Hi Everyone,
I share Saik's interest in names, and have made that clear before. The
question, 'What's in a name?' is as controversial now as it was many
centuries ago. I don't know what sort of research Saiks wants to do, but
there are loads of material around that he can make use of. I was surprise
to discover that names I originally thought were 'British' actually
originated from other places. So it is quite an interesting subject.
Having said that, I am not sure what a 'typical' Gambian name is. As far as
I know, John and Mary are typical Gambian names among a particular group. So
also are Fatou and Momodou. Any research that fails to take these names into
account will be compromising its validity. The origins of these names could
be indicated, but they cannot be left out completely. The various ethnic
groups in The Gambia arrived in the country at different times, each with
their own culture and religion. The names they brought to The Gambia at the
time of their arrival were not Gambian names. So maybe Saiks's study will
take this into account, and find out where some of the names we think are
'typical' Gambian names actually originated. It's a difficult task, and I
wish him well. I am also offering to participate in this study in whatever
way I can.
Finally, I am not sure what can be done about the names parents give to
their children. I am not sure whether naming someone 'Gambian' will make
them any more Gambian, in terms of their attitude, outlook etc than naming
someone Swedish. ( I know some English people whose surname is French. Does
it mean they think French?) The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to give
our own children the names we want to give them and leave other parents to
do the same. Cheers.
Momodou
PS I'm not sure whether Jabou added the following to her list : Nyanya,
Kojo, Hoyan, Njuga, Anna, Yassin, Oseh, Ebu, Bola, Abioseh, Tunde etc I am
not suggesting that these are 'typical' Gambian names, but are names that
are not common on the List.
>From: saiks samateh <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: COLLECTING TYPICAL GAMBIN NAMES
>Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 21:24:30 PDT
>
> DEAR G-LERS
>
>When the Europeans and the Arabs came to Africa we did not only lose much
>of
>our traditional religions,they made us to believe that ours is a pagan
>religion,they enslave us and polluted our minds with Christianity and
>Islam,our own names are almost dying out,Momodou,Fatou,John,Mary are more
>common names,this is wrong and something must be done.I am interested in
>collecting typical Gambian names from any tribe in the Gambia and I am
>appealing to you for help.Please send me the ones you know and please let
>me
>know from which of the tribes and I will do the rest of the research.I have
>also been very interested in Gambian songs and story telling,I still do
>some
>collections,if you have any and want to share it with me it ,that will be
>great.
>
>For Freedom
>
>Saiks
>
>
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