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The study addresses personal naming practices among the Ndali. The study looks at Ndali
names within the purview of linguistics anthropology. It considers names as not being
arbitrary labels but sociocultural tags that have sociocultural functions and meanings. The
study aims at investigating personal naming practices among the Ndali as they look very
striking to a person who does not know much about the culture. The three specific
objectives were: to identify the typology of Ndali personal names; to identify the meaning
of Ndali personal names; and to identify the significance of the Ndali ascribe to naming
people using these personal names. The study was guided by the Onomastic theory which
focuses on personal names and their origin. The study was qualitative in nature and the
descriptive approach was adopted. The data collection instruments used were: focus group
discussions and interviews. The respondents were 40 in total with five selected from each
of the four wards. The findings reveal several typologies or patterns of naming a child in
the Ndali community such as: naming related to time of birth, naming denoting place of
birth, naming related to seasons and events in the year, naming denoting traveling to the
other tribe for so long, naming related to problems experienced by the mother during
pregnancy, naming related to death, Naming related to conflicts or quarrels within families,
names related to manner of birth, names related to family names, names related to spiritual
aspects. The meaning of Ndali names were obtained as a result of the circumstantial and
events a child was born. Names in Ndali was significant because they send a message to
express expectations, hopes and beliefs in the society. The researcher recommends to the
other researchers to conduct the study in the same topic to the other languages as well as
other topics in relation to personal names. |
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