Contributed by Mark Stevenson Fuo
Link:
http://www.dtruth.talkspot.com/aspx/templates/pro5a.aspx/msgid/207813
"The
Yoruba take names seriously, for names have meaning and are believed
to live out their meaning. Thus, serious effort is put into naming a
new born baby. As they say, ile ni a n wo, ki a to so omo l'oruko.
That is, we have to pay attention to the tradition and history of the
family before we give names to a child. The meaning of this is that
each family has its own tradition, and therefore, its own
historically determined name-group. The tradition may derive from the
kind of profession that it is known for. For instance, a family of
hunters may name their baby "Ogunbunmi" (the god of iron
gives me this). Or it may derive from the kind of religion it
practices. For instance, a family of Ifa worshippers will name their
baby Falola (Ifa has honor). The bases on which names are given are
much more varied as can be seen from the following examples taken
from Samuel Johnson's The History of the Yorubas"
Like
quoted above, most Christian Yoruba families have deviated and
completely given up calling their children names that are linked to
orisas or deities. Whereas in Bahia, the Afro-Brazilians practicing
the candomblé religion are taking up these names.
In
Yoruba land, it is mandatory that when a child is born, two parties
are held. One is called Iko omo and the other is so omo l'oruko. The
first welcomes the child into the world and the second is the naming
ceremony where names are chosen for the child. Family members,
friends and well wishes play active roles in these parties. Depending
on the financial capability of the family, popular musicians could be
hired to perform, goats and cows, are slaughtered, new clothes are
bought and the streets are of course blocked. Gifts of all kinds are
brought to the child to grace the occasion. "Since it is
generally believed that names are like spirits which would like to
live out their meanings, parents do a thorough search before giving
names to their babies.
Naming ceremonies are performed with
this in mind. The oldest family member is given the responsibility of
performing the ceremony. Materials used are symbols of the hopes,
expectations and prayers of the parents for the new baby. These
include honey, kola, bitter kola, atare, water, palm oil, sugar,
sugar cane, salt, and liquor. Each of these has a special meaning in
the world- view of the Yoruba. For instance, honey represents
sweetness, and the prayer of the parents is that their baby's life
will be as sweet as honey.
After the ritual, the child is
named and other extended family members are given the honor to give
their own names to the child. They do this with gifts of money and
clothing. In many cases, they would want to call the child by the
name they give him or her. Thus, a new baby may end up with more than
a dozen of names"
In Bahia, there is no such thing
as a naming ceremony; the name of the child is given immediately the
woman is pregnant and aware of the sex of the child. When the
pregnancy is say 2 months and above, the friends and family members
of the pregnant woman rally around her to have what is called chá
de bebê,(baby shower) where they buy all sorts of stuff that the
baby will need. This is a way of rendering financial assistance to
the family. There is also what is called chá de fraldas,
where strictly napkins and diapers are bought for the baby. In the
past, in Salvador, when the baby is born in the hospitals champagne
is popped up and drunk by family members while men smoke cigars. For
Christian families, basically Catholics, the child is baptized 2
months later. Unlike in the Yoruba tradition, visitors
are not allowed in until the child is a month old, but close friends
and family members could see the child before the prescribed one
month for visiting. During the visits, the parent of the new born
prepares special presents for the first 10 visitors to the house. One
thing that is presently rampant that can never happen in Yoruba land
unless a woman is medically detected to have complications during
child birth ,is the embrace of cesarean birth ( C-Section). 90% of
families with pregnant woman comfortably embrace this form of birth
in Bahia and even go extra mile to advice all pregnant women that it
is the best form of delivery, because it relieves the critical pain
of child birth.
Want to add more information?
If you would like to tell us about the ceremony that is practiced
in your region or culture or tradition, write about it. We will take
a summary of it and add it to this website. We would love to read
about more ceremonies and traditions. Send information to
smi@sweetmotherinternational.org