Naming System
Additionally the Ewe use a system of giving the first name of a child as the day of the week that the child was born. This arises from a belief that the real name of a child can only be determined after the child has shown its character. However, as a child is a person, not an object, the child must be referred to by some name in the interim, so a name is provided based on the day of birth. A final name is given at a naming ceremony, seven days after the date of birth.
The Ewe naming system is as follows:
Ŋkeke/Nkeke (Day) | Ŋtsu/Ntsu (Male) | Nyɔnu (Female) |
---|---|---|
Dzoɖagbe (Monday) | Kɔdzo, Kwadzo, Kojo, Kudjoe | Adzo, Ajo, Adjoe |
Braɖagbe, Blaɖagbe (Tuesday) | Kɔmla, Kɔbla, Kwabla | Abra, Abla, Brã |
Kuɖagbe (Wednesday) | Kɔku, Kwaku, Awuku | Aku, Akua |
Yawoɖagbe (Thursday) | Yao, Kwawu, Kwao | Yawo, Yawa, Yaa, Awo |
Fiɖagbe (Friday) | Kofi | Afua, Afi, Afiwa |
Memleɖagbe, Memliɖagbe (Saturday) | Kɔmi, Kwami | Ami, Ama, Amé |
Kɔsiɖagbe, Kwasiɖagbe (Sunday) | Kɔsi, Kwasi | Akɔsia, Akɔsua, Kwashiwɔ, Awusi |
Often, people are called by their birth date name most of the time, the given name being used only on formal documents. In such cases, children with the same birth name are delineated by suffixes: -gã meaning big, -vi meaning little. So for example, after the birth of another Kofi, the first child called Kofi becomes Kofigã, and the new child Kofi. A subsequent Kofi, would be Kofivi, or (Kofitse mostly among Wedome and Tɔngu Ewes. Sometimes this renaming happens twice, as the second Kofi may have originally been called Kofivi, while the eldest retained Kofi, thereby necessitating that they both be renamed on the birth of the third Kofi.
Read more about this topic: Ewe People
Famous quotes containing the words naming and/or system:
“Husband,
who am I to reject the naming of foods
in a time of famine?”
—Anne Sexton (19281974)
“Daily life is governed by an economic system in which the production and consumption of insults tends to balance out.”
—Raoul Vaneigem (b. 1934)