Traditional Choctaw Family Relationships Part 1

Relationship	Choctaw word	Usage
Grandfather	Imafo	Both sexes
Grandmother	Ippockni	Both sexes
Father’s sister’s husband	Imafo	Both sexes
Father’s sister	In* Huckni	Masculine
Father’s sister	Ippokni	Feminine
Father’s sister’s son	In* ki	Both sexes
Father’s sister’s son’s wife	Ishki	Both Sexes
Father’s sister’s daughter	In* Huckni	Masculine
Father’s sister’s daughter	Ishki or Ippokni	Feminine
Father’s sister’s daughter’s husband	Imafo or In*ki	Both sexes, Feminine
Father’s sister’s son’s son	In*ki	Both Sexes
Father’s sister’s son’s daughter	Intek In*nakfish or Itibapishi	Masculine Feminine
Father’s sister’s daughter’s son	In*nakfi In*nakfish	Feminine Masculine
Father’s sister’s daughter’s daughter	Intek In*nakfish or Itahapishili	Masculine Feminine
Father	In*ki	Both Sexes
Mother	Ishki	Both Sexes
Father’s brother	Inkitoba or Ikusi In*ki or In*kitobe or Inkusi	Masculine Feminine
Father’s brother’s wife	Ishki	Both Sexes
Mother’s sister	Ishki or Ishkitoba Ishkusi	Both Sexes
Mother’s sister’s husband	In*ki	Both Sexes
Mother’s sister’s daughter	Isotek	Feminine
Mother’s sister’s son	Iso or Iso Nakni	Feminine
Mother’s sisters son’s wife	Ipok	Feminine
Mother’s sister’s daughter’s husband	Iyup	Feminine
Mother’s brother	Immoshi	Both sexes
Mother’s brother’s wife	Ihaiya	Both sexes
Mother’s brother’s son	Iso	Masculine
Mother’s brother’s son’s wife	Ipok	Masculine
Mother’s brother’s daughter	Isotek	Masculine
Mother’s brother’s daughter’s husband	Iyup	Masculine
Eldest sister	Imanni	Feminine
Sister	Intek	Masculine
Youngest sister	In*nakfish	Feminine
Sister’s husband	Imalak	Both Sexes
Brother	In*nakfi	Feminine
Eldest Brother	Imanni	Masculine
Youngest Brother	In*nakfish	Masculine
Brother’s wife	Ipok	Feminine
Brother’s son	Ipok Nakni Iso or Imailla	Feminine Masculine
Brother’s daughter	Isotek or Imallatek Ipok or Ipok tek	Masculine Feminine
Sister’s daughter	Iso tek Imbitek	Feminine Masculine
Sister’s son	Imhaiya Iso or Iso Nakni	Masculine Feminine
Mother in law	Ippokni Ipochi Ohoyo	Feminine Masculine
Father in law	Ipochi Imafo	Masculine Feminine
Husband	In*hatek	Feminine
Wife	Iteckchi	Masculine
Son’s wife	Ipok	Feminine
Daughter’s husband	Iyup	Feminine
Son	Iso Nakni or Imailla	Both Sexes
Daughter	Iso Tek or Imaila Tek	Both sexes
Grandson	Ipok Nakni	Both sexes
Granddaughter	Ipok Tek	Both Sexes
Husband’s brother	Imombalaha	Feminine
Husband’s sister	Ipo	Feminine

n* is nasal sound. The Charts from Swanson do not necessarily give the relationship for both sexes in every case. ” Most of these terms had a more extended application. Those for grandfather and grandmother covered all ancestors and all individuals of the same generation as the grandfather and grandmother, at least those closely related to them. Unless limited in some way of which we now have no knowledge, it would extend to the boundaries of the tribe. In such cases it is usual to find that the unmodified word is original. As noted above, ippokni, "grandmother," resembles ipok rather closely, but imafo, "grandfather," does not, and so it seems possible that ipok and ippokni were differentiated from the same original word. As has been suggested, inhukni may also be derived from it.” ¹

Definitions of words, the term his or hers was used to determine masculine versus ²feminine usage

In*ki – noun meaning father

In*ki Ansha - Legitimate

In*ki Iksho - Illegitimate

In*kitoba - Stepfather

Ipochi Ohoyo –his mother in law

Imalak - His brother in law, a man’s sister’s husband and brothers

Imalakusi -His brother in law, a wife’s brother’s and cousin’s

Imalukus Ohoyo - His sister in law

Imafo- grandfather, embraces all brother’s of grandfather, used by both sexes

Imoshi/Immoshi/Amoshi- Uncle, used for both sexes, brother of mother

Ippokni-grandmother, used by both sexes

Imombalaha- her brother in law

Ipok- son or daughter in law, and grandchild

Ipok Nakni- grandson

Ipok Tek- granddaughter

Iso- offspring

In*nakfi- her brother, his sister

In*nakfish-her youngest sister, his youngest brother

Iso tek, also Oshetik, daughter

In*tek- his sister (literally In* means his

Ipo- sister in law

Ipochi- his father in law

Iso Nakni - also Alla Nakni – son, in 3^rd person seen as Ushi

Imanni/Amanni- His eldest brother, her eldest sister

Ipochi Halloka- His father in law

In*huckni- his Aunt, the sister of his father and her female relations

Ishki – a mother, used by both sexes, also refers to a mother’s sister’s

Ishkitoba-stepmother

Ishkitopa

Ishkusi

Imhaiya

In*tek or Antek -His sister

In*haiya- his brother’s wife, his Uncle’s wife, etc, his sister in law

Imbitek

Imalatek

Ihaiya - brother

Itahapishilli

Itibapishi

Iyup – a son in law

In*hatek - her husband, her man her lord

In*hatek Illi -widow

Itekchi-wife

Impusnakni- a woman’s relation to her husband’s brother’s, uncle’s and nephews.

English to Choctaw definitions, note Byington didn’t specify usage as he did in Choctaw to English conversion

Brother Anakfi, Amanni, Imanni, In*nakfi, In*nakfish, Itibapishi, Itibapishi aliha, Itibapishi fehna, Nakfi, Nakfish

Brother in law Amalak, Annolakun, Amombalaha, Imaiyapik, Imalak, Imalak kusi, Imombalaha

Aunt Ishki, Ishki toba, In*hukni

Cousin An*ki, Apokni, Amafo, Amoshi, Imanni, Impumakni, Itibapishitoba, Nakfish

Father An*ki, Chin*ke, ikbi, In*ki, Pin*ki, Tikba

Father in law Amafo, Imafo, Naloka, Ipochi, Ipochi Halloka

Mother Chishke, Hashki, Ishki

Mother in law Ippokni, Ipochi ohoyo, Ipokni, Ohoyo Halloka

Sister Antek, Amanni, Imanni, In*nakfish, Intek, Itibapishi, Nakfish

Sister in law Amalak, Usi Ohoyo, in*haiya, Malakisohoyo, Impusnakni, ipo

Niece Ibitek

Nephew Ibaiyi

Uncle Anki, Amoshi, Hatak tin*kba, Imoshi

1 John R. Swanton, Source Material for the Social and Ceremonial Life of the Choctaw Indians (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1931) 85-90, Questia, 12 Oct. 2009 .

2 Byington, Cyrus, A Dictionary of the Choctaw Language, Edited by John R. Swanton and Henry S. Halbert, Smithsonian Institute, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 46, Washington Printing Office, 1915