The importance of names in Bunyoro-Kitara;
By Isaac Kalembe Akiiki
The value of names (amabara, pl.; ibara, sing.) as a historical source has not gone unnoticed by historians of Africa. In Bunyoro-Kitara, as was the case elsewhere in Africa, names and naming bear spiritual, psychological, and physical significance. Names, naming practices, and meanings for the people shape a collective identity of the Banyakitara. Babies are given names at birth which reflect the context in which their families find themselves.
Personal names are an indicator rather than a determinant of a child’s life chances, names being more symptom than cause of the evolving racial divide. Names then can be used to link social actors, reproduce social relationships or create change. They establish order, by both categorising and differentiating people. Through naming, people can express power over the child, within the household, or in the community.
Like most African names, Kinyoro names are actually words or phrases in the Runyoro language; and they have a meaning. Most names are based upon the prevailing circumstances, environment, family or clan at the time of the child’s birth. There are special names given to twins and the children following twins. These names are standard. When twin boys are born, the first one to be born is Isingoma, the other Kato. The female versions are Nyangoma and Nyakato, respectively. A child who comes after twins is named variably as Barongo, Nyamahunge, Irumba or Kaahwa. (depending on the circumstances or timing of their births. Like Kiiza, Kaahwa is a unisex name.
While almost all Kinyoro names are situational, there are some exceptions. For example, chidren born during rainfall are named accordingly: Kajura (male) or Nyanjura (female) – both meaning “of the rain”). Some are named according to natural phenomena e.g. Kwezi (male) and Nyakeezi (female) – those born at night during a moonlight; Kazooba (those born during daytime, when the sun is high in the sky, among others.
Traditionally, a Munyakitara - Banyoro, Batooro, Batagwenda, Batuku, Banyabindi, and other people of Western Uganda (including the Hema of the Democratic Republic of Congo), among others - have at least three names. These included the first name, surname (family name) and empaako (name of praise), which are given to them shortly after birth.
The commonest empaako are Abbala, Abbooki, Abwoli, Acaali, Adyeri, Akiiki, Amooti, Araali, Apuuli, Ateenyi and Atwoki. The official empaako of the Omukama (king) is always Amooti, regardless of what it used to be before he became the omukama. Some of the names, including empaako, had Luo origins. And, some of these were exclusive to members of the Babiito royal clan e.g. Duhaga, Jaasi, Kaboyo, Olimi, Omudaya, Dwetakya, Kabigumiire, Kasami, Nyakuhya, Rwakabaale, Rwigirwa, Nyaika, Kigoye, Kamurasi.
The surname has always been an indigenous one, say Kinyoro, Kitooro, Kitagwenda, Kituku, or Kinyabindi name. Officially, the name is given by clan elders, but practically, the will of the parents is paramount in this decision. Like most African names, Kinyoro names are actually words or phrases in the Runyoro language; and they have a meaning.
In the past, Bunyoro had an individualising pattern of naming, where children typically had a name that was invented for them, and would disappear with them. A child was named usually by the father, though grandparents often exerted influence over the process. Often this was regarded as merely formalising a situation, which was already well known to the local community. For some people, though, the naming of a child was a means of demonstrating their awareness of neighbours’ or family members’ masked antipathy.
The naming of a child was an opportunity for fighting battles publicly while avoiding direct confrontation. There is a large repertoire of Kinyoro names which refer to hidden enemies, such as Barungindoho (they are nice to my face), Ndyanabo (I eat with evil people), Nyendwoha (who loves me? no one), and Nsekanabo (I laugh with the evil people). These names portray the sentiments of a parent’s very ill at ease with their neighbours.
Parents had few qualms, it seems, about giving a child a name with negative connotations. Many of these names relate to marital strife, conflicts with neighbours, changing religious beliefs, or attempts at ethnic integration. Most interesting of all, though, are those names which give an insight into parental perceptions of their demographic situation.
Individuals, as they grew up, might adopt new names, but the name which they were given as babies would remain their official title. In the past, shedding an unpleasant birth-name was seen as a mark of disrespect to parental intentions, though in recent decades it has become common for an unpleasantly named child, on reaching adolescence, to seek to adopt a more positive identity. Sources disagree on whether the formal naming ceremony occurred three to four days or months after the birth of a child, but names were in any case usually decided before that date.
Before the introduction of Islam and Christianity in Bunyoro, a person was given a surname but also identified by their parent’s (usually the father’s) name e.g. Nyakamatura rwa Nyakatuura (“rwa” means “son of”); Bikamba rwa Kabaale; Mwanga rwa Kanagwa; Katongole rwa Rukidi; Masura rwa Materu; Mutenga rwa Ikamba; Kadyebo rwa Bantaba; Mutengesa rwa Olalo; Kikukuule rwa Runego; Rusebe rwa Rukumba; Kato rwa Zigija; Ruburwa rwa Mirindi; Bulemu rwa Rwigi; Rukara rwa Rwamagigi; Nduru rwa Nyakairu; Ndagara rwa Rumanyweka; Rukara rwa Itegiraaha; Kangabire rwa Kajura; Ireeta rwa Byangombe; Muliwandwa rwa Ogati; Awich rwa Ochamo; Nyaika rwa Igabura; Anziri rwa Midiri, Kamukokoma rwa Katenyi, and Rujumba rwa Salal.
In the pre-Christianity/Islam era, people gave their children names of gods such as Byembandwa (male) or Nyakabandwa/Kembandwa (female), Kazaana (male) and Nyabuzaana (female), Kamugasa or Mugasa (male), indicating that the birth of the child was the result of prayers to traditional spirits.
Also, names in honour of the Bacwezi – literally people of the moon – were common. These included Ndahura (god of small pox), Mulindwa, Mugasa/Mukasa (divinity of Lake Victoria, whose shrine was on Ssese Islands), Mugenyi (associated with cattle or herding), Wamara (Lord of Depth), Kagoro (god of thunder and lightning), Muhingo (god of war), Mugizi (goddess of Lake Mwitanzige), Kahuka (god of cattle), Kaikara (goddess of harvest), Rubanga (god of fertility, twins and healing), and Munume (god of weather), among others.
However, following the introduction of Christianity, in the late 17th century, such names began to decline in frequency, being replaced by names which thank the Christian God, like Mbabazi (God’s grace). Accordingly, a new class of name – the given (religious) name, often regarded as the first name - was created. It was the Christian name, given upon baptism. Many Banyoro took on such European names like Arthur, Baker, Charles, Hannington, Henry, Johnson, George and Stanley. Unfortunately, they mistook them for Christian names! It’s not surprising to find a Johnson (Johnson means “son of John”) whose father is Andrew, or a William Smith.
Others took Arabic/Islamic and Jewish names from the Bible and/or the Koran and naturalised them e.g. Arajabu (Rajab), Bulaimu (Ibrahim), Isimairi (Ismael), Muhamuudu (Mohammed), Matayo (Matthew), Maliza (Martha), Maliya (Mary), Yohana (John), Ndereya (Andrew), Isaka (Isaac), and Isaaya (Isaiah).
The re-naming of individuals in the era of slavery has been interpreted as an act of domination, through which ‘the previous social persona of the slave [was] obliterated’. The significance of names as a window into the character of a community, and its conflicts, cannot be overemphasised. Rulers and the elite of the Bunyoro-Kitara society gave themselves laudatory names, whereas the names taken by agriculturalist subjects expressed social tension and self-criticism.
After the defeat of Kabaleega and eventual conquest of Bunyoro, the kingdom experienced high rates of infertility and mortality during the colonial period. Existing reliable data indicate that Bunyoro suffered a demographic crisis that was significantly greater than anywhere else in early colonial southern Uganda. The prevailing circumstances at the time populaised such names as Nyamayarwo (meat for Death), which implied that the parents are prepared for the worst, because many of their children have already died.
In Bunyoro, almost a third of the names that were given during the colonial period, especially between 1900-1950’s, were death-related, characterised by such extreme negativism. Such names could relate to parental mortality (Kasigwa and/or Kaijamurubi: the child’s father died before it was born), to the deaths of previous children (Kalyongera: this one will also die), to the anticipated death of the recently born child (Byarufu: the child belongs to death) or to parents’ future reproductive plans (Kabainura: death forces us to stop bearing children). They also included: Nkiboinehati (I have just realised it [that this is a blessing]), and Birakurataki (it will follow others).
This large body of mortality-related names can be broken down into different groups. Orphan-related names like Mulekwa (male) and Kalekwa (female), which referred to the death of one or both parents, were relatively consistent through the colonial period. These included Nkasaagukaho means ‘I am the only survivor’, while Nzarabaki asks ‘why did I labour to produce these children?’ A number of other names, such as Kaijabahoire (the child was born when people are finished) and Gaalimaka (it was once a family), refer to non-specific family death.
Therefore, previous experience of child loss influenced many colonial-era parents’ decision to give names belonging to mortality-related category ones - those which meant either the child will die or the child might die. This is reflected in names such as Kabwijukya (it is a sad reminder), Rwesemereza (death pretends to be good), Ndoleriire (I am waiting to see what happens), Bagada (what a waste of energy!) and Byakutaaga (it is a hopeless attempt).
Names which anticipated the imminent death of a baby, though, also emanated from parents’ perception of the particular vulnerability of the newborn. Thus Katebaliirwe, for example, means ‘this child cannot yet be counted’, Nsimireki asks ‘why should I be grateful?’ Byeitaka states ‘the
child belongs to soil’, and Kaijakwamya predicts ‘the child has come for a short while’. Karafa dispenses with euphemisms, meaning simply ‘the child will die’.
Names predicting ‘the child will die’ were more common than those suggesting ‘the child might die’ only in the period 1920–34, the time which followed the years of highest mortality. It seems likely that improvements in healthcare provision in Bunyoro began to increase children’s survival chances from the late 1920s. From the 1940s, religious names increased dramatically in popularity. Fertility in Bunyoro began to increase gradually during the Second World War (1939-1945), thus stimulating growing parental confidence in the likelihood of child survival.
Some parents gave their children names which aimed at distracting or deterring death. As death was believed to be malicious, parents might pretend indifference to the newborn, or unhappiness with an excessive number of children, so that death, unable to disappoint them, would move on. Thus names such as Kunobere or Akunobere (I hate this child) or Kabaingi (so many children) were quite common. Similarly, some babies were called after unpleasant or insignificant objects, such as cats (Kajango), rats (Kabeeba), goats, chameleon (Kapimpina), insects such as safari ants (Mpazi) or monkeys.
As an improved health in the 1950s led to a marked decline in the frequency of mortality-related names. People became optimistic and started giving their children good names such as: Biromumaiso (the future is bright), Mugisa (good luck), Kunihira (hope), Asiimwe (God willing), Mbabazi (mercy), Tumusiime (let’s praise God), Asingwire (s/he has succeeded), Atuhurra (God hears our prayers), Kugonza (God’s love), Kusemererwa (happiness), Byengozi, Kaganzi or Kengonzi (a child of love), etc. Also, there emerged a new sense of privacy, part of a self-conscious modernity. “Such names were given in the past because people had the spirit of saying let me expose to the whole world what is going on here …Today people want to cover up.”
In addition, a deeper belief in Christianity, the receding political discrimination, and increase in prosperity changed people’s perception, thus reducing the negativism and increased a desire to escape secular and religious marginalisation. “I cannot give my child a name such as Kabwimukya (grief will come again), Boonabaana (all are children [the child was born with a defect]), Gafabusa (waste of energy) which are bad. Instead I would give a name such as Asiimwe (thanks be to God), Kyomuhendo (it is of significance), Kunihira (hope), Kugonza (God’s love), Birungi (good),” one Munyoro said.
Whereas very many religious Banyoro parents gave their children a saint’s name and a name referring to indigenous Cwezi and embandwa spirits in the early 1900s (e.g. Byembandwa or Nyakabandwa), the gradual shift towards outward orthodoxy and, in some cases, deeper belief was marked by a new category of ultra-Christian/Islamic names.
There were also names which indicated fertility and infertility levels. Names such as Kyamuzaliire (finally we have a child) and Kanyama (the child was born after many fruitless attempts) give more of a sense of some couples’ long struggle to conceive and give birth successfully.
A handful of names, moreover, indicate that Bunyoro in the past had some level of control over their fertility, or at least believed that they had. Bategeka or Kutegeka, for example, means ‘the child was planned’, while names such as Libainura (Death forces us to stop having children) and Kasigirenda (this child has left the womb empty) suggest that a small number of parents intended to cease their efforts to reproduce.
Libainura is a very rare name in itself, but it may be an explicit, extreme expression of a broader relationship between parental perceptions of the likelihood of a child dying and their reproductive decision-making. Life histories in fact indicate that very many people responded to a history of miscarriages or infant deaths not by abandoning their attempts to reproduce but by persisting. One interviewee’s parents, for example, produced seven stillborn babies before being cured of syphilis and having him, Byamaani (from strength).
Even with the AIDS scourge of the 1990s, the Banyoro remained positive. “People are now enlightened. We know it is God who gives and it is God who takes away. We know that death is not a strange thing. Anybody can die at any age whether young or old, boy or girl; time comes and one has to die,” a Munyoro Christian said.
Another one added: “In the past we were few. For example, a lineage would have only like two men and one woman. But today you find a lineage with as many as ten men – so how do you name a child Kaijabahoire (the child was born when people are finished)? The name would not carry meaning because the brothers and sisters of the late father are still there.”
An interesting aspect of Bunyoro nomenclature is the use of romantic names – given to a newly-wed wife. A romantic name is one given to a wife by her husband, immediate family members and the neighbourhood. Common romantic names are:
Nganzi – meaning “loved one”. It’s common in polygamous families, where Nganzi (or Kiringanzi) is the beloved wife.
Baingana – literally “equal” or “parity”. Baingana is given to a wife who’s equal in height or stature to her husband.
Keezi or Nyakeezi – literally “full moon” – is given to a woman who got married during the full moon.
Kimuli or Keekimuli – literally “flower” – is given to a belle (beautiful wife).
Rangi – literally “colour” – is given to a light-complexioned, beautiful wife.
Keigana – is given to a woman who was married at an exhorbitant dowry or bride price.
Kanyunyuuzi – literally “a star” – is given to a very beautiful wife.
Kengonzi – literally “of love” – is given to a wife who was married in a hyperbolic romantic way.
Nkerenge – a tall, dark-skinned woman.
Ruhangire – a very tall woman.
Magoobe – an all-round beautiful wife; a woman with overwhelming blessings or talents.
Bwengereire – a chocolate-brown woman.
Kenyana or Wanyana or Ganyana – a woman who is as graceful as a calf or gazelle.
Keigana – an obese woman.
In conclusion, in Bunyoro the giving of a name is a heavily ritualised time for reflection and anticipation, an opportunity to express deeply felt emotions. Also, naming is too subjective and susceptible to external pressures to be used directly as a demographic source.
However, some parents continued to give their babies names referring back to previous child loss. The case of Bunyoro, though, also shows that a society’s perception of mortality can evolve quite rapidly, partly due to variations in fertility levels, partly due to larger cultural changes.
(Isaac Kalembe Akiiki, currently, the Omutalindwa (Speaker of the Rukurato or Parliament of Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom), is a social critic, academic and researcher on Bunyoro issues)
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