Paiwan Every Day 37: inu // kemasinu

In her 1998 article “‘Ethnic’ Assimilates ‘Indigenous’: A Study in Intellecutal Neocolonialism”, Cree scholar Winona Stevenson describes the kind of ‘relationship-finding protocol’ used by Native Americans to distinguish an outsider from a foreigner.

Almost “unconsciously and usually”, she says, people will ask a newcomer to the community “Where are you from?”, and will not stop until a common acquaintance is found. The best passport is “a common relative through marriage” (p.39).

This is what we do in Taiwan too! In fact, I sometimes feel weird as in the Paiwan society people often attempt to relate to the chieftain family, and almost everyone becomes a chief to be, a chief’s in-law, or anyone related to a chief. Perhaps it is inevitable especially for the hierarchy in Paiwan.

kemasinu sun? 

tima sun? 

In English:

Where are you from? (polite)

Who are you? (unexpected and annoyed)

Glossary: 

1. k<em>a-si-(i)nu: to come from where, actor voice (AV). The root is inu 'where'.  “inu” (where). 
2. sun: you, 2nd person singular nominative (NOM). 
3. tima: who, agent focus. The root is ma 'who'. 

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