What I would say (and what I would say in Digger’s place is a sport I play often without trying): “I’ve never asked him what he did to get…exiled…and his name taken away. I don’t know…do you want to tell me?”
I read that technically, a sister’s children are the most likely to be genetically related to a male, (because even his mate’s children may not be his own, if he’s been cheated on.) Therefore some animals and even in human cultures there is a deeper bond with a sister’s offspring.
Thanks for mentioning that, Creatura. I knew that, and that some cultures have mother-orphans or children in general go to the mother’s brother, but hadn’t even thought of it despite wondering what was with all the “mother’s brother” talk.
@Creatura: On the same point, some tribal cultures forbid manage between both first second cousins not because they find cousins marrying wrong, but specifically because if a male is cheated on, it’s often by his brother and his spouse, or with his sisters spouse and his wife, as those are the only two males likely to have accesses to his wife as they can legitimately visit his family home when he is away without it seeming suspicious. Therefore his sister’s offspring, his brother’s supposed offspring and his own supposed offspring may all in fact share the same father and so violate half-sibling insect taboos. When you add this to “mother-in-law” language and taboos about males naming their wife’s family directly lest it detract from and thus dishonour his own, things get really confusing and fun.
Nephew/niece-related evolution is always fun to look into. Completely different way it happens is in bees and other eusocial insects. All the workers are sterile, so their efforts are really to produce as many new queens (fertile sisters) as possible, thus maximizing their number of nieces (and to a lesser extent nephews).
Man, I really feel for Digger here. I mean, I hate getting caught in this kind of conversation, where I have no idea what to say …
Same, Tek.
What I would say (and what I would say in Digger’s place is a sport I play often without trying): “I’ve never asked him what he did to get…exiled…and his name taken away. I don’t know…do you want to tell me?”
I read that technically, a sister’s children are the most likely to be genetically related to a male, (because even his mate’s children may not be his own, if he’s been cheated on.) Therefore some animals and even in human cultures there is a deeper bond with a sister’s offspring.
Thanks for mentioning that, Creatura. I knew that, and that some cultures have mother-orphans or children in general go to the mother’s brother, but hadn’t even thought of it despite wondering what was with all the “mother’s brother” talk.
@Creatura: On the same point, some tribal cultures forbid manage between both first second cousins not because they find cousins marrying wrong, but specifically because if a male is cheated on, it’s often by his brother and his spouse, or with his sisters spouse and his wife, as those are the only two males likely to have accesses to his wife as they can legitimately visit his family home when he is away without it seeming suspicious. Therefore his sister’s offspring, his brother’s supposed offspring and his own supposed offspring may all in fact share the same father and so violate half-sibling insect taboos. When you add this to “mother-in-law” language and taboos about males naming their wife’s family directly lest it detract from and thus dishonour his own, things get really confusing and fun.
Nephew/niece-related evolution is always fun to look into. Completely different way it happens is in bees and other eusocial insects. All the workers are sterile, so their efforts are really to produce as many new queens (fertile sisters) as possible, thus maximizing their number of nieces (and to a lesser extent nephews).