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Luvale Personal Names and Naming Practices: A Socio-Cultural Analysis

Received: 23 December 2016     Accepted: 3 January 2017     Published: 17 January 2017
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Abstract

It is widely accepted that, in all societies, personal naming practices and culture are intertwined (Ngubane & Thabethe 2013). However, this reality is more pronounced in African society in that personal names are not just labels or appellations put on individuals to identify them in the community but rather words that reflect the world-view of people. This is also applicable to the Luvale people of Zambia. Indeed, among the Luvale, when a name is bestowed upon a child, the name-giver chooses a name that truly not only identifies the child as a person, but reflects the socio-cultural context or environment where the child is born. Using onomastics as its main theoretical base, this paper discusses the use of personal names and naming practices among the Luvale people of Northwestern Zambia. Data for analysis were mainly collected from native speakers in Zambezi District of Northwestern Zambia namely Kasoka Samusuwa, Kapindula Sayini, and Kutemba Samafu, to whom I am so grateful. I also used the available written literature on Luvale people as well as electronic sources.

Published in International Journal of Education, Culture and Society (Volume 1, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijecs.20160103.12
Page(s) 75-81
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Luvale Culture, Luvale Nomenclature, Zambian Ethnic Groups, Naming System

References
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[2] Alford, R. D. (1988). Naming and identity: A cross-cultural study of personal naming practices. New Haven: HRAF Press.
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[5] Blum, S. D. (1997). Naming practices and the power of words in China. Language in Society, (26): 357-379.
[6] Ellert, H. (2005). The Magic of Makishi Masks and Traditions in Zambia. UK: CBC Publishing.
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[8] Kashoki, M. E. (1978). The Language situation in Zambia. In S. Ohannessian and M. E. Kashoki (Eds.), Language in Zambia, pp. 9-46. Lusaka: International African Institute.
[9] Letsoela, Puleng Makholu. (2015). A Semantic Analysis of Sesotho Place Names: Evidence from Bus Stop Names. International Journal of English Language and Translation Studies, 3 (1): 1-8.
[10] Liu, Yu-Zhen. (2001). Names – The Mirror of Society. Education Resources Information Center (ERIC). Paper presented at the annual Massachusetts State Colleges Graduate Research Symposium, pp. 3-8.
[11] Mandende, I. P. (2009). A Study of Tshivenda Personal Names. Unpublished PhD. Dissertation. University of South Africa.
[12] Mashiri Pedzisai, E. Chabata and E. Chitando. (2013). A Socio-cultural and linguistic analysis of postcolonial Christian naming practices in Zimbabwe. Journal for Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, 2 (2): 163-173.
[13] Mbiti, J. S. (1970). African Religions and Philosophy. New York: Anchor Books.
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[16] Mushangwe, H. and Madzokore, A. (2014). A Phonological Comparison of Transliteration of Shona and Chinese Names. Journal of Studies in Social Sciences. 8 (2): 81-100.
[17] Mutunda, S. (2011). Personal Names in Lunda Cultural Milieu. International Journal of Innovative Interdisciplinary Research (1): 14-22.
[18] Ngubane, S. and Thabethe, N. (2013). Shifts and continuities in Zulu personal naming practices. Literator 34 (1): 1-7.
[19] Penda, Chanda. (2013). Encyclopaedia of Zambian Names. Lusaka: Pensulo Publishers Ltd.
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[21] Suzman, S. M. (1994). Names as Pointers: Zulu Personal Naming Practices. Language in Society, 23 (2): 253-272.
[22] Tembo, M. S. (2006). Zambian Traditional Names. Lusaka: Julubbi Enterprises Ltd.
[23] Thipa, H. M. (1984). What Shall We Name Him? South African Journal of African Languages, (1): 84-99.
[24] Wele, P. (1993). Likumbi Lya Mize and Other Luvale Traditional Ceremonies. Lusaka: Zambia Educational Publishing House.
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    Sylvester Mutunda. (2017). Luvale Personal Names and Naming Practices: A Socio-Cultural Analysis. International Journal of Education, Culture and Society, 1(3), 75-81. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20160103.12

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    ACS Style

    Sylvester Mutunda. Luvale Personal Names and Naming Practices: A Socio-Cultural Analysis. Int. J. Educ. Cult. Soc. 2017, 1(3), 75-81. doi: 10.11648/j.ijecs.20160103.12

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    AMA Style

    Sylvester Mutunda. Luvale Personal Names and Naming Practices: A Socio-Cultural Analysis. Int J Educ Cult Soc. 2017;1(3):75-81. doi: 10.11648/j.ijecs.20160103.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijecs.20160103.12,
      author = {Sylvester Mutunda},
      title = {Luvale Personal Names and Naming Practices:  A Socio-Cultural Analysis},
      journal = {International Journal of Education, Culture and Society},
      volume = {1},
      number = {3},
      pages = {75-81},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijecs.20160103.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20160103.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijecs.20160103.12},
      abstract = {It is widely accepted that, in all societies, personal naming practices and culture are intertwined (Ngubane & Thabethe 2013). However, this reality is more pronounced in African society in that personal names are not just labels or appellations put on individuals to identify them in the community but rather words that reflect the world-view of people. This is also applicable to the Luvale people of Zambia. Indeed, among the Luvale, when a name is bestowed upon a child, the name-giver chooses a name that truly not only identifies the child as a person, but reflects the socio-cultural context or environment where the child is born. Using onomastics as its main theoretical base, this paper discusses the use of personal names and naming practices among the Luvale people of Northwestern Zambia. Data for analysis were mainly collected from native speakers in Zambezi District of Northwestern Zambia namely Kasoka Samusuwa, Kapindula Sayini, and Kutemba Samafu, to whom I am so grateful. I also used the available written literature on Luvale people as well as electronic sources.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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    AB  - It is widely accepted that, in all societies, personal naming practices and culture are intertwined (Ngubane & Thabethe 2013). However, this reality is more pronounced in African society in that personal names are not just labels or appellations put on individuals to identify them in the community but rather words that reflect the world-view of people. This is also applicable to the Luvale people of Zambia. Indeed, among the Luvale, when a name is bestowed upon a child, the name-giver chooses a name that truly not only identifies the child as a person, but reflects the socio-cultural context or environment where the child is born. Using onomastics as its main theoretical base, this paper discusses the use of personal names and naming practices among the Luvale people of Northwestern Zambia. Data for analysis were mainly collected from native speakers in Zambezi District of Northwestern Zambia namely Kasoka Samusuwa, Kapindula Sayini, and Kutemba Samafu, to whom I am so grateful. I also used the available written literature on Luvale people as well as electronic sources.
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Author Information
  • Department of Literature and Languages, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia

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