The Forgotten Yoruba Names: Oriki

Although I'm Urhobo by my father's imprint, I've lived most of my life as a  Yoruba girl. Having only lived outside the South-West of Nigeria for about 4 years cumulatively. My first name is Yoruba and naturally I married a Yoruba angel...

So when I say I'm fascinated by Yoruba names, you know where I'm coming from. Right from when I was a teenager, I'd been picking out baby names for my unborn children.

My love for Yoruba names originated from my Oriki; Adunni. My maternal Grandmother, Maami, christened me Adunni which literally means "The one who is sweet to have" in other words, "Cherished" or "a delight". Maami rarely ever called me by any other name. The sound of Adunni from her mouth made me feel special and cherished. Just as she did have a pet name for me, she had one for all my siblings and cousins alike. Everyone in my maternal family had an oriki and till date we still answer to them with pride.

We had a whole lot of Orikis flying around while we were kids. There's Apeke (F. called to be pampered), Arike (F. To see her is to pamper/care for her), Alani (M. The first to have ; usually named to first sons), Akanji (M. Specially chosen/born), Amoke (F. To know her is to pamper/spoil her), Akanni (M. This one is more than enough), Abeni (F. We begged to have her), Abeke (F. We asked for her so we can pamper her) and so many others.

Yoruba Orikis are beautiful names with powerful meanings though they are rarely used as first names. There's this erroneous perception that orikis are 'local' and somewhat antiquated hence relegated to be used strictly as a pet name in the home. However, I am of the opinion that these names are too aesthetic and rich to not be properly utilised as first names

I named my daughter Amoke after my mother. I had fallen in love with the name and the woman who bore it so gracefully. Amoke means to know her is to cherish and pamper her. I use the name as a mark of endearment so much so that whenever I call the not so little one by the name, she knows I'm either going to give her a talk or simply hug her.

Same way my mum would call me on the phone and greet with "booni Adunni" (how are you Adunni). Or how she knows that she can ask to do anything for her just by teasingly referring to me as 'Adunni Mi'. It works, most times.

Every Yoruba family should have an Oriki culture. Orikis are an everyday way of showing affection and letting your kids know that they are special to you, loved and appreciated.

If you are not sure which to use, I will in another post attempt to list all known orikis and translate them as best as I can.

Yours,

Adunni

The Silence Breakers

When President Trump tweeted that he'd not accept being Time (magazine) Person of the year 2017, I was riled as I always am with the POTUS and his unbridled fingers and red face. I thought to myself, 'why would Time make such an awful person Person of The year'. Then I remembered Hitler was on there sometimes in the past so Person of the year doesn't always have to be people that have done great things. Idiots and immature old men could be too.

For this year's #POTY I was rooting for The Dreamers-- thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. by their parents when they were children who faced uncertain futures if the Trump Administration follows through on plans to end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Maybe because I have family and friends in the US who would be affected or simply because I empathised with the families: their fear of separation, displacement and disruption of their lives as they knew it. Had they been named #Personoftheyear , it would have gone a great deal in putting an end to the threat that they faced.

But then, I was not disappointed when the magazine named the #metoo movement dubbed THE SILENCE BREAKERS as 2017 #personoftheyear. When I read Allysa Milano's tweet calling for women who had been sexually abused at work to reply with the hashtag #metoo , I just assumed only a few would respond given the stigma associated with disclosing abuse. Was I wrong??? Oh yeah!

Actors, Musicians and women from various fields came forward. So many named their abusers... One man Harvey Weinstein had abused so many woman in a span of about 30 years. The #Silence Breakers brought about a revolution and over 100 men were mentioned by their victims.

This is a big deal! Now, women all over the world can be certain that they'd be treated with dignity on the work place (yeah I know its quite ambitious but then a journey of a thousand miles starts with a step).

Here's to breaking patriarchal glasses all over the world and breaking the silence too!