Xará: Namesakes in Southern Mozambique and Bahia (Brazil)

In Maputo (Southern Mozambique) and Bahia (Brazil), the most commonly

used word to refer to namesakes is xara´ – a word of Amerindian origin. Although the

institutions in question diverge considerably in each of these contexts, the two usages

come together in that the sharing of a personal name establishes an alliance not only

between the two persons involved but also among their relations. In this way, it is

argued that the namesake institution is both supervening upon filiation and is a way

of closing the local universe of relatedness upon itself. By superimposing a set of crossing

ties, the namesake institution consolidates the entities at play and their relations.

Nevertheless, much like filiation, upon which it is dependent, the namesake relation is

one of co-responsibility and fusion between the partners, not of reciprocal responsibility.

The latter is the product of the triangulation that such relations of alliance produce.