic
techniques.
to otherSpanish-speaking
(in distinction
indigenouspeoples) carryonly the
and theverification
of inter-sector
maritalrelationships
paternalsurname,
appears
mostdifficult.
As difficult
as thisis forthegenealogical
of theanthroreckoning
as of greatsocialsignificance
fortheChoc6. It
pologist,it mustbe recognized
correlates
withnotionsof (1) imberana,
in whichmarriage
is proscribed
between
personsclassedas withintheexogamicgroup(cf.Table 1); with(2) "distantly
related"segments
of therecognized
cognatic
group(cf.Table 1), and,negatively,
withtheexistence
of patrilineages
and clans.
RESIDENCE

The finalpointonwhichI wishtocomment

is Stout'sremark
aboutpost-marital
residence
Thiswillnotleadtoanunderstanding
ofrelationships
surroundpatterns.
in connection
whichI willdiscusselsewhere
withthe
ingmarriage-relationships
of
the
I
that
domestic
Here
indicate
a
consideradevelopmental
cycle
group.
merely
tionof thedevelopmental
of Choc6society.
cycleis crucialto a fullunderstanding
Forpresent
thatthedomestic
purposesit suffices
group(de) invariably
undergoes
elecompositional
change.At one timeor anotherit mayconsistof contingent

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100

SOUTHWESTERN JOURNALOF ANTHROPOLOGY

families
intemporary
uxorilocal
residence.
mentary
or,rarely,
temporary
patrilocal
The cyclebeginsand endswithan elementary
howhousehold.Anyhousehold,
of itscomposition
is alwaysa patripotestal
ever,regardless
group,in thespecific
sensethattheownerof thehouseis itsleader(paterfamilias)and thepersonwho
allocatesthehouseholdresources
With thisin mindI
amongthemembership.
wantto consider
thepossibleconceptual
routewhichled Stoutto misinterpret
the
structure
of Choc6society,
with
reference
to
clans.
and
especially
patrilineages
The localizednucleus(thesector)of households
connected
bybloodand/or
of
Choc6
seems
to
have
been
observed
marriage(characteristic
byStout
society)
and was interpreted
of intermarrying
as beingcomprised
of localizedsegments
ofpatriapotestas,
lineages(orclans). If theauthority
clearlyobservable
principle
in thedomestic
of patrigroup,wereto be confusedwiththesupposedprinciple
linealdescent,then-butonlyin theabsenceof genealogies-residential
nucleii
oflocalizedsetsoflineagesorclansegments.
mightappeartohavesomesemblance
of thispossibility
itselfwas notconborefruit,butthehypothesis
Investigation
firmed.
Neitherpatrilineages
norpatriclans
existin Choc6society.
Foronething,
is neither
residence
noractually"alternately
"ideallypatrilocal"
Residencepatterns
to thedefinition
do notcontribute
patrilocaland matri!ocal."
of unilinealgroups.Patripotestality
is a defining
principle
onlywithinthehousein perhold(de) and father-right
of offspring
doesnotextendto thehouseholds
manentpost-marital
and especially
residence.
With the marriageof offspring,
afterthebirthof theirfirstchildren,
householdsfragment
intovirilocalunits,
thelocationsof whicharelargelydetermined
of plantainland
the
by
availability
andthe"failure"oftheverbalized
bilateral(inheritance)
ideal.Thisis a statement
aboutcontemporary
Choc6society,
butitseemsapplicableto by-gone
daysas well.
In earliertimesmenneededampleterritory
(as theydo todayin areaswhichare
notoverwhelmingly
cash-crop
oriented)in whichto hunt;nowtheyneedample
landonwhichto raiseplantains.
Certainvaluesand goalshavechangedbutadaptationsto theseeconomicchangeshavenot so muchalteredas perpetuated
the
basicstructure
of Choc6society.Integralto thisstructure
is theruleof virilocal
residence
and itsobservance.
The availability
of plantaingroveshelpsdetermine
wherethevirilocalhouseholdwill be established,
to one's natal
withreference
of thevirilocalrule.
observance
group,butthereis a nearlyonehundred
percent
Becauseplantainland (riverine
land withsandysoil) tendsto becomeoccupied
withintwogenerations
in anylocal sector,someof a man'soffspring
(and their
after
grownchildren)have to moveoutsidethe sectorto establishhouseho!lds
marriage.
Choc6residence
arebestviewedwithrespect
to thedegreeof observpatterns

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CHOC6 SOCIETY

101

anceto a ruleof residence.

alThereis bothobservance
and patterned
exception,
is nearlycomplete.
Ratherthantherulebeingpatrilocal,
thoughtheobservance
it is virilocalfollowing
Whenpatrilocality
a periodof uxorilocality.
occurs,either
or permanently,1'
it is a departurefromthe rule.If patrilocality
temporarily
weretherule,marriedsonswouldbe foundin theirnatalhouseholdwiththeir
ofhousehold
in-married
wivesandchildren.
Unlessthereweresomefeature
organithen
zationwhichbrought
or segmentation
at thesecondgeneration,
aboutfission
onemightalso expectto findhouseholds
occupiedby cousinsand theirfamilies.
None of thisoccursamongtheChoc6.Even as a temporary
arrangement,
patrilocality
appearstobe quiterare,nota singlecasebeingfoundinthestudyarea.
conThe "matrilocality"
suggested
byStoutis a totallyuselessandmisleading
on
for
the
of
residence
and
Choc6
relationships
contingent marriage.
analysis
cept
a
It impliesa structure
whichis whollyforeignto Choc6society.It emphasizes
of
a
domesside
with
the
distaff
achievedthrough
alignment
solidaryrelationship
tic group.The temporary
returnof a womanand herhusbandto her father's
of the
or careforfieldsof herowncouldbyno stretch
housein orderto harvest
of a matrilocalrule.And since,in this
an expression
definition
be considered
"bilateral"society,womenrarelyinheritlife-longrightsto plantainland, and
of plantains(theonlyholding
theharvesting
sincethecultivation
and,especially,
of thosewhodo thework,
of consequence)necessitates
theresidential
proximity
memthenotionof alternate
residence(of anysort)and the"constantly
shifting
ofChoc6society.
ofa household
withthestructure
is inconsistent
bership"
of an acceptwhichconsists
ofthesimplemarriage
As an outgrowth
ceremony,
able youngmansleepinga fewnightswithhisbridein herfather'shouse,there
aboutthe
This periodis usuallyterminated
is a periodof temporary
uxorilocality.
withthegroom's
timeof thebirthof thecouple'sfirst
child,and ideallycoincides
readiness
to harvestplantainsfromhis owngrove.Afterthis,theyoungcouple
theuxorilocal-virilocal
This completes
virilocalhousehold.
establisha permanent
Beresidence.
rule
of
the
constitutes
and
in
continuum Choc6society
post-marital
of
the
docauseof temporary
uxorilocality
(a phasein thecyclicaldevelopment
it is possible
of culturalnorms,
mesticgroup)and becauseof a misinterpretation
as "shifting"
in membership.
thatStoutwas led to viewhouseholdcomposition
is
and shelter
friends
as wellas relatives,
A gooddeal of visiting
occurs,involving
to
of form,butit is unlikely
thatStoutwas referring
as a matter
visitors
offered
of rulesof residence.
in a consideration
thispattern
or patriclans--social
Beyondtheobviousfactthatthereare no patrilineages
11 It is neverpermanentwithrespectto father'shouse,since the dwellingis abandoned
on theholdings.
whenthepaterfamilias
dies,at whichtimea newhouseis builtelsewhere

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102

SOUTHWESTERN JOURNALOF ANTHROPOLOGY

features
withStout'sinterpretadeterminable
onlyin thefield-mydisagreement
tionof Choc6socialstructure
withwords.It is an effort
to
is no merequibbling
be morespecific
withregardto concepts
whichexpress
Choc6socialrelationships.
I objecton principle
to overworking
theconceptof "patrilocality"
and to misThis lack of precision
has led to unfortunate
applyingthatof "matrilocality."
in a numberof papersand monographs
confusion
and,in thecase of theChoc6,
theresearch
on whichthispaperis based.The possibleconfusion
stimulated
betweenprinciples
of authority
and
descent
is,
(patri-potestality)
(patrilineality)
the
state
of
Choc6
rectifiable
in
the
field.
the
But, jumbling
given
ethnography,
only
ofprinciples
suchas patrilineality,
and matrilocality
patripotestality,
patrilocality,
seemsa characteristic
of "reconstructions"
basedon poorsourcematerial
to which
has
been
inadequate
sociological
theory
applied.
Los ANGELES

STATE

COLLEGE

Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

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