Vol. 62 No. 4 (2014)
Research Article

Xhosa Onomastics as Part of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS)

Published 2014-12-01

Keywords

  • Native American place names,
  • Miami-Illinois language place names,
  • Shawnee language place names,
  • Great Miami River,
  • Scioto River,
  • Piqua,
  • Ohio,
  • Illinois and Miami Indians,
  • Shawnee Indians,
  • Shawnee clans,
  • Algonquian languages
  • ...More
    Less

Abstract

Abstract

The idea of indigenous knowledge has gained conceptual and discursive currency only recently in Africa and has become a popular subject. It could presumably be traced back to the origin of humankind. Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) consist of many components, all of them intrinsically linked to particular traditional cultural phenomena. Most of these systems have been in place over centuries, and continue to exercise their influence among the people where these systems are found.

This contribution argues that name-giving conventions among the Xhosa as practised by those involved in the process and the responses of the recipients to those names could be considered as part of IKS (or at times IKS-derived). The data is mainly from questionnaires that were disseminated among students at the University of the Western Cape.

The original name-giving process probably derives from a strongly embedded tradition that has been in existence for centuries and that could not only be linked to IKS, but should also be considered as an integral part of IKS. As life progresses, however, other name-giving traditions come into play that reveal a high percentage of uniqueness and creativity only vaguely linked to an IKS system. It seems to also focus on a more inter- or multicultural approach, that would also be more acceptable globally.

References

  1. Bauman, Z.1996. “Morality in the Age of Contingency.” Detraditionalization: Critical Reflections on Authority and Identity. Ed. P. Heelas, S. Lash, and P. Morris. Oxford: Blackwell, 49–58.
  2. Dalberg, Vibeke.1993. “Apparently Identical Terms for ‘personal by-names’.” Unpublished paper read at ICOS XVIII in Trier, Germany, April 14 1993.
  3. De Klerk, Vivian, and 1997 Barbara Bosch. “Nicknaming among Xhosa-speaking Children and Adolescents.”SAJAL 17(3): 95–99.
  4. Die Burger — Afrikaans daily in the Western Cape, May 62005.
  5. Fairbanks, Brendan.2014. “Ojibwe Name Giving.” Unpublished paper read at the ANS conference in Minneapolis, January 3.
  6. Felecan, Daiana.2009. “Nicknames. Reflections of Polyphony within the Linguistic Area from the Northwestern Part of Romania.” Unpublished paper read at the 15th International Names Society of Southern Africa held at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, July.
  7. Horsthemke, Kai.2004. “‘Indigenous Knowledge’ — Conceptions and Misconceptions.”Journal of Education 31: 31–48.
  8. HSRC Review.2010. “Local is lekker: Indigenous Knowledge should be Encouraged.” HSRC Review 8(4).
  9. Landman, K.J.H.1986. “Byname.” Names/Name. Ed. P.E. Raper. Pretoria: HSRC,167–177.
  10. Neethling, S.J.1990. “Iziteketiso in Xhosa.” Nomina Africana 4(1): 11–34.
  11. Neethling, S.J.1994. “Xhosa Nicknames.” SAJAL 14(2): 88–92.
  12. Neethling, Bertie.2005. Naming among the Xhosa of South Africa. New York: Mellen Press.
  13. Neethling, Bertie. 2012a. “Bynames as an Expression of Identity: A Student Profile at the University of the Western Cape.” Norna-Rapporter 88. Binamn. Uppkomst, bildning, terminology och bruk. 23–38.
  14. Neethling, Bertie. 2012b. “The Right to a Good Name: Muslim and Xhosa Children.” Name and Naming: Synchronic and Diachronic Perspectives. Ed. Oliviu Felecan. Cambridge Scholars, UK. 147–161.
  15. Odora-Hoppers, C.2001. Indigenous Knowledge and the Integration of Knowledge Systems: Towards a Conceptual and Methodologocal Framework. Pretoria: HSRC.
  16. Odora-Hoppers, C.2002. “Old Truths, New Realities.” Africa Insight 32(1) March.
  17. Puttergill, Charles, and Anne Leildé 2006. “Identity Studies in Africa.” Reflections on Identity in Four African Cities. Ed. Simon Bekker and Anne Leildé. African Minds Publishers, 11–21.
  18. Shotter, J. 1993. Cultural Politics of Everyday Life: Social Constructionism and Knowing of the Third Kind. Buckingham: Open University Press.
  19. Wassermann, Herman, and Sean Jacobs. 2003. Shifting Selves: Post-apartheid Essays on Mass Media, Culture and Identity. Kwela: Kaapstad.