Introduction
Since children and young adults are interested in other children and young adults, an effective way of introducing students to another culture is through its children and their names. In The Book of African Names by Chief Osuntoki, it is stated, "Among Africans, children are the carriers of the future." This should be true in our own culture as well.
The broad base of the study of names can be used at all grade levels and in all disciplines. It supports extension in many different directions. For this project, our basic lesson plan focuses on names and their importance in both African and American cultures. Three extensions are shown:
1. a study of families, primary level;
2. an in-depth study of a selected African country, social
studies and literature for upper elementary;
3. a study of autobiographical accounts and poetry relating to
apartheid and South Africa for secondary school.
In addition, the bibliography shows that all segments of this lesson plan can be incorporated by teachers of foreign languages into classroom instruction, and a foreign language supplement is included.
Speak to me little one,
Clutching my breast with your hand,
So strong and firm for all its littleness.
It will be the hand of a warrior, my son,
A hand that will gladden your father.
See how eagerly it fastens on me:
It thinks already of a spear.
O son, you will have a warrior's name and
be a leader of men.
African proverb
Among Africans, children are the carriers of the future.
Placed upon the children is the whole sacred trust of African heritage. The Race itself finds endless longevity in them. Our children carry from us and our ancestors a total spiritual and human endowment and extend our sacred heritage to their offspring and to African generations yet to come. Children are the buds of society, and birth is the arrival of spring, when life shoots out and the community thrives. The birth of an African child then can not only be the concern and joy of the parents but of many relatives and members of the community at large now living and also long departed.
The child is brought into the world by an act of union and creation by the blood parents but it is the whole community that develops the child into a social being and into a person full of the African personality. It is the Naming of the child that first begins the establishment of the child's personal identity. It is the Naming of the child also that first brings upon the child some general recognition by the community at large. For these reasons the naming of the child among Africans is an occasion of some importance and, no matter how modestly performed, the act of Naming the child is attended with some ceremony.
Of course among the great African communities today the Naming ceremony cannot be uniform in its performance. Nowadays we live too scattered apart. The young, as you already know, have fallen away from the strict practices of the elders. The young also have adopted for their own positive use many of the creative ideas of this age upon us now. But our people, for one great era of silence, lived in terrible bondage. It was then that we were forced to take on foreign names and to be weakened in the defense of our heritage. And it is true as we can see so clearly that in great numbers we were taken to foreign lands. To survive, we took on the speaking of foreign tongues. And, in time, you know, we began to forget how the African gets his name. It is strange, indeed, it hurts my heart, that brothers from afar often come to greet me bearing such names as "Willie", "Juan" and "Francois". But we can not be hard against them, for they have been misled. My own attendant, Ladipo, tells me that in the lands afar many Africans there are throwing off these names but that they still do not know how to come by their proper birthright.
So I, Osuntoki, will tell them of their birthright and how they may seek their names. And the lessons I give to you now, let them be written so that all may see.
The Naming-Day Ceremony
The Naming-Day ceremony is held seven to ten days following the birth of the African child. This is true for boy and girl children. For in our community, every new child is fully welcome and no distinctions of inequality exist at birth.
Nowadays it is common practice, especially in African communities of the West, for mothers to be attended at childbirth in hospitals. Parents are asked to state the name of their child for identification purposes. At this time, parents of the community should merely indicate that their surname be placed on the identification bracelet of their newborn child.
The birth certificate should be filled out and recorded after the Naming-Day ceremony takes place. Appropriate invitations to family and friends can be issued immediately following the safe delivery of the child.
The Naming-Day ceremony is held at the home of the parents, either mid-morning or early afternoon. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws and other members of the community are present to celebrate the arrival of a new member in their midst. As they enter the house, each person leaves at the door some small token of good-will, some item of clothing or wrap for the child; something that will be especially useful to the parents or given the coming of the child something for the household itself. Relatives and friends, if they are female, give their gifts to the child's mother, and the men present their gifts to the child's father. An elder woman holds the child. After water is sprinkled towards the ceiling, the elder woman stroking the child's head whispers the name into the child's ear to implant the name in the baby's head. The significance of this act is to separate the child from the spirit world where he is only an object, thus marking the child's entry into the community of human beings.
When the name has been given the child has been introduced to life itself. The remainder of the time is spent festively. Relatives and friends enjoy the company of each other. And at the same time they collectively seal their sense of communion with the child. Of course a feast of food is prepared and brought by some of the guests themselves. People attending the Naming-Day ceremony sit about talking to each other making well wishes in the name of the child. Or, as is always the case when such kinsmen gather, talk extends to things both near and far as they affect daily life. Some people, the young (as well as the elders) dance too. All of this goes on for more than several hours. And to keep the event lively preparations begin probably two days beforehand. Once the Naming-Day ceremony is ending people simply file away making favored wishes upon the child, upon the parents and upon the household.
(Chief Osuntoki, The Book of African Names)
General Objective:
Students will identify with children of Africa through a study of
names and how names are given.
Specific Objectives:
1. Students will demonstrate that they identify with African
children by learning and explaining the meaning of their own
names and/or how they were given.
2. Students will list similarities and differences in naming
procedures.
3. Students will explore the relationships that might exist
between name giving and traditional cultural values.
Activities
1. Use The Book of African Names by Chief Osuntoki. This
may be read to students, read by students, or ideas from the book
may be shared.
2. Using any of many books available in addition to The Book of
African Names, discover what each student's name means.
3. Establish clearly and understand and appreciate the importance
of names in African cultures.
4. Do a map/bulletin board study where students mark ancestral
roots on a world map.
5. Involve families in the study; several activity options
follow:
the family tree
oral traditions/family folklore
the extended family
letters to relatives
photographs
scrapbooks
interviews
newspaper records
community resources
beginning genealogy
Family Bible records
Supplementing the Unit
Depending on the ages and interest levels of the students, explore the significance of naming in one of the following:
A. Roots Movie Strips for Elementary
Grades.
Six sound filmstrips adapted from the David Wolper television
production starring LeVar Burton.
Films Incorporated
Learning Materials Division
733 Green Bay Road
Wilmette, IL 60091 (teacher's guide available)
B. Roots: The movie made for television. Twelve one-hour episodes; available for extended rental in video stores.
C. Haley, Alex. Roots. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1976.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Asante, Molefi Kete. The Book of African Names. Trenton, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press, Inc., 1992.
Bolling, Ellen. Kwabena. Accra, Ghana. Waterville Publishing House, 1968.
Chief Osuntoki. The Book of African Names. Baltimore, Maryland: Black Classic Press, 1991.
Gidal, Sonia and Tim. My Village in Ghana. New York: Pantheon Books, 1969.
Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges. A Concise Dictionary of First Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Madubuike, Ihechu Kwu. A Handbook of African Names. Washington, D.C.: Three Continents Press, 1976.
Meltzer, Milton. A Book About Names. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1984.
Perkins, Useni Eugene. Afrocentric Self Inventory and Discovery Workbook for African American Youth (Ages 12-15). Chicago, Illinois: Third World Press, 1989.
Perl, Lila. Candles, Cakes, and Donkey Tails: Birthday Symbols and Celebrations. New York: Clarion Books, 1984.
Zawawi, Sharifa. What's In A Name? Unaitwaze? A Swahili Book of Names. Trenton, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press, Inc., 1993.
Song of a Mother to Her First-Born
Speak to me, child of my heart.
Speak to me with tour eyes, your round laughing eyes,
Wet and shining as Lupeyo's bull-calf.
Speak to me little one,
Clutching my breast with your hand,
So strong and firm for all its littleness.
It will be the hand of a warrior, my son,
A hand that will gladden your father.
See how eagerly it fastens on me:
It thinks already of a spear.
O son, you will have a warrior's name and be a leader of men.
And your sons, and your sons' sons, will remember you long after
you have slipped into darkness.
But I, I shall always remember your hand clutching me so.
I shall remember how you lay in my arms,
And looked at me so, and so,
And how your tiny hands played with my bosom.
And when they name you great warrior, then will my eyes be wet
with remembering.
O my child, now indeed I am happy.
Now indeed I am a wife-
No more a bride, but a Mother-of-one.
Be splendid and magnificent, child of desire.
Be proud as I am proud.
Be happy as I am happy.
Be loved as now I am loved.
Child, child, child, love I have had from my man.
But now, only now, have I the fullness of love.
Now, only now, am I his wife and the mother of his first-born.
His soul is safe in your keeping, my child, and it was I, I, I
who have made you.
Therefore am I loved.
Therefore am I happy.
Therefore am I a wife.
Therefore have I great honor.
You will tend his shrine when he is gone.
With sacrifice and oblation you will recall his name year by
year.
He will live in your prayers, my child,
And there will be no more death for him, but everlasting life
springing from your loins.
You are his shield and his spear, his hope and redemption from
the dead.
Through you he will be reborn, as the saplings in the Spring.
And I, I am the mother of his first-born.
Sleep, child of beauty and courage and fulfillment, sleep.
I am content.
(translated by John H. Driberg, in Initiation (Translations From Poems of the Didinga and Lango Tribes), Golden Cockerel Press edition. Cranbury, New Jersey: A. S. Barnes and Co., Inc.)
The Family (Primary)
Specific Objectives:
1. Students will know ways each person depends upon other people
or groups to meet needs.
2. Students will compare and contrast family life of Africans and
American family life.
3. Students will examine ways people receive and give support to
each other.
Activities:
1. Introduce lesson with discussion about families. (What is a
family? Does everyone have a family? Discuss: Families are
special, similarities, differences, etc.)
2. Create a chart showing differences and similarities in African
families and contemporary American families. (i.e. daily
activities, needs, hunting, cooking, eating,sleeping, etc.)
3. Students create a "Family Mural".
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bennett, Olivia. A Family in Egypt. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publications, 1985.
Bryan, Ashley. The Adventures of Aku. New York: Atheneum, 1976.
Humphrey, Salley. A Family in Liberia. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publications, 1987.
Lewin, Hugh. Jafta's Father. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Carolrhoda Books, Inc., 1983.
Lewin, Hugh. Jafta's Mother. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Carolrhoda Books, Inc., 1983.
McKenna, Nancy Durrell. A Zulu Family. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publications, 1986.
Stewart, Judy. A Family in Morocco. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publications, 1986.
Stewart, Judy. A Family in Sudan. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publications, 1988.
Names and Nations (Upper elementary)
Specific Objectives
1. Students will develop an understanding of how African
countries were named.
2. Students are to learn as much as possible about a nation.
3. Students will develop an understanding of how and why a nation
has developed as it has and thus reached its present condition.
4. Using literature the students will be able to locate South
Africa and its major cities.
5 Using literature the students will be able to explain apartheid
from the view of children their own age.
Activities
1. Using two different maps, one from 1920 which shows
European colonization and a current map, students will complete a
chart with three different columns. The chart will show the
present name of the country, the name by which it was known in
1920, and the empire of which it was a part or with which it was
associated.
2. The following activity should be assigned as an individual
project. Students will randomly select a nation of Africa and
write a term paper using an outline provided by the teacher. The
paper should really take the entire term and be used by the
teacher as a means to guide students in understanding the
following: how to do research, how to take notes, and how to get
a complete view of a nation by studying geography, culture,
history, economics and politics.
3. Using the book Chain of Fire by Beverley Naidoo,
students will complete a study guide that includes the following:
vocabulary words, background of the author, a mixture of
comprehension and inferential questions, crossword puzzles, word
finds and mapping activities.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Africa. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Intercultural Understanding Project, Allegheny Intermediate Unit No. 3, September, 1973.
Cooper, Kenneth and Elbow, Gary. The World Yesterday and Today. Lexington, Massachusetts: Silver Burdette and Ginn, 1985.
Gordan, Sheila. (1987). Waiting for the Rain. New York: Bantam Books.
Naidoo, Beverley. Chain of Fire. New York: J. B. Lippincott, 1989.
LIVING IN APARTHEID (Secondary)
Specific Objectives:
1. Students will look at the denotative and connotative meanings
of names, place names and other words.
2. Students will learn about the policy of apartheid and its
effect on the lives of South Africans.
3. Students will recognize contrasting points of view in
literature.
4. Students will appreciate a poet's use of imagery.
5. Students will recognize how place names are used as allusions.
6. Students will recognize metaphor and implied metaphor.
Reading Selections:
1. Excerpts from three autobiographical accounts
A. "Crackling Day" from Tell Freedom by Peter Abrahams
B. "The Road to Alexandra" from Kaffir Boy by Mark
Mathabane
C. "Let Me See Your Pass, Kaffir" from Blame Me On
History by Bloke Modisane
2. Poetry
A. "Telephone Conversation" by Wole Soyinka
B. "Incident" by Countee Cullen
C. "harlem / soweto" by Safiya Henderson
D. "Somehow We Survive" by Dennis Brutus
E. "Me, Colored" by Peter Abrahams
Activities:
1. Research the historical background of South Africa.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of apartheid and research the
current political situation in South Africa.
3. Explore the connotative and denotative meanings of words which
name people and places including these terms: bantu, Afrikaners,
tsotis, kaffir, colored, black, native, white, apartheid, Soweto,
Harlem, and Watts.
4. Define, using examples from the poetry, metaphor, extended
metaphor and satire.
5. Read "Wake" by Lindiwe Mabuza and connect this work
to the autobiographical accounts and the poetry. Chart
similarities and differences.
6. View the film A Dry White Season. This is based on a
book by the same name, written by a white South African, Andre
Brink. The writer/director of the film is Euzhan Palsey, a young
black woman. Use the following chart as a focus for discussion
and/or writing after viewing the film.
Title of Film
Character 1
Character 2
Character 3
Choices Made
Reasons for Choices Changes Made Because of Choices
7. Plan and develop a personal autobiographical narrative.
8. Plan and write a lyrical expression in response to a personal
incident that has happened in your own life.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abrahams, Peter. "Me, Colored" in Langston Hughes, ed., Poems From Black Africa. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1963.
Andrews. William L. and others. African American Literature: Voices in a Tradition. Chicago: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1992.
Brink, Andre. A Dry White Season. New York: Penguin Books, 1980.
Brink, Andre and J. M. Coetzee, eds. A Land Apart, A Contemporary South African Reader. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.
Gordon, Sheila. The Middle of Somewhere, A Story of South Africa. New York: Orchard Books, 1990.
Gordon, Sheila. Waiting for the Rain. New York: Orchard/ Bantam, 1987.
Mabuza, Lindiwe. "Wake" in Chinua Achebe and C. L. Innes, eds., Contemporary African Short Stories. London: Heinemann Educational Books, Inc., 1992.
Martin, Phyllis M. and Patrick O'Meara, eds. Africa. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1986.
Mathabane, Mark. Kaffir Boy. New York: Macmillan, 1986.
Mathabane, Mark. Kaffir Boy in America. New York: Scribner, 1989.
Modisane, Bloke. Blame Me On History. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1986.
Moore, Jane Ann, ed. Cry Sorrow, Cry Joy. New York: Friendship Press, 1971.
Naidoo, Beverley. Chain of Fire. New York: J. B. Lippincott, 1989.
Naidoo, Beverley. Journey to Jo'Burg. New York: J. B. Lippincott, 1985.
Rochman, Hazel, ed. Somehow Tenderness Survives, Stories of Southern Africa. New York: Harper & Row, 1988.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE SUPPLEMENT
Je m'appelle... Nya le mia... Suna na ne...
Me llamo es... Nya biye mia... Jen ye col...
Jina langu ni... Afam bu... Oruko mi ni...
My name is...
Specific Objective
Students will learn how to say their names in an African
language,
Materials
Lists of names from West and Central Africa and Benin.
Activities
1. Distribute lists of names to students.
2. Practice pronunciation of names.
3. Students will select a name and use it for a period of time
during class. (The African name will have a meaning similar to
that of the student's own name.)
4. Make name tag with African name.
5. Practice Jina langu ni...
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Asante, Molefi Kete. The Book of African Names, Trenton, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press, Inc., 1992.
Chief Osuntoki. The Book of African Names. Baltimore, Maryland: Black Classic Press, 1991.
Madubuike, Ihechukwu. A Handbook of African Names. Washington D. C.: Three Continents Press, 1976.
Meltzer, Milton. A Book About Names. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1984.
Zawawi, Sharifa. What's in a Name? Unaitwaje? A Swahili Book of Names, Trenton, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press, Inc., 1993.
July, 1993
Contact authors: Charles Burmeister
Meadowbrook Elementary
5430 Glenwood Ave.
Golden Valley, MN 55422
Marcia Cooper-Lewter
Sheridan Elementary School
1201 University Ave., NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
Maureen Ekeland
LaFollette High School
702 Pflaum Road
Madison, WI 53716
Jane Leahy
Van Hise Elementary School
4747 Waukesha St.
Madison, WI 53705
Eugene Smith (retired)
Humbolt Junior High School
900 Summer Ave.
Humboldt, IA 50548.