Afro-Bolivians - Kinship

Afro-Bolivians reckon kinship bilaterally. They refer to one another by endearing nicknames (e.g., "Mastuco," meaning "large" or "full-bodied"), by relationship— abuela (grandmother), tio (uncle), suegra (mother-in-law), and the like—and by fictive or ritual kinship terms such as comadre (comother) and compadre (cofather). Compadrazgo is an important fictive-kinship institution among Afro-Bolivians, and such relationships are formed for the sponsorship of weddings, baptisms, the raising of a roof, and even the purchase of an automobile.