Child naming among Bakonzo
THERE is this cliché that a rose is still a rose even if called by another name’. This is always thrown at people given to pursuing unnecessary detail. But this cliché may not work among the Bakonzo when it comes to naming their children.
By Asuman Bisika
THERE is this cliché that a rose is still a rose even if called by another name’. This is always thrown at people given to pursuing unnecessary detail. But this cliché may not work among the Bakonzo when it comes to naming their children.
Every name has a meaning that goes deeper than the literal meaning.
The Bakonzo name their children according to the precedence of birth. The only other ethnic group in the region that gives names according to precedence of birth are the Barundi of Burundi.
Male names
A first-born baby boy is named Baluku. But if all grandparents are still alive, he is affectionately called Mumbere. The second boy is named Bwambale with Mbaju as its short form.
The third boy is named Masereka. Marahi or Maate are the short forms. The fourth boy is named Kuule followed by Thembo the fifth. If the family has a sixth son, he is named Mbusa while the seventh, who is also expected to be the last boy, is named Ndungo.
However, if the mother has a son after Ndungo, he is given any kind of name. Among the Barundi, a child who comes after the expected last born is named Misago (the bonus).
Female Names
The name of the first-born baby girl is Masika. However, the first-born baby girl may be named Musoki if all her grandparents are alive.
But to name the first-born baby girl Musoki (and the first-born baby boy Mumbere), parents must be officially married. Illegitimate pregnancies do not produce Musoki or Mumbere.
The second female child is Biira or Kabiira (small Biira) while the third is Kabugho or Kaswera. The fourth is Mbambu or Kahambu (small Mbambu) while the fifth is Ithungu. The sixth is Kyakimwa and the seventh is Nzyabake.
The last baby girl is named Balhubasa. Nzyabake and Balhubasa are now very uncommon names because these days there are not many women who have six or seven daughters.
A good Mukonzo housewife (not the ones of today with stomachs spoiled by chips and chicken) is supposed to give her husband about 14 children. This is not a bad deal for a traditionally fixed bride price of twelve goats and a few fringes.
Whereas all ordinal names are prescriptive (root words with no explanation), Nzyabake, Balhubasa and Kithawithelina are descriptive adjectives. Nzyabake loosely means ‘I have few left’ while Balhubasa means ‘in plenty’.
If one has a female child after the first-born baby boy or more boys consecutively, the girl is named Muhindo or Mbindule.
Also, if one has a male child after the first-born baby girl or any number of girls, the boy is named Muhindo.
One is likely to have two Balukus or Bwambales in a polygamous family because every mother has a first born.
My father’s name was Kabiira, a name reserved for the second baby-girl child.
Since every Mukonzo can be identified with an ordinal name, my father was supposed to be named Mbusa since he followed Thembo.
But he was given a girl’s name because his mother thought she would not give birth to another boy since there was only one male name left. The girl who followed him was named Kabugho reserved for third girl-child.
Twins among the Bakonzo, like most communities in the region, have special names. The older twin is named Nguru while the other is Ndobya regardless of the sex.
Children born after twins are named Kitsa, followed by Kamalha regardless of the sex. A child born after Kamalha is named Kibaba.
Events such as locust attacks and death also attract unusual names. For the Bakonzo, the completeness of life is embodied in the acceptance of death. The Bakonzo take the dead as more superior than the living, thus a child born after a deceased child is viewed as inferior.
Whereas among the Banyarwanda, the name Gihozo (she that brings relief) may be given to a baby girl born after a dead child, the Bakonzo have Bighasaki (you are useless – compared to the dead one).
My late sister Zainabu (bless her soul) was named Kyabu (literarily meaning ‘dustbin’) because the one she followed died. Male children enjoy more attention.
A Mukonzo senior housewife worth her salt would never carry her daughter’s children on her back before she gets at least one grandchild from her sons.
THERE is this cliché that a rose is still a rose even if called by another name’. This is always thrown at people given to pursuing unnecessary detail. But this cliché may not work among the Bakonzo when it comes to naming their children.
Every name has a meaning that goes deeper than the literal meaning.
The Bakonzo name their children according to the precedence of birth. The only other ethnic group in the region that gives names according to precedence of birth are the Barundi of Burundi.
Male names
A first-born baby boy is named Baluku. But if all grandparents are still alive, he is affectionately called Mumbere. The second boy is named Bwambale with Mbaju as its short form.
The third boy is named Masereka. Marahi or Maate are the short forms. The fourth boy is named Kuule followed by Thembo the fifth. If the family has a sixth son, he is named Mbusa while the seventh, who is also expected to be the last boy, is named Ndungo.
However, if the mother has a son after Ndungo, he is given any kind of name. Among the Barundi, a child who comes after the expected last born is named Misago (the bonus).
Female Names
The name of the first-born baby girl is Masika. However, the first-born baby girl may be named Musoki if all her grandparents are alive.
But to name the first-born baby girl Musoki (and the first-born baby boy Mumbere), parents must be officially married. Illegitimate pregnancies do not produce Musoki or Mumbere.
The second female child is Biira or Kabiira (small Biira) while the third is Kabugho or Kaswera. The fourth is Mbambu or Kahambu (small Mbambu) while the fifth is Ithungu. The sixth is Kyakimwa and the seventh is Nzyabake.
The last baby girl is named Balhubasa. Nzyabake and Balhubasa are now very uncommon names because these days there are not many women who have six or seven daughters.
A good Mukonzo housewife (not the ones of today with stomachs spoiled by chips and chicken) is supposed to give her husband about 14 children. This is not a bad deal for a traditionally fixed bride price of twelve goats and a few fringes.
Whereas all ordinal names are prescriptive (root words with no explanation), Nzyabake, Balhubasa and Kithawithelina are descriptive adjectives. Nzyabake loosely means ‘I have few left’ while Balhubasa means ‘in plenty’.
If one has a female child after the first-born baby boy or more boys consecutively, the girl is named Muhindo or Mbindule.
Also, if one has a male child after the first-born baby girl or any number of girls, the boy is named Muhindo.
One is likely to have two Balukus or Bwambales in a polygamous family because every mother has a first born.
My father’s name was Kabiira, a name reserved for the second baby-girl child.
Since every Mukonzo can be identified with an ordinal name, my father was supposed to be named Mbusa since he followed Thembo.
But he was given a girl’s name because his mother thought she would not give birth to another boy since there was only one male name left. The girl who followed him was named Kabugho reserved for third girl-child.
Twins among the Bakonzo, like most communities in the region, have special names. The older twin is named Nguru while the other is Ndobya regardless of the sex.
Children born after twins are named Kitsa, followed by Kamalha regardless of the sex. A child born after Kamalha is named Kibaba.
Events such as locust attacks and death also attract unusual names. For the Bakonzo, the completeness of life is embodied in the acceptance of death. The Bakonzo take the dead as more superior than the living, thus a child born after a deceased child is viewed as inferior.
Whereas among the Banyarwanda, the name Gihozo (she that brings relief) may be given to a baby girl born after a dead child, the Bakonzo have Bighasaki (you are useless – compared to the dead one).
My late sister Zainabu (bless her soul) was named Kyabu (literarily meaning ‘dustbin’) because the one she followed died. Male children enjoy more attention.
A Mukonzo senior housewife worth her salt would never carry her daughter’s children on her back before she gets at least one grandchild from her sons.