Names and Naming

[29/07/2017 8:45 am] @⁨Lung'afa⁩  Can the story continue? Tumejenga sasa, pls tell us something on birth n naming sometimes I wonder y we have funny names like : luvusi..., vutigaye.... You know......

[29/07/2017 6:07 pm] Lung'afa: Eemwami vaana vaitu, muvee varamu? Metrine, see if this would quench your thirst.

...

Naming is an interesting part in any culture's philosophy. Maragoli presents a multi-faced approach to the process because unlike other communities with reference to seasons and times in naming, ours is a shot in a crowd with no clear guidelines. Karanja, Vuguza, Odanga, Maina, Manyego, Ogova, Rubai and Timina are but a few names whose origin is a wide speculation. This has also been handled at anthropological and linguistical levels.

Naming starts so early in one's life and goes on so late after one's death. Some of us are not married yet we have names for the handsome boy and beautiful girl we shall beget. Somebody is already 'living' in our minds yet we can't grasp their actual physiques. A married man thinks of what he shall name his fourth born. This could be because we have fallen in love with some mentors or we would want to live other lives through someone of our blood. 

A woman during her pregnancy would want to remember the moments by naming the child as from her experience. ATUMBWA is a saniaga elder in Chekombero who said his mother had given birth to daughters and her husband was going to disown her if her pregnancy was of a girl again. Then a boy was born -the unwanted, she named him.

My aunt, Sarah Irusa  was named Sarano before Irusa came. As a child, they used to play together with boys. Now when Salano was called, she and a boy would run to the caller. And my aunt used to yell like hell that a boy had her name. It was later changed to Irusa, a name she regards as a curse because of her hardship in life yet married MUJIMA. Irusa is nowhere in the family and none of her seven or so brothers have named a daughter Irusa.

When a woman is pregnant, she could know whether it was a boy or a girl by the events or asking. This was not a sure way of knowing the sex of a child. Till birth did people speak of sex and no one was in a hurry to name a child. A woman was kept indoors for a week or so, doing lighter tasks thereafter. Vaarikwa, co-wives or wives to Varamwa used KUMWARIKIRA in the sense of postnatal care. The heart of a co-wife was judged this time. A good one excelled and could assist in naming.

Naming was the responsibility of mother in law, a child's grandmother. Men never meddled and only took a boy to their circle when he was of circumcision age. All the other time a boy was known by his mother internally or grandfather externally. A girl never associated past family boundaries. You must be Esetwe or Kisusu to be known past your village.

Some people took a clothing of the husband and tied the sappy child in just from the womb. This was to determine the wife's chastity as also welcoming it to its REAL parent. Did she share the husband's emondo with another man? It was also same as grandmother took a razor to cut the first hair of the child. No one else was to do it. She blessed the child, gave him or her a suiting name in the process. In all this the child was likely to perish if she was not of home blood.

But what if a child refused a name? They did refuse in ways as refusing breast milk, crying, getting sick and so. The option was to change the name and there were no birth certificates to make the process tedious. A child would close his eyes like a blind person till a right name was given, the woman told me. This mostly happened if a girl gave birth before marriage.

Mwana wi ichova uyu was a problem because a name was to come from paternal mother. And the women, having been told a child was born wherever, they would go and bring the girl to the home. Many women have been married this way. It was a must for a girl to identify the father and have her give birth there, having let down her parents. If the above was not done, surely you would hear of new names in your family because varadoora za ku r'ita r'iosi. Granfmother would not want her good name given to such uncelebrated child.

Unknown to us, names could appear in dreams. If a child was found thrown or a child had it tough in growth someone in the family would dream of a name. Also, if a child was born with some deform or mark, a process of searching whom among the dead or living old was of such nature, went on. A name was easily gotten. It was a slow sure session.

It was that twin borns are named Marongo for the boy and Afandi or any other suit name for a girl. If both are of same sex, and the family had such, names are give accordingly. Kisia is a name given to a child born after twins. Naming twins did not matter, it was in activities as Circumcision, death and diseases that mattered to twins. To include the rites, I would lengthen this article unnecessarily, let us do in a future article.

It was advised a  paternal name be given and the rest, as kids shall be born, will get names even from maternal side. As long as there is harmony and respect, names were taken even from friends, godfathers, godmothers and all that. Do good and you will never die.

Situational names are in plenty than most names. Ogova was from being pawed, Kageha, Kanguha, Kadenyi from being born light, kidiginyi. Igunza kept waiting, lengthening labour pain, Aziaya from cattle grazing...aziayaa...Mahonga from procrastination or holiday, Karani and Musungu from colonial error, Kivunieri is darkskinned and so forth. Nick names worked better in most cases and lived long; Kayeri for allergy, Jahenda for phobia, Jenyeka for jealous, Madete for big fingures, Kibande for small, Vosena for mud play, Vurimu for grass, Asava for help, Guda for stomach, Ndanyi for plant, Mukuuzi for chaff, Isigi for insect (could not be true for all).

It was Christianity that baptised people 'good' names, citing some commonly used names as Yuda bad. A child was baptised and a pastor decided the name. Converts were therefore incarnated with rebellers casted. A child would be taken to a child with grandmothers name  but Holier than Thou man of god with capital G name decided a different name...call him Amugune! Amugune was a good man. Yet he was of a different clan.

Prior, there were no need for names. If you are only two, you and husband for instance, do you need to salute? You can just go Hey, You, Yivi. Clans are said to have gotten names from mothers. If a man had wives, a child would be addressed by mama. And your mama had to have a 'name'. Mmasingira gave birth while standing, Mmigango was a girl of a father who had killed a cheetah and Mmasero came from people who had tides as clothes. You would not say I am Zindori. You would say 'I am mwisukuru wa Guda wa Navizereeve Munondi inyumba enge.' Beautiful.
'Mamovo yatura mmugizi wa senge waa yadeeka,' he would reply.