Don  panna                 Don waikis                     Karinamba

Pomalate Village, 1970, during the ceremony called miwoko, literally “fastening the name.”  When Don waikis (“little Don”) was born, his mother Papanumba and his father Karinamba named him Don Kanai.  After this ceremony, he and I (Don panna; “big Don”) were in the “one name” relationship, which meant that for kinship and many practical purposes, we were identical, which gave me membership in a descent group and an entire set of kin.  From that point on I called Karinamba “Father,” and he called me “Son.”  Little Don’s older sisters would call me “Little Brother,” even though I was many years older than they were.  To be proper, I acted towards them as a younger brother would, yielding to their every request if I could.  In the same way, Karinamba and Papanumba would give me any kind of assistance I needed because I was, after all, their youngest son.

Sharing a name with Don Kanai made me a member of the Komo moiety, the Biroi clan, and the Waina lineage.  In this photo I am wearing some of the Waina ceremonial shell valuables, their wiasi.  So was Don Kanai, but unfortunately the photographer cut off most of him.

In 2001 Don Kanai was a grown man, and both Karinamba and Papanumba had died.  Little Don made food for me and I brought him gifts.

Photograph by the late Lot Page.