By Firmain Eric Mbadinga
Clovis Kakule Mutsuva takes the act of introducing himself seriously. Not for him the casual utterance of a name, unmindful of how others pronounce and perceive it.
This native of Béni, a town of around one million inhabitants in the Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu region, wears his two African surnames with a sense of pride that comes from knowing what they stand for.
"Kakule represents my tribal ancestry. It's also a name given to the fourth son of a lineage within the Nandé community. Typically, the mantle passes to the last among the boys — to the one entrusted with serving the elders," Clovis tells TRT Afrika.
In the realm of Nandé cosmogony, Kakule is also the guardian of family wealth.
Clovis inherited his second name, Mutsuva, from his grandfather, who was a village chief. The community sees him as someone carrying forward a legacy of leadership along with the name.
"It's been like that since I was in school. I have always been seen as a leader," says the Congolese.
Clovis's insightful articulation of what his name represents within his socio-cultural milieu is becoming increasingly uncommon.
Many Africans of his age or younger have no idea what their names mean or symbolise and for multiple reasons.
Ike Kassa, a teacher based in the Gabonese capital of Libreville, acknowledges that she doesn't know the meaning and symbolism of her name. Alioune Diop from Dakar, too, has little information about the connotation of his name, which various ethnic groups in Senegal and Mali use.
Circumstances of names
Gabonese anthropology professor Bernardin Minko Mve, who specialises in onomastics or the study of names, points out that cultures, rites and traditions have long influenced how African communities name their progeny.
This was particularly true before the colonial period and the advent of religion.
"A happy event, the day of birth, the circumstances of pregnancy or childbirth, or even the abundance of an agricultural season, could inspire names based on culture and rites," Mve, who teaches at Omar Bongo University in Libreville, tells TRT Afrika.
"The surnames given to newborn babies were charged with identity, moral, and cultural values. There are, for example, names that are specific to certain clans, carrying precise meanings. The name confers on the bearer a charge linked to the meaning or representation of that name."
Intricacy of origins
Fernan Tona Agbéwonannou Yaovi, a resident of Lomé in Togo, has traditional first and last names that dig deep into his African identity.
While Tona contains just two syllables, his other African first names —Agbéwonannou and Yaovi — require felicity in pronunciation.
"The official first name in my identity papers is Agbéwonannou. This is a first name from the Ouatchi and Ewe ethnic groups of southern Togo, which means, 'It is life that underpins achievements'," he explains.
"In other words, my name is a reminder that as long as we live, we hope to achieve great things. So, I have turned this into a philosophy of my life." Yaovi, the other name, also has quaint origins.
"Yaovi (little Yao) is given to boys born on a Thursday among the Ouatchi and Ewé people. The same goes for boys born on a Thursday in Benin, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire," the communications specialist tells TRT Afrika.
The surname Tona is the abbreviated form of Tonatoméléo, meaning "I have no confidant".
Tona is a prime example of African onomastics, with names such as Chaka Zulu (former Zulu king of South Africa) and Sundiata Keita (emblematic figure of the Mandingo empire) recalling pre-colonial African cultural authenticity.
External influences
"When Christianity entered our societies, it influenced customs, practices, and culture. First names came into play with the introduction of the calendar, which has a parallel first name for each day of the year. So, the date of birth reflects which calendar was consulted before giving a first name," says Mve.
The Gabonese anthropologist explains that in addition to the choice of calendar influencing identities, many names and surnames are increasingly being imported into Africa, depending on the linguistic zone.
He attributes this to globalisation and the cult of celebrity worship, which makes some parents name their children after famous people, irrespective of where they are from.
This onomastic cross-breeding leads experts to talk of a post-modern mutation, which sometimes results in a combination of the father's and mother's first names to obtain the child's first name.
The magazine Magicmaman, which offers advice on pregnancy, motherhood and more, mentioned in a recent article how the names Noé and Méline were combined to create Noeline and Claire and Mathis to obtain Clarisse.
Besides Africa, where names have a history and meaning depending on the tribe or culture, the American Indians are among the peoples whose names were closely linked to cosmogony and local beliefs before colonisation.
More than just a word used to distinguish or identify someone, a name was almost perceived as a totem and often given by a shaman.
The shaman, in turn, consulted the spirits of nature before finding the name.
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