Profane Language among the Tribes of the Upper Tangi

When a native of the Yompa tribe inadvertently strikes his toe against a stump or root he does not break out with an oath or obscene expression. His impulsive reaction is to throw back the head and shoulders and to render a side-splitting roar of laughter. Tribal tradition has taught that certain modes of expression match certain degrees of pain. If the pain is less than excruciating, the Yompa react first with a bellow of laughter and follow this by stooping and reaching for a rough stone to fling at an unobstructed horizon. If a stone is not to hand, a weed or foul-smelling plant is uprooted and used in its stead.

Should the pain be excruciatingly unbearable, the guffaw is followed by the shouting out of the full name of a relative long deceased, usually four generations up the family tree. Similarly, when a weapon upon which the Yompa is working or a canoe lashing breaks he calls upon the name of a dead person, not of his own family but that of a relative of a close friend. This practice of calling upon the name of a deceased relative or relative of a close friend is considered an innocuous profanity and is general among the tribes of the Chortle and Upper Tangi.