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

Sylvester Mutunda

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijecs.20160103.12

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

Sylvester Mutunda

Published in International Journal of Education, Culture and Society (Volume 1, Issue 3)

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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[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.
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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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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Luvale Personal Names and Naming Practices:  A Socio-Cultural Analysis
AU  - Sylvester Mutunda
Y1  - 2017/01/17
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20160103.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijecs.20160103.12
T2  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
JF  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
JO  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
SP  - 75
EP  - 81
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-3363
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20160103.12
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.
VL  - 1
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Sylvester Mutunda

Department of Literature and Languages, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia

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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

Copy | Download

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

Copy | Download

@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}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Luvale Personal Names and Naming Practices:  A Socio-Cultural Analysis
AU  - Sylvester Mutunda
Y1  - 2017/01/17
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20160103.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijecs.20160103.12
T2  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
JF  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
JO  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
SP  - 75
EP  - 81
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-3363
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20160103.12
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.
VL  - 1
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download