It’s 11pm.
I’m in Kwara State Nigeria. Kwara is pretty much where Northern Nigeria starts. I’m far from Lagos.
I’m here for a naming ceremony.
An uncle of mine and his wife welcomed a baby boy.
Naming ceremony happens on the seventh day of the baby’s birth in the Yoruba Culture.
Traditionally it goes like this...
“Naming ceremonies are performed with meticulous care, generally by the oldest family member. Symbolic of the hopes, expectations and prayers of the parents for the new baby, honey, kola, bitter kola, atare (alligator pepper), water, palm oil, sugar, sugar cane, salt, and liquor each have a place and a special meaning in the world-view of the Yoruba. For instance, honey represents sweetness, and the prayer of the parents is that their baby's life will be as sweet as honey.”(Wikipedia)
In recent years, majority of those items have been replaced with just the Bible (For Christians).
But one thing that remains is that several people give the baby names - husband’s parents, wife’s parents, baby’s parents are required to present three names and etc. So the baby would usually end up with 12 or 15 names, sometimes more. The parents are left to decide which of the plethora of names sticks.
Our events starts 7am tomorrow. Should be done in 45 minutes or less.
I’m in Kwara State Nigeria. Kwara is pretty much where Northern Nigeria starts. I’m far from Lagos.
I’m here for a naming ceremony.
An uncle of mine and his wife welcomed a baby boy.
Naming ceremony happens on the seventh day of the baby’s birth in the Yoruba Culture.
Traditionally it goes like this...
“Naming ceremonies are performed with meticulous care, generally by the oldest family member. Symbolic of the hopes, expectations and prayers of the parents for the new baby, honey, kola, bitter kola, atare (alligator pepper), water, palm oil, sugar, sugar cane, salt, and liquor each have a place and a special meaning in the world-view of the Yoruba. For instance, honey represents sweetness, and the prayer of the parents is that their baby's life will be as sweet as honey.”(Wikipedia)
In recent years, majority of those items have been replaced with just the Bible (For Christians).
But one thing that remains is that several people give the baby names - husband’s parents, wife’s parents, baby’s parents are required to present three names and etc. So the baby would usually end up with 12 or 15 names, sometimes more. The parents are left to decide which of the plethora of names sticks.
Our events starts 7am tomorrow. Should be done in 45 minutes or less.
