NAMING AMONG THE KAMBA COMMUNITY

Naming of children is an important aspect of the Akamba people. In most but not all cases, the first four children, two boys and two girls, are named after the grandparents on both sides of the family. The first boy is named after the paternal grandfather and the second after the maternal grandfather. Girls are similarly named. Because of the respect that the Kamba people observe between the varied relationships, there are people with whom they cannot speak in "first name" terms.
The father and the mother in-law on the husband's side, for instance, can never address their daughter in-law by her first name. Neither can she address them by their first names. Yet she has to name her children after them. To solve this problem, a system of naming is adopted that gave names which were descriptive of the quality or career of the grandparents. Therefore, when a woman is married into a family, she is given a family name (some sort of baptismal name), such as "Syomunyithya/ng'a Mutunga," that is, "she who is to be the mother of Munyithya/Mutunga."
Her first son is to be called by this name. This name Munyithya was descriptive of certain qualities of the paternal grandfather or of his career. Thus, when she is calling her son, she would indeed be calling her father in-law, but at the same time strictly observing the cultural law of never addressing her in-laws by their first names.
After these four children are named, whose names were more or less predetermined, other children could be given any other names, sometimes after other relatives and / or family friends on both sides of the family. Occasionally, children were given names that were descriptive of the circumstances under which they were born:

  • "Nduku/Katuku" (girl) and "Mutuku/Kituku" (boy) meaning born at night,
  • "Kiloko" (girl) and "Kioko" (boy) born in the morning,
  • "Mumbua/Syombua/ Mbula" (girl) and "Wambua/Mbua" (boy) for the time of rain,
  • "Wayua" (girl) for the time of famine,
  • "Makau" (boy) for the time of war,
  • "Musyoka/Kasyuko/Musyoki" (boy) and "Kasyoka/Kasyoki" (girl) as a re-incarnation of a dead family member,
  • "Mutua/Mutui" (boy) and "Mutuo/Mwikali" (girl) as indicative of the long duration the parents had waited for this child, or a lengthy period of gestation.
  • "Munyao" (boy) for the time of famine
  • "Mueni/Waeni" (girl) for the time of visitors
  • "Maundu" (boy) for the time of multiple activities/things
  • "Muthami/Muthama" (boy) for the time of migration.



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