THE IMPACT OF RELIGIONS ON YORUBA PERSONAL NAMES

Ọládiípò Ajíbóyè[1]

1.         Traditional Religion and Yorùbá Names

Yoruba is one of the ethnic groups in Nigeria where personal names are very significant in that they have meanings which point to important phenomena. According to Jacobs (1974: 58), the 'faith of the people is reflected in the names they give their children. It may be their faith in God or in the spiritual world generally, or their hopes for the future as they journey this terrestrial life'. In fact, no name is given without a cause or a reason. In addition, every name carries, at least, a meaning. In some cases, a name tells a clear story. Such story may tell the circumstances surrounding the birth of the child or the condition of the parents at the time the child is born to the family. It may even signify a memorable event in the town in which the child is born (Adéoyè 1982: 9ff).

More importantly, however, the religion of the parents plays a vital role in giving the child its name. Every family has a god or goddess of its own which they worship. Such god is seen as the succour who acts as intermediary between them and Olódùmarè. When evils befall a family, the god or goddess of the family is appeased through sacrifices. It is widely acknowledged that children are gifts from these gods. Thus, a barren woman can go before any of the gods or goddesses in the husband's house to ask for children, and when such request is granted, it is acknowledged in the names given to such children.

One of the beliefs of the Yoruba, as said above, is that the child is a gift of the tutelary divinity. In this case, the child is named after the divinity. For instance, Ifábùnmi means Ifa has given me (the child)'. Similarly, Ògúnbíyìí has the meaning 'the god of iron has helped (me) in giving birth to this (child). When the father feels elated in his devotion to a god, he attributes all his success and achievement to the god. Thus, names such as Ọláeégún, 'the honour of egúngún cult' or Ogunlọlá, 'all honours are for Ògún' signifies that the birth of the child in either case is a kind of honour accorded the family by the god through the children born to the family. It shows the father's appreciation of an attained success which, to him, was due to the favour he received from the god.

The worship of the various gods is a pride to the worshipers. This again is shown in names such as Ṣàngóyẹmí 'Ṣàngó befits me!' As it is the case in other religions, the traditional worshippers have the feelings that the god or the Supreme Being never forgets one. However, when one suffers certain delays or setbacks, one is prone to feel that he has been forgotten. One such case is when a man's wife suffers undue delay after marriage before she is pregnant. If, eventually, the woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a child, such a child can be named 'Ifárántí' (Ifá remembers me).

Moreover, when a man embarks on a business and he does not prosper, he is advised to leave such an enterprise for another. This is because one expects a reward for serving a god hence, the saying 'Òrìṣà bó ò le gbè mí, fi mí sílẹ̀ bó o ṣe bá mi' (Òrìṣà if you cannot make me prosper, just leave me as I was). However, when the worshiper prospers in his undertakings, he attributes this to the god he worships. This is reflected in many Yoruba names. Names such as 'Ọyágbèmí' (Ọya backs me up or favours me) and 'Ṣàngógbèmí (Ṣàngó backs me up or favours me ) are freely given to children as a testimony of their belief that the success and the birth of the child are from the god.

One of the yardsticks for measuring a man's wealth in the olden days is the number of children he has. Thus, every man wants his house to be filled with many children. And when a man is enriched with many children, he attributes it to the blessing from the god he worships. Hence, names such as 'Ogunkunle' (Ogun fills the house) are given to children. The favour received from these gods, according to the adherents’ belief, is infinite and continual. Thus, 'Awotiinde' (Awo has come again) can be given to a child to show that the hands of gods are on the family from time to time.

If a child is born to a family during or after a great loss, a suffering from sickness, a natural disaster or any other form of loss or suffering, such a child could be named 'Ọ̀ṣúndíyà (Osun replaced sufferings) or ‘Ògúnrẹ̀mílẹ́kún’ (Ògún consoles my weeping i.e asks the adherent not to weep anymore). Names such as 'Ṣàngóyọmí' (Sàngó helps me to escape) are in this category. They are names which denote that it is the god that saves the parents from sufferings or from danger.

Furthermore, the successful nursing and caring of the child is normally attributed to the gods. Thus, whatever care a parent gives to the child is associated to the god rather than the parents. This is why names such as Ifáfúnmikẹ́' or 'Sàngófúnmikẹ́' (Ifá or Ṣàngó gives it to me that I can adore it) are anticipatorily given to children.

To be given a chieftaincy title in Yoruba-land is a thing of joy. Only a person with sterling quality is bestowed with such a title. Those people who cannot take a chieftaincy title have their consolation in the gods they worship. To them, serving a god amounts to taking a chieftaincy title. This is why names such as 'Ọyatóyè' or 'Ògúntóyè' (Ọya or Ògún is a match for chieftaincy title) are given to children to serve as consolation for their parents. It means that even though the father does not take a chieftaincy title, the god he worships has done him an equivalent honour through the birth of the child.

One should not forget to make mention of names such as 'Omíkúnlé' (water fills the house) or Omisore' (water had done good things) which are names given to the children of the adherents of the goddess Olokun (the goddess of the ocean).

From the foregoing, it is crystal clear that all the names considered so far are given to children after the gods or goddesses of the parents. No single name has its attributes to the Supreme Being even though the Yoruba believe strongly in His existence. It has been said that it is difficult to reach an Oba. The same applies to an attempt to see God or seek for His assistance. The Yoruba feel that whatever they want from God can be obtained through the various gods. Since they make request to the gods about the need for children and receive a positive answer, they do not hesitate to name such children after the gods. This was the way things were in the Yoruba-land before the advent of the foreign religions.

The Advent of Foreign Religions and Yorùbá Names

As from the 19th century, the impact of Christianity and Islam had been felt throughout the length and breadth of the Yoruba-land. While Islam entered through the North, Christianity came through the South (Babalọlá 1975: 151ff and 1976: 87). For the purpose of our discussion and without any prejudice to obvious differences between Christianity and Islam, the two religions will be taken as one. The Yoruba traditional religion has the feature of polytheism (Idowu 1962: 35) which the two religions under review lack. One of the creeds of Islam has it that There is no other god except Allah' (Surat Baquora chapter 2 vs 139) 'And Mohammed is His messenger' (Anabiya chapter 21 vs 23). In the same way, the Holy Bible prescribes to all Christianity that 'You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in water under the earth' (Exodus 20: 3-4). It is obvious that the foreign religions made no provision for intermediaries - a role that is widely believed to be the exclusive of the divinities.

Today, in Yoruba-land, most, if not all the materials that were used in the past at naming ceremonies (only babies are named in ceremonies) are absent. The reason is not unconnected with the enforcement of the foreign religions with the Yoruba traditional religion. We observed that there has been drastic change in the way the Yoruba (most of whom had imbibed either of the two foreign religions) give names that have religious connotation to their children. Because of the claim that all power belongs to Allah, the Islamic religion accords Allah due respect. He is all in all. Christians have the same belief. Therefore, the adherents of the two religions reflect this in the type of names they give to their children. Consequently, today, the Yoruba names under the influence of the foreign religions have direct reference to the Supreme Being rather than the various gods or goddesses as it used to be.

When Christianity first came, converts were baptised and given baptismal names such as Moses, Joshua, Paul, Deborah and Mary. Not only this, they were to abandon their first names and even the surnames. In their place, they were to take foreign names such as John Craig, Moses James, Samuel Wood and Mary Godwin. This is even more serious in Islam. The new convert must first undergo the rite called 'wòǹka'. There and then, they are given Islamic names such Mohammed, Sadiq, Quadri and Afusat. And to a true adherent of Islam whom a child is born, greater preference is given to Islamic name called 'suna' which comes on the eight day.

Rather than thinking and believing that a child is the gift of the god or goddesses, the present day Yoruba, under the influence of the foreign religions, see the birth of a baby as the gift of the supreme Deity. Hence, names such as Ifábùnmi' (Ifá gives it to me) or 'Òrìsàbùnmí' (the deity gives it to me) is no more being given to children by Yoruba Christians and Muslims. The replacement is 'Olúbùnmi' (the Lord has given it to me).

Similarly, the earlier claim that any child born to the family can be in honour of Ifá or Egúngún is now viewed as the honour of the Supreme God. Thus, 'Ọlá-Olúwa' (the honour of the Lord) has replaced names such as 'Olaifa' (the honour of Ifa). Today, it is God the almighty that remembers one in his endeavours rather than the lesser gods. That is why 'Olúrántí' (the Lord remembers (me)) has come to replace such names as 'Awórántí' (Awo remembers (me)).

One thing is of note here. This is in respect of 'Olú' which is common to such names as 'Olúrántí' and 'Olúbùnmi' mentioned above. It is an abbreviation of the word 'Olúwa' which means the Lord. In some cases, it can appear in its full form. It can also be replaced with 'Ọlọ́run' (God).

There are still some other names which are innovations that came about as a result of the new faith in the new religions. Such names carry the direct attributes of God instead of those of the divinities. Such attributes are reflected in such names as 'Olútóbi' (the Lord is great), ÌyanuOlúwa' (the Lord is wonderful), 'ÀánúOlúwa' (the Lord's mercy) and 'Ọlọ́runfẹ́mi (God loves me). The birth of a child to a Yoruba family too has been seen as either the gift or blessing of God. Names such as ‘Ìbùkún-Olúwa’ (the Lord's blessing) and 'Ọrẹ-Olúwa' (the Lord's gift) are given to reflect this. These names are new innovation. They did not come with the early missionaries. Some Christians, especially among the spiritual Churches, no longer give Christian names from the Bible to their children. What they do is to use these names as baptismal names.

Conclusion

This paper has shown that the Yoruba, before the advent of foreign religions, gave names that have relevance to the various gods and goddesses. The names reflect their belief that these gods nave the ability to answer prayers. When one has problems, the gods and goddesses can open the gate to success and they can redeem the image of the adherents.

This paper also showed that the foreign religions (Christianity and Islam) have changed the direction of this nomenclature. However, it is clear that some of the names that have bearing on the various gods do not have the foreign religions' equivalence. For example, neither 'Ọyáwọyè' (Ọya enters chieftaincy title) nor 'Sàngówòye' (Ṣàngó enters chieftaincy title) can be replaced by 'Ọlọ́runwọyè' (God enters chieftaincy title) nor *Olúwọyè' (the Lord enters chieftaincy title). But it should be noted that Christian names brought some simplicity with them which are not found in the traditional names. For example, instead of using the various names of the divinities in naming a child, what one needs is just to use 'Olú', a short form of 'Olúwa' (the Lord), or 'Ọlọ́run' (God).

Recent developments, especially the establishment of the Independent African Churches, however, show that coexistent rather than conflicts of religion may breed a hybrid names such as ‘Fáfiólu’ (Ifa has given it to the Lord) and 'Ṣàngódolú[2]' (Ṣàngó has become the Lord).

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[1] This paper was published as Ajiboye, Oladiipo (1998), ‘The Impact of Religions on Yoruba Personal Names’, Journal of Nigerian Languages and Literatures (edited by L.O. Adewole) 6: 26-29.

[2] Editor’s remark: The ‘Olú’, as used here, is not referring to the Christian religion’s ‘Olúwa’ or ‘Ọlọ́run’. It is referring to a Yorùbá deity. Another example is ‘Málàólú’ (Mú àlà (aṣọ funfun) fún Olú) (Give a white cloth to the deity, Olú) (see the film, Ó Le Kú).