Gambian personal names
The personal names in Gambia are built up in the West African state of Gambia as in the western culture area according to the form first name and family name .
Naming
The ceremony of naming the Gambian Muslim society is exactly one week after the birth place of the child. Until the mother gives birth, it is true that buying something for the unborn child or talking about hopes or wishes for the future brings unhappiness.
The ceremony is known as " Ngente " (in the Wolof language ) or " Kulliyo " (in the Mandinka language , means "shave the head") and is celebrated as a larger family festival. The ceremony, to which friends are invited as well as family, usually takes place in the morning around 10:00 a.m. For members of the Serahule people , the ceremony can take place on the eighth day at daybreak ( Fajr ).
As a rule, the celebration takes place in front of the family home in the open air. In addition to the numerous seating areas that are brought in, an awning is occasionally stretched for guests. The new mother is wearing her most beautiful dress. The actual ceremony is performed by an imam , another respected personality, or the child's father. He cuts a curl from the baby's hair with a blade, such as a razor blade, and doses a little water on the head. The Imam recites a few verses from the Koran and whispers the baby's name in his ear. Afterwards the name will be announced aloud to all those present. This can be done through a jali , a praises singer. Until this ceremony, the name chosen by the father is usually kept secret. The festivities continue all day into the evening. In addition, a beef, a sheep or a chicken is slaughtered and prepared for the guests as a lunch. Cola nuts are also often offered.
The naming ceremony was also a theme in the television series Roots , when the protagonist Kunta Kinte traditionally gave his newborn daughter the name " Kizzy " against the will of the child's mother .
Birthdays of a person to celebrate is not common in the Gambia.
Names
Notation
| Comparison of the spellings of family names in Senegambia |
||
| anglophone | francophone | Ethnic origin |
|---|---|---|
| Badjan | Badiani | Jola |
| Cham | Thiam | Fulbe |
| Drammeh | Drama | |
| Fye | Faye | Serer |
| Yeah | Diallo | Fulbe |
| Jammeh | Diame | Jola |
| Jawara | Diaouara | Mandinka |
| Jobarteh | Diabaté | Mandinka |
| Yeah | slide | Fulbe |
| Jaye | Dièye | Serer |
| Yes and no | Serve | Serer |
| Jon | Dione | Serer |
| Joof | Diouf | Serer |
| Kama | Serer | |
| Konteh | Kanoutè , Kanté | Mandinka |
| Kuyateh | Kouyaté | Mandinka |
| Leigh | Ly | Mandinka |
| Loum | Serer | |
| Mbye | Mbaye | Wolof |
| Nije | Ndiaye | Wolof |
| Ndaw , Ndao | Serer | |
| Ndione | Serer | |
| Ndur | Ndour | Serer |
| Ngom , Ngum | Serer | |
| Sarr | Serer | |
| Sain | Sene | Serer |
| Senghor | Serer | |
| Thiaw | Serer | |
| Tine | Serer | |
| Comparison of the spelling of first names in Senegambia |
||
| anglophone | francophone | Ethnic origin |
| Bafoday | Bafode | |
The spelling of names can be handled differently for several reasons. On the one hand, the level of literacy is not high, and on the other hand, printed products are not widely used. For example, newspapers are only distributed in the coastal region around the capital Banjul and the largest Gambian city of Serekunda .
In addition, the Gambia is home to five major ethnic groups and several smaller ones, each with their own language. The languages from different language families have different notations . In addition, family names in the Anglophone Gambia ( English is the official language in the Gambia ) are sometimes spelled differently than names of the same families in French-speaking Senegal , Guinea or Mali ( French is the official language in these countries ). Due to emigration from other countries, both (or more) spellings are widespread - in some cases, for example, they are used in the press for one and the same person. The reasons may be found in insufficient language regulation .
First names
Mostly in Gambia the children are given traditional names. Occasionally, however, first names are also chosen that come from the Anglophone culture area . You can also find names like John , Raymond , Susan or Angela .
Due to the predominant Muslim faith in Gambia, the name Mohammed and other popular names from the Koran are common. A common name usually given to the firstborn son is Lamin . This is the modification of al-Amin , a title of the Prophet Mohammed , which means something like "the trustworthy". Another example from the Koran is the name Fatima , which in Gambia becomes Fatou . For Mohammed , the local variant Momodou or Modou and from Aboubacarr is Bocar .
The occasional assignment and use of two (or more) first names is also common practice. Typographically, these are usually not connected by a hyphen. Some of these are then abbreviated with the initial letters.
If Lamin is often given to the first-born son among the Mandinka, Fatou or Fatu is often given to a first-born girl. With the Fula , the first-born son Sara and the second-born Samba are often mentioned .
Common first names
| Africanized Arabic first names | ||
| Africanized | Arabic | |
|---|---|---|
| Abdelahi , Abdu | Abdullah | m |
| Abdoulie , Abdou | Abdullah | m |
| Bocar | Aboubacarr | m |
| Fatou , Fatu | Fatima | w |
| Fatty | Fathi | w |
| Isatou , Issatou | Isaa | w |
| Lamin | al-Amin (title) | m |
| Mamudu | Mohammed | m |
| Momodou , Modou | Mohammed | m |
| Ousman | Othman | m |
Here is a selection of common first names ( nicknames , in the sense of a short form , are written in brackets):
- Boys
- Abdoulaye , Ablanjaye, Alaji, Alason, Alieu , Amat, Baboucar, Bai, Bakary , Bala, Baturu, Boro, Boubacar (Bouba), Chenor, Cyper, Demba , Ebrima, Ediresa (Edi), Foday, Gereh, Hassan, Hatabu, Isa , Jabril, Kairaba, Kamara, Karamo, Kawsu, Kebba, Lamin, Malik , Masane, Mohammed, Momodu (Modu), Musa, Mustafa, Omar , Ousman / Ousmane, Paoboy, Sainey, Samba, Seedy, Sheriff, Suma, Sutay , Tairu, Tijan, Yankubah, Yaya / Yahya , Yoro
- girl
- Adama, Aminata (Ami), Awa, Binta, Channeh, Fatoumata (Fatou), Isatou / Aisatou, Jeneba (Jay), Kaddyatou (Kady), Kenenjaye, Kutu, Loli, Mama, Mandiki, Mariama , Musakuta, Nene, Oumil, Pahali, Piretta, Ramatoulaye (Ramou), Saijo, Seerha, Sona , Tida, Yahar
According to the statistics of the Gambia Biometric Identification System , common first names are:
- Boys
- Lamin, Ebrima, Abdoulie, Momodou, Ousman
- girl
- Fatou, Mariama, Isatou, Fatoumata, Amie
Surnames
Family names are passed from father to children. In the event of marriage , the spouses keep their own names. Double names are possible, but are mostly used by married women. But there are also men who use a double family name.
The name shows which ethnic group the person comes from. Thus Jawara and Jobateh typical name for Mandinka and Mboge and Njie typical names of Wolof .
Job names and castes of the Mandinka can be recognized by the family name: The tradition of the griot ( Jali in Gambia) is usually passed on from father to son. Large families of the Jalis are: Jobarteh , Kuyateh , Sissoko / Cissoko , Konteh and Suso / Susso . Families from which the kings ( Mansa ) came earlier : Keita or Konateh . Ceesay or Touray suggests the origin of a marabout , an Islamic dignitary. The Kanteh were blacksmiths , the Karankee cobblers and the Wali slaves.
Common family names
Here is a selection of common family names:
- Badjie , Bah , Baldeg, Ceesay , Colley, Danzo, Darbo, Fatty, Gaye , Guissé, Hairte, Jaiteh, Jallow , Jammeh , Jarju, Jassey, Jawara, Jobateh, Jobe , Kah, Manneh, Marenah, Mboge, Mendy , Njie , Saidykahn, Sanneh, Sanyang, Sarr , Secka, Senghore, Sidibeh, Sohna, Sonko , Suso, Taal, Touray
According to the statistics of the Gambia Biometric Identification System , common first names are:
- Jallow, Ceesay, Bah, Camara, Njie
Honorary title
The honorary title Alhaji (rarely also Hajji ) is usually mentioned when naming the person and occasionally leads to incorrect entries in databases and corresponding groupings in the first name. Alhaji, actually al-Hajj, describes a Muslim man who has undertaken the Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca). The title is occasionally Alhabbreviated as in the press . The use of the feminine form of the title Alhajia (also Haja , Aja) is not widespread in Gambia.
Often the griots are called "Jali", so that this title has found its way into music directories and music online shops as a misinterpreted first name.
The name " Sheikh ", which actually means sheikh translated from English , is a common first name, so it is not an honorary title here.
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ Naming Ceremony in Gambia, accessed August 2008
- ↑ a b edited by AI Asiwaju: Partitioned Africans: ethnic relations across Africa's international boundaries, 1884–1984 c1985., London: C. Hurst ISBN 0-905838-91-2
- ↑ Mandinkas - Cultural Anthropology ( Memento of the original of March 24, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. dated December 7, 2005
- ↑ Michael Tomkinson: Gambia, a tourist guide Tomkinson, London [u. a.] 1983, ISBN 0-905500-13-X
- ^ A b Names of People in Gambia, accessed September 2008
- ↑ Web presence ( Memento of the original dated February 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the Gambia Biometric Identification System , accessed September 2011
- ^ A b John Mandeville: Mandinka for Gambia, word for word. Gibberish. Reise Know-How Rump GmbH, 2002, ISBN 3-89416-286-4
- ↑ Web presence ( Memento of the original dated February 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the Gambia Biometric Identification System , accessed September 2011
