Nigerian Naming Ceremony

Ade does not only help me with tech troubleshooting and updating, he is more than tech support — he is my teacher and resource about Nigerian culture. Most of my posts about Nigeria are products of many conversations and discussions.

There was one project that I never did get to blog about before leaving Nigeria. This is the naming ceremony rite Nigerians perform for their babies, and it’s nothing like the Catholic or United Methodist baptism ceremonies that our son went through at all. Since a friend just had one for her newborn son this week I feel compelled to share it online.

First of all, Nigerians choose names that have special meanings. I particularly love the name of my son’s playmate Kamsi or Kamsiyochukwu. In Igbo it means “my heart’s desire” or literally “what I asked from God.” If my son was born in Nigerian this would most likely be the name I would choose for him, because we were desperate enough to seek the help of a fertility specialist after trying to get pregnant for two years since a miscarriage.

My Nigerian colleagues shared with me the names of their children.

“Oluwatobiloba” means “God is a great King.” He is the first child of our network technician and is called Tobi for short. He’s only a toddler but he already shares his father’s passion for soccer.

Our tech assistant’s first child (boy)’s name is Oluwalonimi (short form – Nimi ) meaning ” The Lord owns me.” He is tall for his age, like his father. His second child (boy)’s name is Oluwatimilehin (short form – TIMI ) meaning “The Lord supports, sustains, helps or backs me.” He adores his big brother and tries to copy whatever he does.

The elementary computer teacher is blessed with a girl and a boy. Her daughter, a tech-savvy, talkative girl who loves to sing, was named Oluwatoyin, meaning “the Lord is worthy to be praised,” and her toddler brother was named Oluwanifemi, “the Lord loves me”.

Aren’t those wonderful names?

My friend explained the Yoruba naming ceremony here:

The Yoruba people of Nigeria, according to their culture, names are not just names they tell the circumstances under which a child was born. There are names for just about every situation. A name can also tell group or family history.

The eldest member of the family or the baby’s father normally gives the child its name, then other family members drop money in a bowl or tray before giving the baby a name of their own, so the baby ends up having a long list of names, any of which he could be addressed by. The Yoruba people always celebrate the naming ceremony after a child is seven days old, which is the eighth day.

During the naming ceremony, the family and the community welcome a new child and accept joint responsibility for raising baby. As part of the ceremony, items used in everyday life are presented to the child as symbolic gifts.

The basic items are:

• Water
• Salt
• Honey
• Sugar
• Alligator Pepper (Atare)
• Kola nuts
• Bitter kola
• Palm Wine
• Dried catfish
• Palm oil
• Pen and a Book
• Bible or Koran
• Aadun

As with many other aspects of Nigerian life, the items used as well as the ceremony itself, vary depending on the ethnic group and family preferences. What they share in common is that the birth of a child is a time of great joy and celebration for the entire family and community.

The significance of the gifts

• Water (Omi): That the child’s life will be cool and trouble free, that the child will stay with us and drink water with us and eat what we eat in peace and harmony.
• Salt (Iyo): Adds joy and the sweetness of life to the child’s life
• Honey (Oyin): to bring sweetness to the child
• Aadun (a type of corn meal mixed with oil): to bring sweetness (of another sort)
• Sugar: same thing to bring sweetness.
• Kola nuts (Obi): to expunge (as in vomit) ill will, bad luck, death, illness  every thing bad and evil.
• Bitter cola (Orogbo): that the child will live long until ‘deep’ old age and will have lasting health.
• Alligator pepper (Atare): that the child’s line will multiply like the seeds of the alligator pepper.

written by Adeniji* Akande

*Adeniji means “my royal crown has sufficient canopy to provide shelter for several people” or “my crown has a shade”. It is a Yoruba given to someone born in a royal lineage, and at his turn, may ascend the throne of his ancestors.

Relevant Links

• http://www.babynology.com/nigerian_babynames.html
• http://www.nairaland.com/11383/igbo-names-meanings
• http://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/african

 

the Nigerian staff in our school hold an improvised naming ceremony for the son of American-Venezuelan teachers who was born in Lagos. There was a healthy competition to give him a Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa name.

Asa and her Beautiful Imperfections

I’ve had her album — “Beautiful Imperfections” — for almost two years now, but it was only after listening to it for three straight days that I picked up on the lyrics. It made me look up the complete lyrics of the song “Questions.”

“Questions”

Tell me how many women childhood dreams come to past
Tell me how many movies turn out real
There are so many questions
Questions I’ll like to ask
So you can understand exactly how I feel

Tell me how many people wish they were someone else
Someone they think the world wants them to be
Tell me how many babies will be born just to die
Leaving me with these questions
Asking why

Tell me how do trees whisper
How do birds learn to sing
And how does the rainbow stay the same
How do bees make their honey
How do they learn to sting
Can a broken heart get back to heal again

How do people get so busy they don’t find time to love
What’s the truth behind why people go to war
Why is there so much religion yet there’s so little love
Will I ever get to know the truth some day

Where’s the youth who’s gonna dare – where’s the elder who really cares
Why do people believe things they know arent true
When you look into the mirror who do you see
Why do we have to grow to be wise

• Asa’s Biography (and also source of photo used here)
• Article about her: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/mar/31/asa-beautiful-imperfection-review

Learn Some Nigerian Words & Phrases

If you’re a foreigner you know the quickest way to soften up a local is to learn a few phrases in their language. During our Christmas holiday in Kenya I startled the bartender when I greeted him in Maasai, instead of Swahili. “I appreciate that,” he said. But it was way better when we flew back to Lagos and a security guard approached us while we waited for our driver to pick us up. I always feel nervous when a uniformed Nigerian — a cop, Customs or Immigration officer — wants to talk to us, and so I tend to not say much. Then I thought of my experience in Maasai Mara, which reminded me of our German friend Marc, who lived for over 20 years in Lagos before moving back to Germany for good. We’ve seen Marc breaking into Pidgin or Yoruba or Igbo and how the Nigerians around us would crack up. So I asked the security guard if the New Year holiday in Lagos was peaceful or if there was any wahala. His eyes got all round and big. The next thing I know we were discussing where he lives, and how other employees of the airport commute to work, etc. It was cool, I thought, to stand there with our own armed bodyguard chatting in a friendly way because no one else bothered us. Usually when you are at the airport official and non-official porters will try to grab your luggage, or tag along all the way to your vehicle and expect a generous tip even if all they did was hold your door.

Here are a few words and phrases that you can start mixing in your daily conversations:

1. Naija – slang for Nigeria. Also written as 9ja
2. Oga/Ma – sir/madam; Oga is Yoruba for chief or big boss. Oftentimes Madam is shortened to “Ma” and I’m still not used to having Nigerians older than me saying, “yes, Ma,”
3. Go slow – traffic jam
4. Okada – motorcycle for hire, bane among Lagos motorists but usually the best way to get through the go-slow
5. Wahala – originally a Hausa word now commonly used for “trouble” or “problem”
6. Dash – bribe or tip; has negative and neutral connotation, i.e. “I saw the driver dash the policeman,” and “Let’s give the waiter a big dash”
7. No Shakin – slang for “no problem”
8. Wetin dey – term used in place of “what’s up” or “what’s there.” Essentially wetin means “what” while “dey” means are, i.e. Where them dey go means “where are they going”
9. Chop – to eat, i.e. “You wan chop?”
10. Oyibo – originally Youruba word for “foreigner,” more specifically fair-skinned people; sometimes also applied to light-skinned Nigerians

• 10 Things To Do Once I Have Moved to Lagos
• Speak Like an Oyibo

Suya

You can’t say you’ve been to Nigeria if you never tried their suya. It is any meat covered in a mixture of ground nuts and spices like paprika, chili, garlic, ginger, onion, etc.
I prefer chicken suya, especially when served hot during Nigerian Culture Day and the school fair. But beef suya is more readily available, sold by mai-suya (people who prepare the suya) around school. Although this Nigerian version of shish kebab is considered a snack, I usually enjoy it with lots of rice and the occasional Coke or beer.

Aso Ebi

Originally Yoruban, but now a common phrase, that literally means “family attire.” In traditional Nigerian wedding celebrations, family and friends of the bride and groom wear the same fabric to tell them apart. We had the privilege of attending the wedding of our son’s nanny in December 2011, so when the school marked Nigerian Culture Day in September 2012 it was fun to hear so many compliments when we wore them again.

Happy 50th Birthday Nigeria

Oh what fun we had celebrating Nigerian Culture Day yesterday in school. As my husband noted, it was like being in a prom or wedding because everyone — students, teachers, parents, nannies and drivers — wore elaborate and colorful Nigerian outfits. I would put it in the same category as the  fiestas and festivals we celebrate in my country, but in the more confined space of our campus. And this is what makes it a lot more fun! We had cultural performances, exhibits, activities ranging from henna painting, beading, and storytelling. The PTO really put a lot of energy in bringing Nigerian culture to the school — with dancers performing during the exhibits and lots of free food from every region of the country. Apart from the market, my favorite was the cultural performance during the opening ceremonies. I don’t need to brave the traffic or bad roads to experience Nigerian culture, for at least once a year it is brought to my doorstep.