How do Balinese refer to the members of their family?

Now that you know how Balinese name their children (see last edition), I’m going to explain to you how they refer to their family members.
 
A long time ago in the West, we used to use a prefix to refer to the people in our family, even if they were brothers or sisters – remember “Good night Brother John…” from The Waltons? Like most Asian countries (China and Japan are ones I can think of off the top of my head), Indonesia has retained these suffixes to this very day. In Bali, the family is very close and all members live in an extended family compound, at least in the villages. Each family member may have more than one word to reference to them:
 
English                                                                                         Balinese
 
Father                                                                              Bapa, Nanang/Nang, Aji
Mother                                                                             Meme, Ibu, Biang
Older brother/sister                                                       Bli (male), Mbok (female), Raka
Younger brother/sister                                                  Adi, Ari
Grandfather                                                                    Kak, Pekak, Kaki, Kakiang
Grandmother                                                                   Odah, Dadong, Nini, Niang
Great-grandfather/mother                                            Kompyang, Opang
Uncle                                                                                Uwak muani, Bapak, Pak
Aunt                                                                                  Uwak luh, Ibu, Bu
Cousin                                                                              Misan
Brother/sister-in-law                                                      Ipah
Nephew/niece                                                                 Keponaan
 
Unlike in modern Western countries, Balinese would never dare to call their parents by their first name. It is also considered impolite to call anyone older than yourself by one’s first name only.
 
Perhaps due to the intimate nature of extended families in Bali, the great uncle for example becomes just another grandfather and the little cousin is another sibling. Thus the confusing terminology: kak/pekak can mean grandfather, great uncle or even great-grandfather; adi can refer to your younger sibling or your aunt’s son or daughter. To avoid confusion, a second, familiar name is added. This may be the person’s given name or a nickname that they have adopted during their life: Kak Tut (Pekak Ketut), Bli Yan (Bli Wayan).
 
Due to the fact that the Balinese freely use the same terminology for both immediate family members and extended ones, it may take a while to get to know exactly who everyone is!
 
Copyright@ Kulture Kid 2005
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