compadrazgo

The term compadre (, , literally "co-father" or "co-parent"), known in Slavic countries as kum ( Russian and Ukrainian: кум, ; masculine derived from Balkan Vulgar Latin ''cómmater'' - "godmother") denotes the relationship between the parents and godparents of a child and is an important bond that originates when a child is baptised. It is widespread in Iberian, Latin American, Filipino Christian and Indian Goan Christian Brahmin families, as well as in some countries of Eastern Europe, such as Russia and Ukraine.

The abstract nouns compadrazgo (Spanish and Filipino) and compadrio (Portuguese), both meaning "co-parenthood," are sometimes used to refer to the institutional relationship between ''compadres''. The analogous words in Eastern Slavic languages are kumovstvo (, ) or kumivstvo (, ).

At the moment of baptism, the godparents and natural parents become each other's ''compadres'' (the plural form ''compadres'' includes both male and female co-parents). The female equivalent of ''compadre'' is comadre (, ). Thus, the child's father will call the child's godmother "comadre," while she will call him "compadre," and so on. In Slavic languages the analogous word is kuma (Ukrainian and Russian: кума, ), from which the masculine form of the word is derived.

In Portugal, the term is colloquially also used to refer to the parents of both parts of a couple.

In Western Europe and Latin America

From the moment of a baptism ceremony, the godparents (godfather and godmother, ''padrino'' and ''madrina'' in Spanish, ''padrinho'' and ''madrinha'' in Portuguese, ''ninong'' and ''ninang'' in Filipino) share the parenting role of the baptised child with the natural parents. By Catholic doctrine, upon the child's baptism, the godparents accept the responsibility to ensure that the child is raised according to the dictates of the Catholic faith and to ensure the child pursues a life of improvement and success (through education, marriage, personal development, and so forth).

Traditionally, among Iberians and Latin Americans, this relationship formalizes a pre-existing friendship which results in a strong lifelong bond between ''compadres''. In its original form, the ''compadre'' relationship is among the strongest types of family love soon after one's nuclear family. In many Latin American societies, lifelong friends or siblings who have always spoken to each other informally (using the informal Spanish second-person pronoun ''tú'') may mark their new ''compadre'' relationship by using respectful or formal speech (using the formal Spanish second-person pronoun ''usted'').

A number of other ritual occasions are considered to result in a ''compadre'' relationship in various Latin American societies. These may include ritual sponsorship of other Catholic sacraments (first communion, confirmation, and marriage); sponsorship of a ''quinceañera'' celebration; and, in Peru, sponsorship of a ritual first haircut ceremony that normally takes place when a child turns three years old.

''Compadrazgo'' has its roots in mediaeval European Catholicism. The Doge of Venice Pietro II Orseolo worked all his life for creating solid contacts with the contemporary monarchs, achieving good relationships with the Byzantine Empire. On the other hand, he approximated to Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor and eventually named him literally with the title of ''compadre'', which meant "the co-father of the Venetian Doge's children". Otto specially liked this, and became the children's godfather.

The classic Spanish novel Don Quixote (1605–1615) contains several references to ''compadres''; however, the ''compadre'' relationship has much less formal meaning in modern Spain, where it is a reference both to a godfather/''padrino'' or just to a best friend, with no reference to any ritual. The expression is in use particularly in southern Spain. In medieval England, parents and godparents called each other "godsibs" (that is, "God siblings"). The only trace of this old Catholic English practice in modern English is the word gossip, presumably a reference to the propensity of close companions such as ''compadres'' to chat and gossip with one another. In Spanish, the verb ''comadrear'' (from ''comadre'') similarly means "to gossip," as does the French cognate ''commérage'' (from ''commère'').

The term ''compadre'' has been extended in some regions, such as Brazil, to describe a common relationship between two good friends. In the Alentejo region of Portugal, ''compadre'' is a term used as an informal manner of address between any two, usually elderly, male acquaintances. In Argentina and Paraguay, the word is used in popular speech (especially in the diminutive, ''compadrito'') to mean "braggart, loud-mouth, bully." However, among more traditional Latin American and Hispanic/Latino families, the word retains its original meaning and symbolism, and for its members, to be asked to be a ''padrino'' or ''compadre'' is a great, lifelong honor.

In Slavic culture

In Eastern Orthodoxy the ritual of baptism is seen as a rite of initiation, which makes the newborn part of the family and simultaneously designates the child as member of the Church of God. ''Kum'' and ''kuma'' serve as key participants of that ritual on par with the parents, midwife and the priest. In relation to the child the godparents (, ) are known under the terms which can be literally translated as "baptismal father" and "baptismal mother" (; ) of the godchild (, ). In Galician dialect the child's godparents are also known as ''nanashko'' (нанашко) and ''nanashka'' (нанашка). A girl who had common godparents with another child would also be known as "baptized sister" ().

Historically, in the traditional culture of Ukraine a number of rituals have existed to celebrate the bonds between people from different families. During the Green holidays women in Ukraine would engage in the tradition known as кумування (literally - "kuma-being"), during which a kerchief and coral jewelry would be given to a potential ''kuma''. In Polesia girls would give each other birch wreaths and yellow-painted eggs, kissing and wishing for themselves to become ''kumas'' in the future. Godparents for one's child were ususally chosen from among in-laws, people respected in the community or simply those with whom the family was befriended.

According to ethnographer Pavlo Chubynskyi, after a child was born, its father would visit the man he had chosen to be his ''kum'' with bread and salt, and take the host's bread in exchange. The same ritual was repeated when choosing the ''kuma''. According to Ivan Ohienko, it was not allowed to refuse such a proposal. In the region of Kholm there was a special ritual where a man who had become ''kum'' for the first time would be put on a sledge covered with hay and driven from his house to the house of his parents with great honour. Many Ukrainian proverbs and sayings are dedicated to friendly relations between a person and their ''kum'' or ''kuma''. After baptism, kum and kuma would serve as the child's "second parents". However, if the child died, its godparents would lose their status, and in this case the traditional way of finding ''kum'' and ''kuma'' for a new child was to ask the first person met on the way.

In modern Russian language the terms ''kum'' and ''kuma'' do not always signify godparents of one's child, but can be used in respect to close friends of the family or best man and best maid during a wedding. In Russia until the 15th century there was a tradition of taking only one godparent for a child, but nowadays it is common to have two godparents - mother and father. They must belong to the same church as the family of the baptized child; it is not allowed for godparents to be each other's husband and wife. According to church law, biological parents cannot serve as their own child's godparents.

''Kum'' and ''kuma'' played an important role in bringing up their godchild, would be invited to all family celebrations and received special attention. On the day of Saint Emilian (21 January) it was common to invite one's ''kum'' and ''kuma'' for a visit, during which they would present the hosts with soap and a towel, which had protect their godchild from evil eye and illness, after which a feast would be organized. Many Russian proverbs and songs are dedicated to the relations with ''kum'' and ''kuma''. They are also mentioned in literary works by Nikolai Gogol, Alexander Pushkin, Leo Tolstoy, Nikolay Leskov, Ivan Bunin and other classics of Russian literature.

See also

* Human bonding
* Bro (subculture)

References

{{Reflist

Bibliography

*Alum, R., 1977, "El Parentesco Ritual en un Batey Dominicano itual Kinship in a Dominican Batey" Revista Eme-Eme. Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic: Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra; V (26): 11-36.
*Berruecos, L., 1976, El Compadrazgo en América Latina; Análisis Antropológico de 106 Casos. México: Instituto Indigenista Interamericano.
*Foster, G., 1953, “Cofradia and compadrazgo in Spain and Spanish America,” Southwestern Journal of Anthropology; 9:1-28.
*Gudeman, S.; & S. B. Schwartz, 1984, Cleansing Original Sin; Godparenthood and Baptism of Slaves in 18th-Century Bahia; IN: R. T. Smith, ed.; Kinship Ideology and Practice in Latin America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press; pp. 35–58.
*Nutini, Hugo, and Betty Bell, 1980, Ritual Kinship: The Structure of the Compadrazgo System in Rural Tlaxcala. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
*Nutini, Hugo, 1984, Ritual Kinship: Ideological and Structural Integration of the Compadrazgo System in Rural Tlaxcala. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
*Ossio, J., 1984, Cultural Continuity, Structure, and Context; Some Peculiarities of the Andean Compadrazgo; IN: R. T. Smith, ed.; Kinship Ideology and Practice in Latin America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press; pp. 118–46.
*Velez‐Calle, A., Robledo‐Ardila, C., & Rodriguez‐Rios, J. D. (2015). On the influence of interpersonal relations on business practices in Latin America: A comparison with the Chinese guanxi and the Arab Wasta. Thunderbird International Business Review, 57(4), 281-293.

Culture of Latin America
Slavic culture
Baptism