Akan naming Ceremony + Akan names

[Olùkọ́ Ọbádélé]

Akan naming Ceremony + Akan names

[Abenaa]

Greetings,
I have a question.
Is it wrong to give yourself an Afrikan name? In others words should you only obtain an Afrikan name at birth or by someone giving it to you?

[Ɔkyeame Kwame]

Originally Posted by taundra

Greetings,
I have a question.
Is it wrong to give yourself an Afrikan name? In others words should you only obtain an Afrikan name at birth or by someone giving it to you?

It's not wrong, per se. What's wrong is what got us into a situation where our names were stripped from many of us in the first place to the point that such a question would even have to be pondered. But that's neither here nor there...Because we are in such a situation, for better or for worse, there are several options that I'll leave to you to decide which is for you. You can have your parents select an Afrikan name for you based on your birth circumstances, character etc. You can exchange names at marriage. You can go to a traditional Afrikan spiritual practitioner to have one divined for you based on your destiny and relationship to spiritual forces of the universe. You can select one for yourself based on your understanding of your destiny, character birth circumstances (notice my emphasis is not on "oh that sounds pretty", as is far too often the case to the detriment of depth and meaning), you can consult with continental Afrikans with sense who are familiar with naming systems and have knowledge of many names, you can ask your mate or children or other family members (natal/ideological) for input, you can research on the net/in a book.

I'm sure there are other things I'm forgetting but the choice is yours due to the wrongness of that which took our names away.

Obadele

[Abenaa]

Do you know how I could go about finding a traditional Afrikan spiritual practitioner? My mother passed away 6 years ago and my father doesn't know me well enough. Something about giving myself a name doesn't feel right. Sometimes we see ourselves in ways that may not be true.
Maybe after making friends on this site I'll ask that family to give me a name that represents my sunsum. My family would be wondering why I would want to know. Thank you for sharing.

[Ɔkyeame Kwame]

Originally Posted by taundra

Do you know how I could go about finding a traditional Afrikan spiritual practitioner? My mother passed away 6 years ago and my father doesn't know me well enough. Something about giving myself a name doesn't feel right. Sometimes we see ourselves in ways that may not be true.
Maybe after making friends on this site I'll ask that family to give me a name that represents my sunsum. My family would be wondering why I would want to know. Thank you for sharing.

I'm sorry to hear that your parents will not be able to play an active role in a way. Reconnection and getting input from your ancestors may not be entirely out of the question. My mother is a traditional Afrikan spiritual practitioner here with the username Nana. You can click on the search dropdown menu and find her easily there.

Also we have many members here and many visitors here who can also facilitate. And you are most welcome to stick around and ask your family here! Stay BlackNificent!

Obadele

[Ɔkyeame Kwame]

Find your name in Akan (Twi) Wokrada: Your Akan Soul Name | Abibitumi Kasa : An Afrikan Language Institute