More Than A Name: Why Nigerian Naming Ceremonies Mean So Much.

Hello everyone 👋

Today, I will love to talk about naming ceremony of newborns in Nigeria. In Nigeria, the birth of a baby always comes with joy, and for that reason a naming ceremony goes beyond just giving the new baby names, nah, but also about the coming and gathering together of families and friends both far and near.

And in Nigeria, especially the Yoruba tribe, they believe that the name you give your baby has a lot of meaning and can either make or mar him, so parents, grandparents and all are always careful to pick names, and that is why you see that most of our names usually centers around o reflect our faith(e.g Daniel), our family history(e.g ), or even the circumstances that surrounds a child's birth(e.g ) and so on. So a lot of Nigerian names you will see often express gratitude to God(e.g Oluwatobiloba) or just remind the child of his roots.

Recently, less than two months ago now, two of my big brothers welcomed a new born baby. Funniest part is, the babies arrived only one week apart. And honestly, words won't be able to comprehend the joy in our hearts. And here, naming ceremonies are done after seven day's of the baby's birth. Before then all of us, as the uncles, aunties and relatives that we are have begun to suggest and send very beautiful and meaningful names that we would love to give the babies.

And even though I didn't have the opportunity to be there due to the distance I can tell from the various experience that I've had that it is one filled with prayers and blessings for the new born baby and also the announcement of his/her names. So, in a naming ceremony, beyond announcing the names of the child, beyond eating and drinking, we also pray and commit the child and his/her future into God's hand.

Another very common tradition here is that after birth and the naming ceremony, the baby and his/her mum are to stay indoors for the next forty days. Yes, they aren't expected to go out, attend event's and all of that until the baby clocks forty days. All of that is done so that the mother and child can really rest, bond, heal and adjust before returning to their normal lives. I need to add that at this time, the husband or the wife's mum would be around to help and take care of them. Here, we say such a mother who goes for such is doing "omugo" that is what it is being called here.

It's always amazing to attend a naming ceremony, as just like a wedding celebration it often brings people from far and near together. That his when the parents also get various advice on what to do, what to eat and what not to eat and most of the time the new born and his/her mum also get gifts and all of that. And each time I attend a naming ceremony and see the way people show up to celebrate with the parents, I get reminded of a Yoruba word that says, "oju merin lon bimo shugbon igba oju ni wo omo." Meaning"It takes only two pairs of eyes (the parents) to give birth to a child, but it takes many eyes to watch over and raise that child." So from the day a child is born, the family, the community and everyone has become a part of his/her journey.

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Images are AI generated.

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