Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents information about the Zimbabwean born singer KWAYE and showcases his 2017 song "Sweetest Life".
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to KWAYE and all those who are associated with this song and this video. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT KWAYE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwaye
"Kwayedza Kureya, mononymously known by his stage name KWAYE, is a Zimbabwean singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. He is commonly known for getting introduced to music by the managers of Mind of a Genius record label and musician ZHU. He is also known for working with songwriter and record producer Willson and for releasing his debut extended play, entitled Solar, in 2017.
Early Life and Career
Born in Zimbabwe and raised in London, Kwaye began performing at an early age and grew up playing the viola, sax, and guitar. He later moved to Brighton, United Kingdom to study African-American studies and the music industry. Whilst on a study abroad program in LA, Kwaye played a demo of one of his recently recorded songs for an Uber driver who so happened to be a former A&R executive.
The driver sent the demo to Mind of a Genius and within a few weeks, Kwaye became the label's first UK artist. His debut single, entitled "Cool Kids", was released in March 2017. The song, once officially released, was announced to also have side-b track, entitled "Sweetest Life", but was never released onto digital streaming platforms.[1]
In May 2017, Kwaye announced the release of his second single, entitled "Little Ones". This was succeeded by its music video, which was originally intended for a release on the Friday of the Manchester shootings, but was pushed back to later date to avoid controversy. It was therefore released on 30 May 2017.
In July 2017, Kwaye announced the release of his debut extended play, entitled Solar, and revealed his third single, entitled "Sweetest Life". The song, as well as the EP, were released on the same day of 25 July 2017."...
-snip-
Here's information about the name "Kwayedza" from http://www.thisismybabyname.com/listings/kwayedza-shona-zimbabwe-baby-girl-name/
"Kwayedza is a Zimbabwe name often given to Baby Girl and it is of Shona origin.The meaning of Kwayedza in Shona is Sunrise.
Name-Kwayedza
Origin-Shona
Country-Zimbabwe
Meaning-Sunrise
Gender-Girl
Kwayedza is a Baby Girl name of Shona origin meaning Sunrise.
-snip-
The name "Kwayedza" appears to also be given to males since KWAYE is male, and that is his birth name.
****
LYRICS
(Written By KWAYE & William Leong)
[Verse 1]
Elevate the tides, babe
There's no way, there's no way I could fall
When I'm in this state of mind, babe
There's no name but your name I would call
And if you feel like I do
Then there's no way, there's no way this is wrong
You're the sweetest thing about me
There's no shame in that at all
[Pre-Chorus]
Feel good feeling when I'm giving all this love to you
No mistaking it's the real thing, obviously, this is true
[Chorus]
In the sweetest life, the living is alright
And the loving is easy when you're with me
In the sweetest life, the living is alright
And the loving is easy when you're with me
Ah, sweetest, sweetest
Ah, sweetest, sweetest
Ah, sweetest, sweetest
Ah, sweetest, sweetest
In the sweetest life, the living is alright
And the loving is easy when you're with me
In the sweetest life, the living is alright
And the loving is easy when you're with me
[Verse 2]
I'll take you to my island
Let's get away, get away from it all
And if you're feeling undecided
Just take my hand and put it in yours
[Chorus]
In the sweetest life, the living is alright
And the loving is easy when you're with me
In the sweetest life, the living is alright
And the loving is easy when you're with me
Ah, sweetest, sweetest
Ah, sweetest, sweetest
Ah, sweetest, sweetest
Ah, sweetest, sweetest
[Bridge]
I'm over questioning how, baby
You know exactly who I am
(Let's elevate the tides and stay in this state of mind)
Let it all go
[Chorus]
In the sweetest life, the living is alright
And the loving is easy when you're with me
In the sweetest life, the living is alright
And the loving is easy when you're with me
In the sweetest life, the living is alright
And the loving is easy when you're with me
In the sweetest life, the living is alright
And the loving is easy when you're with me
In the sweetest life, the living is alright
(Alright)
And the loving is easy when you're with me
(And you give me the sweetest life)
In the sweetest life, the living is alright
(Alright)
And the loving is easy when you're with me
(Sweetest life, it's alright)
Ah, sweetest, sweetest
Ah, sweetest, sweetest
Ah, sweetest, sweetest
Ah, sweetest, sweetest"
Source: https://genius.com/Kwaye-sweetest-life-lyrics
****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: KWAYE - Sweetest Life [Official Music Video]
KWAYE, Published on Aug 29, 2017
-snip-
A number of commenters in this video's discussion thread wrote that they were introduced to this song by hearing it on the teen television drama series On My Block. Here's one of those comments:
Jerome Walker, 2018
"Netflix show On my block brought me here ! Episode 7 I think ...dooooope track !"
****
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Visitor comments are welcome.
Showing posts with label Shona names. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shona names. Show all posts
Friday, August 9, 2019
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Shona Names That Refer To God (Zimbabwe, South Africa)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on African names and naming traditions.
This post provides a sample listing of Shona language names from Zimbabwe, South Africa that refer to God. That compilation is preceded by brief notes about the Shona language and an overview of traditional Shona beliefs about God.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SHONA LANGUAGE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shona_language
Shona.... or chiShona, is a Bantu language, native to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. The term is also used to identify peoples who speak one of the Shona language dialects: Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika and Korekore, sometimes also Ndau. Some researchers include Kalanga: others recognise it as a language in its own right. Desmond Dale's basic English–Shona and Shona–English dictionaries comprise special vocabulary of the Karanga, Korekore, Manyika and Zezuru dialects, but no Ndau or Kalanga. Shona is a principal language of Zimbabwe, along with Ndebele and the official business language, English. Shona is spoken by a large percentage of the people in Zimbabwe. Other countries that host Shona language speakers include Botswana and Mozambique."
Shona is the Bantu language third most widely spoken as a native language after IsiZulu and Swahili, and the most frequent mother language. According to Ethnologue,[7] Shona, comprising the Karanga, Zezuru, and Korekore dialects, is spoken by about 10.8 million people. Manyika and Ndau dialects of Shona,[8][9][10] listed separately by Ethnologue,[11] and are spoken by 1,025,000[12] and 2,380,000[13] people, respectively. The total figure of Shona speakers is then about 14.2 million people. Zulu is the second most widely spoken Bantu language with 10.3 million speakers according to Ethnologue."....
****
From http://wikitravel.org/en/Shona_phrasebook
"Shona has five vowels: a, e, i, o, u. If you are familiar with Spanish, Italian or Japanese, the vowels are pronounced the same. If not, they are pronounced:
A - ah (Like the "a" in "father")
E - eh (Like the "a" in "say" but without moving your mouth)
I - ee (Like the "ee" in "see")
O - oh (Like the "o" in "so" but without moving your mouth)
U - oo (Like the "oo" in "doom")
Vowels in Shona always make the same sounds, even when combined with other vowels. There are no silent letters or diphthongs in Shona, so vowels will always make the same sound, and it is important that you pronounce each vowel, even when one vowel follows another. For example, in the word "kuudza" (to tell), you must say "koo-oo-dza", pronouncing both of the u's. Simply saying "koo-dza" (kudza) changes the meaning to "raise/respect"."...
-sni-
I added italics to highlight that portion of that sentence.
****
From http://zimbabwe-names.blogspot.com/2013/01/Zimbabwean-Shona-Names.html
Friday, January 18, 2013
Zimbabwean Shona Names
"These are some of the most common names in the native Shona language of Zimbabwe, [qhich is spoken by over 80% of the population. I wrote these names from my head because I know friends and people with such names.I can speak and write the common Karanga Shona version fairly well,although deep Shona can be a challenge. Shona has five dialects (Karanga, Zezuru, Manyika, Ndau and Kore Kore)....
Pronunciation
If you can pronounce Spanish, Japanese and Italian words, then you will find it easy to pronounce Shona words because the languages have similar vowel pronounciations. Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn in the world...
Shona has some interesting sounds which might be hard to pronounce for somebody who did not grow up in the social setting. These include whistled sounds, deep clapping sounds,click sounds and snapping sounds among others."...
.
-snip-
This post only features names from that website which refer to God.
****
TRADITIONAL SHONA BELIEFS ABOUT GOD
From http://www.postcolonialweb.org/zimbabwe/religion/arntsen1.html
Shona and Ndebele Religions by Hilde Arntsen, Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, University of Oslo
"In Shona and Ndebele religions, God, or the Supreme Being, is seen as the creator and sustainer of the universe in much the same manner as within Christianity. Shona Mwari (literally "He who is"), or Ndebele uMlimu are both believed to be active in the everyday lives of people, and even in politics...
In general, people communicate with Mwari through the vadzimu (Shona), or amadhlozi (Ndebele). These are the deceased ancestors. The vadzimu are believed to constitute an invisible community within the community of the living, always around their descendants, caring for them and participating in their joys and sorrows (Moyo, 1988: 199). Spirit mediums communicate with the vadzimu on behalf of the people.
Communication between the living and the dead is taken care of by the spirit mediums who are vital parts of Shona culture and religion. The role of the spirit mediums and their communication with and appeasement of the ancestors were considered by many, missionaries and colonialists in particular, to be ancestor worship. However, the spirit mediums were instead acting as intermediaries between Mwari/uMlimu and the living, carrying messages, prayers and thanks from the human being to God. Where ancestors are subject to appeasement by human beings, it is believed that God is appeased as well. It must be noted, however, that it is not the ancestors themselves, the vadzimu, who are worshipped, but rather God through them. In the words of one of my sources, the sprit mediums "intercede between you and the ancestral spirits. The ancestral spirits will intercede who will carry it forward to God, because we also believe in God."....
****
LIST OF SHONA NAMES THAT REFER TO GOD
Notes:
This list of names is compiled from the following websites: http://zimbabwe-names.blogspot.com/2013/01/Zimbabwean-Shona-Names.html, and http://www.behindthename.com/submit/names/usage/shona.
I rewrote the entries from that online source using the first source's format. In cases where these sources give somewhat different meanings for these names, I've presented the zimbabwe-names blog's meaning first and the behind the names blog's meaning second. However, in some cases, the behind the names blog includes entries with both meanings of a name.
Notice that multiple names in this list end with "aishe" or "ashe". According to Google translate, "aishe" means "Lord".
This compilation doesn't claim to be a complete listing of Shona names that refer to God. Additions to this list are welcome.
A, B
Anaishe (who is with God) female + male
(Derived from Anashe)
C, D
E, F
G, H
I, J
Ipaishe (give to God) female
K, L
Kudakwashe (the Lord's will) male
Kudakwashe (will of God) male + female
Kunashe (God is there) female
M, N
Makatendeka (you are faithful [to God]) male + female
Mukudzei (praise God) female
Munashe (God with us) female + male
Munesu (God is with us or God is within us) female + male
Mutsawashe (God’s mercy) female
Mutsawashe (Kindness of God or The Lord is Kind) female
Ngonidzashe (God’s mercy) male + female
Nokutenda (with gratitude [associated with faith in God]) male + female
Nyashe (merciful) female
Nyashadzashe (God's grace) male + female
O, P
Panashe (where there is God) female
Q, R
Ropafadzo (blessing from God) female
Rudorwashe (God’s love) female
Ruvarashe (God’s flower) female
Ruvarashe (the Lord's flower) female
S, T
Simbarashe (God’s power) male
Tadiwanashe (God loves us) female + male
Tadiwanashe (God loves us) male
Tadiwanashe (God is proud of us) male + female
Tadiraishe (Those who answered God's call/agreed or believed in God's word) male + female
(Anglicized, Rare)
Tapiwanashe (given by God) female
Tinaye (we are with God) female + male
Timukudzei (praise Him – God) female
Tinashe (God with us) male
Tinopiwanashe (we are given by God) female
Tinozivaishe (we know God) female + male
U, V
Vimbainashe (Abide with God) female
Vimbainashe (have faith in God) female
W, X, Y, Z
Zvinodaishe (what God wants) female + male
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on African names and naming traditions.
This post provides a sample listing of Shona language names from Zimbabwe, South Africa that refer to God. That compilation is preceded by brief notes about the Shona language and an overview of traditional Shona beliefs about God.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SHONA LANGUAGE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shona_language
Shona.... or chiShona, is a Bantu language, native to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. The term is also used to identify peoples who speak one of the Shona language dialects: Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika and Korekore, sometimes also Ndau. Some researchers include Kalanga: others recognise it as a language in its own right. Desmond Dale's basic English–Shona and Shona–English dictionaries comprise special vocabulary of the Karanga, Korekore, Manyika and Zezuru dialects, but no Ndau or Kalanga. Shona is a principal language of Zimbabwe, along with Ndebele and the official business language, English. Shona is spoken by a large percentage of the people in Zimbabwe. Other countries that host Shona language speakers include Botswana and Mozambique."
Shona is the Bantu language third most widely spoken as a native language after IsiZulu and Swahili, and the most frequent mother language. According to Ethnologue,[7] Shona, comprising the Karanga, Zezuru, and Korekore dialects, is spoken by about 10.8 million people. Manyika and Ndau dialects of Shona,[8][9][10] listed separately by Ethnologue,[11] and are spoken by 1,025,000[12] and 2,380,000[13] people, respectively. The total figure of Shona speakers is then about 14.2 million people. Zulu is the second most widely spoken Bantu language with 10.3 million speakers according to Ethnologue."....
****
From http://wikitravel.org/en/Shona_phrasebook
"Shona has five vowels: a, e, i, o, u. If you are familiar with Spanish, Italian or Japanese, the vowels are pronounced the same. If not, they are pronounced:
A - ah (Like the "a" in "father")
E - eh (Like the "a" in "say" but without moving your mouth)
I - ee (Like the "ee" in "see")
O - oh (Like the "o" in "so" but without moving your mouth)
U - oo (Like the "oo" in "doom")
Vowels in Shona always make the same sounds, even when combined with other vowels. There are no silent letters or diphthongs in Shona, so vowels will always make the same sound, and it is important that you pronounce each vowel, even when one vowel follows another. For example, in the word "kuudza" (to tell), you must say "koo-oo-dza", pronouncing both of the u's. Simply saying "koo-dza" (kudza) changes the meaning to "raise/respect"."...
-sni-
I added italics to highlight that portion of that sentence.
****
From http://zimbabwe-names.blogspot.com/2013/01/Zimbabwean-Shona-Names.html
Friday, January 18, 2013
Zimbabwean Shona Names
"These are some of the most common names in the native Shona language of Zimbabwe, [qhich is spoken by over 80% of the population. I wrote these names from my head because I know friends and people with such names.I can speak and write the common Karanga Shona version fairly well,although deep Shona can be a challenge. Shona has five dialects (Karanga, Zezuru, Manyika, Ndau and Kore Kore)....
Pronunciation
If you can pronounce Spanish, Japanese and Italian words, then you will find it easy to pronounce Shona words because the languages have similar vowel pronounciations. Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn in the world...
Shona has some interesting sounds which might be hard to pronounce for somebody who did not grow up in the social setting. These include whistled sounds, deep clapping sounds,click sounds and snapping sounds among others."...
.
-snip-
This post only features names from that website which refer to God.
****
TRADITIONAL SHONA BELIEFS ABOUT GOD
From http://www.postcolonialweb.org/zimbabwe/religion/arntsen1.html
Shona and Ndebele Religions by Hilde Arntsen, Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, University of Oslo
"In Shona and Ndebele religions, God, or the Supreme Being, is seen as the creator and sustainer of the universe in much the same manner as within Christianity. Shona Mwari (literally "He who is"), or Ndebele uMlimu are both believed to be active in the everyday lives of people, and even in politics...
In general, people communicate with Mwari through the vadzimu (Shona), or amadhlozi (Ndebele). These are the deceased ancestors. The vadzimu are believed to constitute an invisible community within the community of the living, always around their descendants, caring for them and participating in their joys and sorrows (Moyo, 1988: 199). Spirit mediums communicate with the vadzimu on behalf of the people.
Communication between the living and the dead is taken care of by the spirit mediums who are vital parts of Shona culture and religion. The role of the spirit mediums and their communication with and appeasement of the ancestors were considered by many, missionaries and colonialists in particular, to be ancestor worship. However, the spirit mediums were instead acting as intermediaries between Mwari/uMlimu and the living, carrying messages, prayers and thanks from the human being to God. Where ancestors are subject to appeasement by human beings, it is believed that God is appeased as well. It must be noted, however, that it is not the ancestors themselves, the vadzimu, who are worshipped, but rather God through them. In the words of one of my sources, the sprit mediums "intercede between you and the ancestral spirits. The ancestral spirits will intercede who will carry it forward to God, because we also believe in God."....
****
LIST OF SHONA NAMES THAT REFER TO GOD
Notes:
This list of names is compiled from the following websites: http://zimbabwe-names.blogspot.com/2013/01/Zimbabwean-Shona-Names.html, and http://www.behindthename.com/submit/names/usage/shona.
I rewrote the entries from that online source using the first source's format. In cases where these sources give somewhat different meanings for these names, I've presented the zimbabwe-names blog's meaning first and the behind the names blog's meaning second. However, in some cases, the behind the names blog includes entries with both meanings of a name.
Notice that multiple names in this list end with "aishe" or "ashe". According to Google translate, "aishe" means "Lord".
This compilation doesn't claim to be a complete listing of Shona names that refer to God. Additions to this list are welcome.
A, B
Anaishe (who is with God) female + male
(Derived from Anashe)
C, D
E, F
G, H
I, J
Ipaishe (give to God) female
K, L
Kudakwashe (the Lord's will) male
Kudakwashe (will of God) male + female
Kunashe (God is there) female
M, N
Makatendeka (you are faithful [to God]) male + female
Mukudzei (praise God) female
Munashe (God with us) female + male
Munesu (God is with us or God is within us) female + male
Mutsawashe (God’s mercy) female
Mutsawashe (Kindness of God or The Lord is Kind) female
Ngonidzashe (God’s mercy) male + female
Nokutenda (with gratitude [associated with faith in God]) male + female
Nyashe (merciful) female
Nyashadzashe (God's grace) male + female
O, P
Panashe (where there is God) female
Q, R
Ropafadzo (blessing from God) female
Rudorwashe (God’s love) female
Ruvarashe (God’s flower) female
Ruvarashe (the Lord's flower) female
S, T
Simbarashe (God’s power) male
Tadiwanashe (God loves us) female + male
Tadiwanashe (God loves us) male
Tadiwanashe (God is proud of us) male + female
Tadiraishe (Those who answered God's call/agreed or believed in God's word) male + female
(Anglicized, Rare)
Tapiwanashe (given by God) female
Tinaye (we are with God) female + male
Timukudzei (praise Him – God) female
Tinashe (God with us) male
Tinopiwanashe (we are given by God) female
Tinozivaishe (we know God) female + male
U, V
Vimbainashe (Abide with God) female
Vimbainashe (have faith in God) female
W, X, Y, Z
Zvinodaishe (what God wants) female + male
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Zimbabwean Newspaper's Article About Shona Language & English Language Naming Customs
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post presents a long excerpt of a 2014 online article from a Zimbabwean newspaper about Zimbabwean naming customs. Selected comments about that article that were posted on that website's page are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the unnamed author of this newspaper article. Thanks also to the commenters who are also quoted in this post.
****
ZIMBABWEAN "HERALD" NEWSPAPER EXCERPT: STRANGE AND SOMETIMES HILARIOUS NAMES OF ZIMBABWEANS
http://www.herald.co.zw/strange-sometimes-hilarious-names-of-zimbabweans/, November 4, 2014
…Our Shona names have become some of the few remaining signals that can still be detected on the cultural radar.
They provide a window into our thinking and understanding.
Yet, very few people understand or care to find out what Shona names mean.
After a careful study of Shona names-especially those that are considered by a lot of urbanised and westernized people as weird and outlandish, I have come to the conclusion that, just because we do not know or understand the context and circumstances a person was given or got a name, we should not judge them or think their parents were really mad to give such a name.
The Shona give names for various reasons, and rarely is name just a name.
One Shona naming belief is that if a child cries incessantly for a very long time, then the elders would say that there is an ancestor who wants their name to be given to that child.
It may not be a matter of a child crying incessantly, but the child could also get very sick and the sickness could confound doctors and herbalists.
The belief was that after consulting diviners, an ancestral spirit would be identified as the cause, and it was only after the consultations that the child was given the name of the ancestor with certain rituals being done, that they stopped crying and recovered...
Usually ancestral names are very long and are some kind of narrative because they are trying to capture a story. Ancestral names reflect the history and context of the person who was originally given that name.
When one listens to ancestral names in this day and age, the names sound very strange and to a lot of people the names don’t communicate, unless one is told the story behind the name.
Even today, I have come across first names that are very traditional such that they need unpacking...
They could be ancestral names or just names of some late family hero, but they are used to capture history and specific family events.
In some cases, they are meant to remind, chide, expose, and mark. You will notice that some are in the form of rhetorical questions. Some of the names tell stories of regret, revelation, despair, and even defiance. It is the same philosophy that Zimbabweans try to apply to their names in English.
Zimbabwean names in English are very weird because we often try to use the same philosophy behind African names. Unfortunately, we at times end up with very strange and sometimes hilarious names like Avoid, Shame, Someone, Punish, Nevermore, Jealous, Jealousy, Notice, Bigboy, Loud, Lust, Last, TryThanks, Admire, Greenfield, Welshman, Steady, Easy, Psychology, Parables, Action, Rise, Wonder, Polite, Forget, Immigration, Museum, Letters....
Out of context, a lot of names given by the Shona in English are very strange, but if you investigate the reason or story behind a name, you will come to a conclusion the same names in the Shona language are not weird. Here are some examples of strange names of Shona people in English and what they may possibly mean in Shona: Reason = Chikonzero. Shame = Nyarai, Nyadzisai. Rise = Simukai/Mukai. Wonder/Shamiso. Clever= Ngwaru/Ngwarai. Shine = Chiedza. Steady = Dzikama. Nomatter = Hazvinei. Godknows = Kuzivakwashe/Mwarianoziva. Of course, the other reason for weird names like Lust can be attributed to birth registration officers not knowing the correct spelling and the intended meaning...
African names are culture-specific. Take, for example, my grandmother’s name Mazvirega (you have stopped it). The story is that her parents had lost a number of babies in their infancy. When she was eventually born, they did not give her a name for some time because they did not want to give a name and then watch the child die like the others had done. So, after the child had survived for more than a month, the family gave the child a name, but in the process addressing and rebuking both death and the ancestors by saying “This one has survived, and you have stopped your habit of killing our babies”.
The Shona gave names, and some still do up to today, based on events. It could be events before the child was conceived or even born, or it could be events when the child was born. Others get names from personalities that the parents may idolise. Like these days, a lot of baby boys are being named after European soccer players-Ronaldo, Rooney, Lionel and others. You may come across people with names of the Chimurenga heroes such as Parerenyatwa, Tongogara, Takawira, Chibwechitedza, Gonakudzingwa and that immediately tells you that they were either born during the struggle or that their parents were somehow involved in the liberation war. My late uncle and freedom fighter named his children Tichavatongamabhuna, Gonakudzingwaruvimbo, Madenyika and Tapembedzwa who was born at independence. You can tell that personal experiences and historical events informed their choice of names.
Even when it comes to giving foreign names, the Shona still have a logical story behind the name. My nephew’s wife is called Miriam and when I asked her why she got that name when both of her parents were not Christians, she said when she was born, she cried for a very long time and someone jokingly said “This one is Miriam Makeba”.
That became her name. There is a generation of people who have no idea at all who Miriam Makeba is, but to those who grew up in the late 60s and 70s – Miriam Makeba was a great singer.
The city being a place that is completely different from the village where everybody knows everybody, tends to have another strange naming culture…. It is also becoming fashionable for soldiers to answer to the name Gunman.
This explains our veneration for guns and power. Whatever the case, it is important for Zimbabweans to know that a name is an identity marker and a source of pride if it is positive."
-snip-
Here are some selected comments from that article’s page
(All of these comments are from 2014):
Shomwe Nucleus
"Some of our vernacular names cannot be translated to English and still retain equivalent meaning. There are some names that become a challenge especially if one goes to live in English-speaking countries overseas. Names like Kissmore, Psychology, Takemore, etc. Wish it was cheap and easy to change first names when one comes of age.
Our Shona names are beautiful even for those who wish aspects of Christianity in their children's names"
**
Reply
gerro (to) Shomwe Nucleus
"I would urge anyone with a' funky' name to go and change their names by deed poll its not at all expensive, I did it and i feel so free. .what's in a name > You!
**
Reply
gerro
"That is the reason i have changed my name to my beautiful Ndebele name Thandiswa yet I'm Manyika, it still points one to my cultural identity and I love it.
**
maonero
"Any name has meaning to the family. There is a reason why someone calls their child "Reason" - ndicho chikonzero. If we can name the child Chikonzero, why can't we name him/her Reason? The names are not for us who do not know the family dynamics to unpack but for the families to unpack."
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Harare
"i am sorry to say this as it might anger a lot of people , but mostly its uneducated people who like to give their children english names, names they know nothing about whose meanings are alien to them. i believe you should name your children in your vernacular"
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svinurai
"long winded muddled up essay. Names like Joseph or Imaculatta (Roman Catholic) were given mainly on baptism at the Missions. Most names of adults in traditional Zimbabwe were "mazita emadunhurirwa" that they got, not at birth, but in adulthood."
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This post presents a long excerpt of a 2014 online article from a Zimbabwean newspaper about Zimbabwean naming customs. Selected comments about that article that were posted on that website's page are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the unnamed author of this newspaper article. Thanks also to the commenters who are also quoted in this post.
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ZIMBABWEAN "HERALD" NEWSPAPER EXCERPT: STRANGE AND SOMETIMES HILARIOUS NAMES OF ZIMBABWEANS
http://www.herald.co.zw/strange-sometimes-hilarious-names-of-zimbabweans/, November 4, 2014
…Our Shona names have become some of the few remaining signals that can still be detected on the cultural radar.
They provide a window into our thinking and understanding.
Yet, very few people understand or care to find out what Shona names mean.
After a careful study of Shona names-especially those that are considered by a lot of urbanised and westernized people as weird and outlandish, I have come to the conclusion that, just because we do not know or understand the context and circumstances a person was given or got a name, we should not judge them or think their parents were really mad to give such a name.
The Shona give names for various reasons, and rarely is name just a name.
One Shona naming belief is that if a child cries incessantly for a very long time, then the elders would say that there is an ancestor who wants their name to be given to that child.
It may not be a matter of a child crying incessantly, but the child could also get very sick and the sickness could confound doctors and herbalists.
The belief was that after consulting diviners, an ancestral spirit would be identified as the cause, and it was only after the consultations that the child was given the name of the ancestor with certain rituals being done, that they stopped crying and recovered...
Usually ancestral names are very long and are some kind of narrative because they are trying to capture a story. Ancestral names reflect the history and context of the person who was originally given that name.
When one listens to ancestral names in this day and age, the names sound very strange and to a lot of people the names don’t communicate, unless one is told the story behind the name.
Even today, I have come across first names that are very traditional such that they need unpacking...
They could be ancestral names or just names of some late family hero, but they are used to capture history and specific family events.
In some cases, they are meant to remind, chide, expose, and mark. You will notice that some are in the form of rhetorical questions. Some of the names tell stories of regret, revelation, despair, and even defiance. It is the same philosophy that Zimbabweans try to apply to their names in English.
Zimbabwean names in English are very weird because we often try to use the same philosophy behind African names. Unfortunately, we at times end up with very strange and sometimes hilarious names like Avoid, Shame, Someone, Punish, Nevermore, Jealous, Jealousy, Notice, Bigboy, Loud, Lust, Last, TryThanks, Admire, Greenfield, Welshman, Steady, Easy, Psychology, Parables, Action, Rise, Wonder, Polite, Forget, Immigration, Museum, Letters....
Out of context, a lot of names given by the Shona in English are very strange, but if you investigate the reason or story behind a name, you will come to a conclusion the same names in the Shona language are not weird. Here are some examples of strange names of Shona people in English and what they may possibly mean in Shona: Reason = Chikonzero. Shame = Nyarai, Nyadzisai. Rise = Simukai/Mukai. Wonder/Shamiso. Clever= Ngwaru/Ngwarai. Shine = Chiedza. Steady = Dzikama. Nomatter = Hazvinei. Godknows = Kuzivakwashe/Mwarianoziva. Of course, the other reason for weird names like Lust can be attributed to birth registration officers not knowing the correct spelling and the intended meaning...
African names are culture-specific. Take, for example, my grandmother’s name Mazvirega (you have stopped it). The story is that her parents had lost a number of babies in their infancy. When she was eventually born, they did not give her a name for some time because they did not want to give a name and then watch the child die like the others had done. So, after the child had survived for more than a month, the family gave the child a name, but in the process addressing and rebuking both death and the ancestors by saying “This one has survived, and you have stopped your habit of killing our babies”.
The Shona gave names, and some still do up to today, based on events. It could be events before the child was conceived or even born, or it could be events when the child was born. Others get names from personalities that the parents may idolise. Like these days, a lot of baby boys are being named after European soccer players-Ronaldo, Rooney, Lionel and others. You may come across people with names of the Chimurenga heroes such as Parerenyatwa, Tongogara, Takawira, Chibwechitedza, Gonakudzingwa and that immediately tells you that they were either born during the struggle or that their parents were somehow involved in the liberation war. My late uncle and freedom fighter named his children Tichavatongamabhuna, Gonakudzingwaruvimbo, Madenyika and Tapembedzwa who was born at independence. You can tell that personal experiences and historical events informed their choice of names.
Even when it comes to giving foreign names, the Shona still have a logical story behind the name. My nephew’s wife is called Miriam and when I asked her why she got that name when both of her parents were not Christians, she said when she was born, she cried for a very long time and someone jokingly said “This one is Miriam Makeba”.
That became her name. There is a generation of people who have no idea at all who Miriam Makeba is, but to those who grew up in the late 60s and 70s – Miriam Makeba was a great singer.
The city being a place that is completely different from the village where everybody knows everybody, tends to have another strange naming culture…. It is also becoming fashionable for soldiers to answer to the name Gunman.
This explains our veneration for guns and power. Whatever the case, it is important for Zimbabweans to know that a name is an identity marker and a source of pride if it is positive."
-snip-
Here are some selected comments from that article’s page
(All of these comments are from 2014):
Shomwe Nucleus
"Some of our vernacular names cannot be translated to English and still retain equivalent meaning. There are some names that become a challenge especially if one goes to live in English-speaking countries overseas. Names like Kissmore, Psychology, Takemore, etc. Wish it was cheap and easy to change first names when one comes of age.
Our Shona names are beautiful even for those who wish aspects of Christianity in their children's names"
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Reply
gerro (to) Shomwe Nucleus
"I would urge anyone with a' funky' name to go and change their names by deed poll its not at all expensive, I did it and i feel so free. .what's in a name > You!
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Reply
gerro
"That is the reason i have changed my name to my beautiful Ndebele name Thandiswa yet I'm Manyika, it still points one to my cultural identity and I love it.
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maonero
"Any name has meaning to the family. There is a reason why someone calls their child "Reason" - ndicho chikonzero. If we can name the child Chikonzero, why can't we name him/her Reason? The names are not for us who do not know the family dynamics to unpack but for the families to unpack."
**
Harare
"i am sorry to say this as it might anger a lot of people , but mostly its uneducated people who like to give their children english names, names they know nothing about whose meanings are alien to them. i believe you should name your children in your vernacular"
**
svinurai
"long winded muddled up essay. Names like Joseph or Imaculatta (Roman Catholic) were given mainly on baptism at the Missions. Most names of adults in traditional Zimbabwe were "mazita emadunhurirwa" that they got, not at birth, but in adulthood."
****
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