pirraura or pirrauru
Feb. 2nd, 2022 07:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
prettygoodwordpirraura (puh-RAU-ruh) or pirrauru (puh-RAU-roo) - n., a legally designated sex mate other than husband or wife among some Australian aborigines; the relationship between such sex mates.
At least according to the only dictionary I can find that has this term. It shows up in early 20th century anthropology studies of Indigenous Australians, much debated because accounts are confusing. Among at least the Dieri, the term was used of a sort of secondary spouse, distinct from their primary. Among other peoples, the term was used to describe an arrangement where a pair or group of brothers or sisters shared spouses between them, forming a group marriage. Exactly which language the term comes from, I'm not going to dig deep enough to trace, and frankly I'm starting to regret even looking down this rabbit hole. If anyone wants to go further, you might want to start here.
---L.
At least according to the only dictionary I can find that has this term. It shows up in early 20th century anthropology studies of Indigenous Australians, much debated because accounts are confusing. Among at least the Dieri, the term was used of a sort of secondary spouse, distinct from their primary. Among other peoples, the term was used to describe an arrangement where a pair or group of brothers or sisters shared spouses between them, forming a group marriage. Exactly which language the term comes from, I'm not going to dig deep enough to trace, and frankly I'm starting to regret even looking down this rabbit hole. If anyone wants to go further, you might want to start here.
---L.
