�You Traded Your Mother for an Unripe Mango�: : Playing with Insults in an Angolan Refugee Community

• Autores: Andrew M. Guest
• Localización: Journal of Folklore Research, ISSN-e 1543-0413, Vol. 51, Nº. 1, 2014, págs. 101-117
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This article draws on material gathered in a community of Angolan refugee camps to describe and analyze the content of a children's verbal insulting game, called estiga-se in local Portuguese-language slang. The game takes a form similar to verbal insulting games in other parts of the world but also invokes local understandings of what it means to be a good person. Using examples from children asked about the game, this analysis offers a typology of insults used in the community and interprets how those types illustrate local norms and meanings. While some of the insults targeted familiar personal traits in creative ways (e.g., �Your chest is like a biscuit, when you try to concentrate it breaks�), it was more common for children to target behaviors and social roles (e.g., �Your father used witchcraft to steal bread from children� or �You traded your mother for an unripe mango�). The insults ultimately highlight a necessary balance between individual ambition and collective expectations for appropriate behavior within familiar social roles.