THE RUNGUS LEXICON
OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR
One measure of the degree to which the drives of sex and aggression
are commingled is the use of metaphors of aggression to map the
domain of sexual relations. For example, among the Trukese the term
for one form of intercourse is derived from the lexeme used to tell
a child that "I will hit you", and is reduplicated to
indicate repetition and duration (Swartz 1958:481). Swartz translates
this form of intercourse as the "man is 'striking' the woman".
Therefore, the question to be addressed in examining the Rungus
lexicon is whether there are any such metaphors of aggression used
in the semantic mapping of the sexual act or in the relationship
between men and women.
Terms for Sexual Activities
Among the Rungus there are various terms that refer to sexual activities,
but in no case are metaphors of aggression used. Thus, unlike the
Iban of Sarawak, the sexual domain is not mapped by concepts taken
from fighting, raiding, or warfare.2
The Rungus distinguish unmarried women from married women by the
term modsuni, alternately sumuni, either of which I gloss as "maiden".
This most closely approaches their concept. Men not yet married
are called anak vagu, literally "a new child", and I shall
gloss this as "young man", or "bachelor". The
following lexemes to be discussed generally refer to actions that
are jural delicts when they involve unmarried individuals or those
not married to each other. And it is interesting to note that the
sex of the individual, i.e. natural gender, is not indicated in
pronouns, in verbs, or in verbal clauses for the actor or the recipient
of action. There is one exception to this. Certain morphemes indicating
that the subject is taking action with respect to sexual behavior
are considered inappropriate if they are used to refer to female
behavior. Such assertive behavior on the part of the female is considered
improper, although there are rare instances when females do in fact
engage in such behavior.
Mongogobu= means "to embrace someone". The root is -gobu=-3.
The stem formative is -ngo-. The morpheme {mV} with the allomorphs
/-a ~ -o ~ -u/, here mo-, indicates an actor causing something to
happen or is using something to achieve the action. In the context
of sexual action, mongogobu' is what males do to females. The prefix
moki- indicates that an action is asked for. When added to the root
-gobu'-, it produces mokigobu' which may be translated as "to
ask for an embrace", "to invite an embrace". The
action of mokigobu' is that of females to males, but it represents
an action that is not considered proper behavior.
Mongoliduk means "to peek at", "to watch secretly"
in a sexual context. For example, it refers to a person taking a
furtive look at someone's genitals or secretly watching sexual relations,
for which the offender can be sued. The only jural case we have
been able to collect is one involving a woman peeking at a man,
which resulted in his going to the end of the longhouse one evening
and fondling her breasts (momosol). This later action is also a
delict, but in this instance no action was available since the two
offenses canceled each other out.
Some men will hide and watch women swimming, hoping to catch sight
of their genitalia. This behavior is reported to be very rare for
women. However, women are alleged to watch secretly to see if their
husbands are having an assignation, and in the longhouse it is alleged
that they may also watch secretly others having intercourse.
Grabbing at someone's genitalia is called monoholuk.4 This is a
rare act undertaken by men to women. This is not done to maidens,
it is reported. Maidens may have their breasts taken hold of, but
again this is a rare act. The offense of monoholuk requires that
the offender pay the victim a piece of brassware, the same as for
embracing a woman or taking hold of her breasts. There are no cases
of women grabbing the genitalia of men.
If a husband in public takes a hold of his wife's breasts or grabs
her genitalia, this is also considered to be improper, and if he
does not stop he will be sued by the headman or his father-in-law
for a piece of brassware.
The vulgar term for coitus, whether legal or illegal, is mizut.
The root is -izut- indicating the conjunction of sexual organs,
and the prefix mi- indicates that it is reciprocal action, that
both are doing it. For example, in mitalib the root -talib- means
"to pass by"; mitalib therefore means "to pass by
each other". Mizut can be roughly translated as "to fuck
each other". It is considered impolite to use this term in
front of women, children, or older persons.
Miagai refers to a relationship between a man and a woman that
will lead to illicit intercourse. This term can be translated as
"having an affair". It focuses on the growing interest
of a couple in each other. It is constructed with the prefix mi-,
indicating reciprocal action. Miagai, however, is predominantly
used as a euphemism for intercourse, both adultery and fornication,
and is the preferred term. It includes sexual relations between
a married person and an unmarried person, or between married individuals
who are not spouses, or between unmarried individuals.
Mangagai is constructed of the affix ma-, the stem formative -ng-,
and the root -agai-. It literally means "to cause an affair",
but it perhaps is better translated as "to bring about an affair".
The morpheme {mV-}, refers to an act of using something or causing
an action. For example, salampad is a "comb". The prefix
ma- added to this lexeme, with /-n- <- (s-)/, produces manalampad,
"to comb", "to use a comb", "to make use
of a comb". In the lexeme mangahaba', the root is -haba'-,
"to fall over", for example, with regard to a housing
structure. The affix ma- with the stem formative -ng- indicates
the action of causing a housing structure to fall over or making
it fall over.
Mangagai is also used as a euphemism for sexual intercourse. In
this latter sense it covers a behavioral field all the way from
seduction to induced intercourse. As the morpheme {mV} also has
the sense of "making" something, mangagai may best be
rendered as "to make a woman". I use this term from American
slang, meaning "to persuade to have sexual intercourse"
(The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language), as there
is no other standard word in the English language that adequately
maps the sense of this term. However, as we shall discuss, in the
various projective systems it may also include forced intercourse.
The use of the term mangagai in contrast to miagai also has jural
consequences. The prefix mi- indicates that the woman has gotten
together with the man and agreed to have intercourse, has participated
in this from the beginning, and therefore she also is culpable and
also has to pay a fine. The use of the prefix ma- indicates that
the woman was approached and seduced or otherwise induced to agree
to intercourse. As a result, she has committed no jural delict as
it was the man's fault.
In all contexts of sexual relations the prefix {mV-} with the stem
formative -ng- is used to refer to actions initiated and brought
about only by men.
Kumiagai also refers to intercourse, but it involves specifically
the action of a female towards a male. The prefix ku- is a rare
prefix and can be translated as "to come to" something,
"to get together" on something. In this environment I
believe the best translation of kumiagai is "to encourage an
affair". Rather than using the verbal prefix ma- which focuses
on the action of doing or accomplishing something, the ku- verbal
prefix reflects the cultural role of the female, in which it is
expected that she will not be taking an active role in matters pertaining
to sex (see L. W. R. Appell in this volume and A. A. Doolittle in
this volume). If a woman is accused of encouraging a man to have
illicit sexual relations but denies doing it, the man is blamed
and is the focus of the dispute.
The root -tampak- refers to coitus, most usually in the context
of married sexual relations. The lexeme manampak is constructed
of the morpheme {mV-}, with /n <- (t-)/, indicating the action
of the man. Its underlying sense is "to mount", as the
normal form of intercourse is the man on top of the woman. One informant
mentioned, as alternative forms, facing side by side or the woman
on top of the man, but there are no special terms to refer to these
forms.
Tampakan is formed of -tampak- with the suffix -an indicating
the receiver of an action, "to be mounted". It is used
to refer to the female who is being mounted.
We next come to the various lexemes derived from the root -tabpo-',
i.e. manabpo', tabpa'an, and tinabpo' (past tense of tabpa'an).
They all involve the concept of catching or taking hold of something.
These are the most difficult lexemes in the Rungus language to render
in English because of their wide range of meanings and their use
as euphemisms for coitus in which the female is verbally pressured
into it after having been taken hold of. Even Rungus are at times
not sure of what is meant in a specific context and have to enquire
further.
Manabpo' is the active focus of the root -tabpo'- with the prefix
{mV-} and /n <- (t-)/. It refers to the act of catching something
that might escape, such as a pig. Tabpa'an in this context is the
pig that is going to be caught, and tinabpo', formed of the root
-tabpo'- with the infix -in- indicating narrative past, refers to
the pig caught in the past. Tabpa'an can be translated as "to
be grabbed hold of", "to be caught", "to be
seized or constrained".
Tabpa'an is used to refer to a child to be caught. It is also used
in another very interesting context. When "unbeknownst"
to a maiden her fiancé is about to arrive on the day of the
wedding, some of the married women go and "catch" her,
put her into a sleeping sarong, and seclude her so that she will
not run away when she hears that it is her wedding day. ("Unbeknownst"
must be read as representing public behavior and may not reflect
the private knowledge of the maiden; see L. W. R. Appell in this
volume.)
The term tabpa'an is also used in jural cases, in stories dealing
with men laying hands on women, in reference to fornication or adultery,
and in the context of inducing a woman to agree to intercourse.
In the first sense, if a man grabs hold of a woman, puts his hands
on her to restrain her, catches her arm, this is referred to as
tabpa'an, "to be grabbed hold of", "to be caught
hold of", "to be seized", "to be constrained".
This is a finable offense if the woman reports it to the village
headman. A recent case of monoholuk, grabbing the genitalia of a
married woman, was also referred to as tabpa'an.
In another sense tabpa'an is used euphemistically for induced
coitus. In one of the stories discussed below the term is used both
for the act of constraining a maiden to proposition her and for
constraining to induce coitus. Finally, it is stated by men that
tabpa'an could also imply that a struggle had taken place, but we
have no jural cases of this. But women state that physical force
would never happen as the man would respect the wishes of the woman.
Thus, the use of the lexeme tabpa'an, or its various forms, marks
the fact that the woman has had no part in initiating the fornication
or adultery that took place and therefore is not to blame. And the
fine of the man is larger in this latter sense than if he had just
grabbed hold of the woman.
To return to the root -izut-, used in reference to "fucking",
the lexeme mongizut is constructed of the prefix {mV-} and stem
formative -ng- to indicate that the action was brought about, caused
by a man. Its use also has certain ambiguities similar to tabpa'an.
It refers to actively seducing a woman, i.e. to talking her into
coitus. And it also refers to the use of pressure to induce the
woman to copulate. Literally it means "to make use of fucking",
"to bring about fucking", "to get a woman to fuck".
In some instances this can best be translated either as "to
make a woman" or "to lay a woman". In polite company
the term mangagai is used as a substitute for mongizut, which is
considered a vulgarism.
Is there a term for rape in the Rungus language? There is no term
dedicated specifically to indicate this act. The Rungus distinguish
between illicit intercourse in which the man and woman participate
equally and illicit intercourse in which the woman is "made".
And what happens in these instances is hard to determine. The situation
is ambiguous because of the cultural imperatives that a woman must
publicly show no interest in sexual relations and it is improper
to talk explicitly about sexual matters. Thus, it is almost impossible
to determine in cases where these words are used whether the woman
was seduced, was pressured into intercourse by various verbal stratagems,
or agreed to coitus from fear or constraint. Women deny that this
latter aspect is ever an issue because they say that they maintain
control over their own volition in matters of coitus, as we shall
discuss.
Furthermore, while there are many jural cases of grabbing hold
of a woman and while there are cases of seduction, actual cases
of physically forced intercourse do not exist, as we shall discuss.
This does not mean that the concept of physically forcing intercourse
is absent, for it comes up in various cultural projective systems,
particularly those of men. And the possibility of being accosted
and propositioned is always present in a woman's cognitive world.
But for women the idea that violence would be used to overcome their
refusal to engage in intercourse is completely lacking, which makes
it difficult to translate the Rungus lexemes tabpa'an, mongizut,
and mangagai as "rape". This would distort the logic of
the Rungus cognitive world. Women uniformly stated that they could
always say no, and a man would respect their wishes.
The complexity of this matter is illustrated by an interview I
had with the village headman in 1986. And this again suggests that
there is an absence of sexual violence among the Rungus. By that
time most of the Rungus had become either Christian or Moslem, and
much of their old culture was gone. Young men and women who had
gone to school in the late 1960s were bilingual, speaking both Rungus
and Malay, which is the official language of the government. Thus,
when I asked the village headman about rape among the Rungus, I
used the Malay term for rape, rogol, as I was not sure if a Rungus
word existed for it. He said that there was no term for rape in
the Rungus language and that rape did not occur among the Rungus.
However, in 1990 when I began to understand that tabpa'an was a
euphemism for being induced to have coitus, I questioned him further.
He agreed that tabpa'an in certain senses was equivalent to the
Malay term for rape, as it lacked the aspect of an assignation.
Then he indicated that the Malay term included force, and he used
the Malay term for this, paksa. In reply to my question as to why
he denied that there was a term for rape in 1986, he said that he
was not skilled in Malay at that time. This was hard to believe
given the fact that he had children who had gone to a Malay school
and he had worked for years with the government in which Malay was
the official language. He added further that rape was common among
the coastal Muslim populations in contrast to the Rungus.5
Another informant said that the meaning of rogol was to mongizut,
"to lay a girl" who had not reached sufficient age. Age
of consent is a new concept introduced by the government.
An interesting point is that induced intercourse, that is mangagai,
mongizut, or tabpa'an, does not result in a threat to one's soul.
Various acts of aggression, as we shall discuss, can frighten one's
soul with the result that the offender has to give a chicken to
the person who was the target of the aggression to bring the person's
soul back. This is primarily when blood is drawn by accident, a
threat is made with a knife, or one's clothes hung out to dry are
cut up, and so forth. On the other hand, just hitting someone, or
beating them with a stick also does not cause this ritual delict,
as long as blood is not drawn.
In any case, the acts of mangagai, mongizut, and tabpa'an are not
considered in Rungus society as a hostile intrusion of one's ritual
state, nor are they considered physically damaging.
Terms for Sexual Arousal
It is important now to analyze the terms for sexual arousal, for
it might be concluded that one term for penile erection involves
the use of a metaphor of aggression. The first term for penile erection
is kumodow, "to become hard". This is derived from the
word okudow, "hard", with the infix -um- indicating "becoming".
But the other lexeme for penile erection presents on the surface
certain problems. It is humungot, which also is used to refer to
someone "becoming angry". Yet the concept humungot is
not isomorphic with our concept of anger. A blowfish when it inflates
is said to be humungot. Also, there is a type of frog that puffs
up, and it is said to be humungot. A cock's comb when erect is said
to be humungot. A chameleon when it changes color from green to
brown and/or its crest becomes erect is said to be humungot. When
the dorsal spine of a fish rises, it is humungot. Thus, this term
appears to map the spectrum of "becoming aroused", including
"becoming angry". In the instance of sexual relations
its focus is on arousal not anger.
Semen is called gotut or ilob. Ilob is the more common term, and
it also means vomitus. To ejaculate is called mongilub, which also
means "to vomit". Lubricating secretions of the female
are also referred to as ilob.
One informant said that female arousal is referred to as pagkatalan,
"to have become itchy", or pagkarahan, "to have become
tickling". No female informant knew of any terms for female
arousal.
There are no terms for male orgasm or female orgasm.
Rungus men may opine with regard to the sexual organs of a particular
female that her mons veneris is large. Women will mention that a
penis is long or large in circumference. One woman who had difficulty
conceiving gave as the reason for this that her husband's penis
was too short.
Terms for Wiving, Marriage, and the Evolving Relationship of Spouses
When a young man begins to visit villages to search out an attractive
woman to marry, it is referred to as monodung. Maidens are known
to flirt (osigat). Flirting with the eyes only is referred to as
pinokosidatsidat.
The term manansavo' is used to refer to the courting that a young
man may do. It also refers to the early part of the wedding ceremony
when the groom arrives at the longhouse of the bride. The root of
this is the substantive savo', the term used for spouse of either
sex. There is no specific term to indicate the sex of a spouse,
such as "husband" or "wife". Manansavo' is constructed
from the morpheme {mV-}, with an infix -nan-. This infix is also
used to indicate the putting on or wearing of clothing, the taking
up of a pack basket to put on one's back, etc. Manansavo' thus might
best be translated, "to wive", "to take a wife".
It has the sense of taking deliberate action, which reflects the
active part the man plays in marrying and the reluctance of the
woman to indicate interest in becoming a wife (see L. W. R. Appell
in this volume and below). This cultural pattern of female behavior
in which she publicly expresses no interest in sexual matters and
a resistance to anything related to marriage I shall call the "reluctant
bride" behavioral pattern. This only occurs with a first marriage,
not when a woman marries again after being widowed or divorced.
A betrothed maiden is referred to by the term savo'on, which is
constructed from savo' with the passive affix on. When used with
a substantive, it indicates a future state, "to become";
in this instance "to become a wife".
The concept of the man taking the initiative in marrying has its
expression in arguments between spouses in which a wife will say
to make her point, "You married me [using the term manansavo'];
I didn't marry you!"
An extreme expression of the reluctant bride behavior is when the
bride refuses to accept the attentions of her husband or provide
any domestic services for him. This is called "amu tumutun".
Amu is the negative used with verbs. Tumutun has the root -tutun-,
which indicates "recognition". Thus, the lexeme otutunan,
-tutun- with the -an suffix forming a passive focus, can be translated
as "to be recognized".
In the environment of marriage, tumutun means "to accept",
"to recognize", and/or "become accustomed to"
someone of the opposite sex. It is constructed from -tutun- with
the infix -um- indicating the subject is "becoming" or
is in the process of being transformed. It refers to the critical
stage in marital relations when just after the wedding, sometimes
a bride and very rarely a groom will not acknowledge a spouse (see
L. W. R. Appell in this volume). Thus it is said of the bride that
she amu tumutun. This can be translated as "does not accept",
"is not accustomed to", or "is not attracted to"
her spouse, and in its strongest behavioral manifestations it could
be translated as "shuns" her spouse.
-tutun- with the suffix mo-, indicating focus on causing an action,
then becomes monutun, an action only of a man to a woman, which
may be roughly translated as "to woo", "to make (the
woman) accustomed (to him)", "to bring about (her) acceptance
(of him)". This is done by being attentive to her, engaging
her in conversation, finding her betel chewing supplies, waiting
for her to go to the fields with him, etc.
After marriage residence is uxorilocal, unless an extra payment
in the bride-price is given. A woman who is taken to the husband's
village is referred to as natazangan, "that which is snatched
and run away with", a term also used to refer to a bone or
something to eat that a dog takes and runs away with.
The level of emotional involvement of a bachelor and a maiden
or a husband and wife is described by using various forms of the
word ginavo'. Ginavo' refers to the animating force in living things,
and as such it can be translated as "spirit", although
in many contexts it is equivalent to the metaphorical sense in which
"heart" is used in English. Ginavo' is located somewhere
within the chest cavity but in fact has no physical embodiment.
It is the seat of emotions and is used in many contexts to describe
the emotional state of an individual. If someone is sad, he is described
as having an oru'ol ginavo. Oru'ol may be translated as "sore"
in most contexts. Therefore, this phrase can be roughly translated
as "sick at heart". In relations between a bachelor and
a maiden, if they enjoy each other and have the same interests,
they are said to be miginavo', "to have the same feelings",
"to feel the same about each other". After marriage if
there is no rankling about anything, if husband and wife enjoy each
other's company, are glad to see the other when they have been separated,
laugh together, they are said to be koginava'an. The root is ginavo'.
The prefix ko- indicates a completed action and with the suffix
-an produces a substantive. We would say that they are of one mind,
they are in accord with each other, they have mutual understanding.
The verb mana'od refers to "taking care" of someone.
This means feeding him or her, looking after him or her. It is used
for taking care of babies. But it is also a critical aspect of married
life and a bone of contention. A spouse is supposed to take care
of the other spouse, particularly when ill or indisposed. And there
are not infrequent arguments between spouses as to whether one or
the other has fulfilled this aspect of the spouse role satisfactorily.
And of course fulfilling it is a sign of affection.
Mana'od is also the term used for the second or subsequent marriage
of an individual to another person who has also been widowed or
divorced. He or she "takes care of the other" (mana'od),
i.e. marries her/him. A spouse so married is referred to as tina'od.
This is constructed from the root -ta'od- of mana'od with an infix
-in- indicating past tense.
Finally, when two spouses really care for each other, love each
other, do not fight, they are said to misamod. The focus here is
on the emotions felt for each other, and it is the product of a
long relationship.
Thus, there is no Rungus term that adequately covers the English
concept of love, with perhaps the exception of misamod. The various
forms of the term ginavo', which are used to indicate that two people
have the same feelings for each other, seem to represent emotions
more of "liking" than "loving".
For couples who do not get along with each other, divorce is fairly
simple. This requires a village moot in which cause or fault is
determined and the division of family assets agreed upon with the
spouse having been at greater fault getting a smaller share.
The term mirutut refers to a couple that stays married even though
they have a hard time getting along with each other and have arguments.
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