WHITE NAMES AND WHAT NOTS

 

Why are Africans obsessed with white names and Arabic names and French names and Portuguese names? Why are Africans so obsessed with their former colonizers' names, culture, languages, and their countries? Funny you should ask! 

If you want a very fact-based and academically sound answer to that we would have to go back deep into history to study the progression of our African culture and how it was affected by the interruptions caused by colonization and the early trading relations with the far East and Western traders. This, however, is no academic research paper or a fact-based report. This is simply an opinionated post based on the recent encounter that led me to question my name, my culture, and my historical background.

...

See, my parents named me Clevance which is a very English sounding name that has no meaning what so ever. It is really hard to pinpoint the reason why they gave me such a name, but all I know is that they wanted a white-sounding name that would rhyme to my brother's name Venance. My other siblings' names are Gertruda, Winnifrida, and Estrida; which are all very English sounding names and they also do rhyme in that regard. Clearly, my middle-class parents were really obsessed with English rhyming names. Which according to my little observation was a common theme of the past. At the time, giving African names to your children was regarded as a very barbaric move and even illiterate. 

The generation before that, my grandparents' generation seemed to have had the same obsession going on. Although they lacked the education prowess our parents' generation had, they still stuck to the notion that giving their children the colonizers' names was a forward-thinking type of mindset. My grand-parents named my father Emmanuel, which is a very common English Christian name. The name originates from the Hebrew name Immanuel (עִמָּנוּאֵל‎) which means "God with us". Coincidentally, Hebrews were also colonizers of medieval times. So it seems that the adaptation of the colonizer's naming system is a common theme throughout history. 

...

I once met a black South African at a networking event back in 2018 who was of Xhosan descent and had a Xhosa name through and through. That man's names had clicks and all - just how cool is that? After a little exchange, he inquired about my name, which I told him - "Clevance Emmanuel Mbilinyi". His reaction was not the normal "Oh! That's such a beautiful name" or the "you must be smart since your name sounds like clever". To my surprise, he got really shocked and was honestly really bothered by what he just heard. "Why do you introduce yourself by a White man's name? Aren't you proud of your culture?" he inquired. To which I answered, "I am afraid that's all there is to my name". He could not wrap his head around an African having a white name, which apparently is not a common thing in South Africa as it is here in Tanzania. So he asked if I had an African (Bantu) name, which I did not. "I will address you as Mr. Mbilinyi then if you don't mind!". "Absolutely! That's okay too". I immediately forgot about the encounter and went on with the event. 

Few months down the line, I was once again caught in a casual debate with a friend about racism and ended up drifting towards colonialism and neo-colonialism. I immediately remembered the networking event incident with that South African fellow, and really started to ponder the question of "why are we so obsessed with our colonizers' cultures and ways of life?". That whole experience really haunted me for so long that it did not feel right anymore addressing myself by my then white man's name. After some research, I ended up deciding to start addressing myself with my great grandfather's name the great KANECHI which means "the invincible warrior".  

...

CALL ME "KANECHI"! I GO BY THAT NOW 😊✌🏾