I cannot baptize Satan

The communicative import of Mbube death-prevention names

Authors

  • Jonas Akung University of Calabar Author
  • Oshega Abang University of Calabar Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.37823

Keywords:

cultural communication, personal name, reincarnation, identity, spiritual forces, Mbube, Nigeria

Abstract

This article examines the communicative significance and sociolinguistic import of deathprevention names in Mbube, Ogoja Local Government Area of Cross River State, Southeastern Nigeria. Naming in the Mbube cultural context reveals deep insights into the relationship between the name-giver and the cultural framework of the Mbube people. This study is an attempt to identify death-prevention names Mbube people bestow and what they communicate in terms of ideology, spirituality and social solidarity. The study relies on Leech’s (1983) socio-pragmatic paradigm on meaning processes, which interrogates social perceptions underlying participants’ interpretation and performance of communicative action (Kasper and Rose, 2002:2). Data for the study were sourced from givers and bearers of death-prevention names in the study area. Interviews and participants observations were the key elicitation techniques with respondents who have in-depth knowledge of the history, language and culture of the Mbube people. The study gains sufficient insights from Mbube religious beliefs, cosmology and history, which resonate in the Mbube naming system generally and death-prevention names in particular. Findings reveal that Mbube death-prevention names confer honour on both the past (ancestors) and the present (living beings), and serve as symbolic resources that encode deep cultural meanings, construct identity and reinforce the notion of personhood.

Author Biographies

  • Jonas Akung, University of Calabar

    Jonas Akung holds a PhD in African Literary Criticism from the Department of English and Literary Studies, University of Calabar, Nigeria. He teaches African literature in the same department. His essays have appeared in many journals including the International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, Journal of World Literature and English Language, Studies in Language and Literature and Cuttington University Journal of Liberal Arts and Social Science. Currently, he is the Chair of Graduate Progammes in the Department of English and Literary Studies, University of Calabar, Nigeria.

  • Oshega Abang, University of Calabar

    Oshega Abang (†) held a PhD in International Relations from the University of Calabar, Nigeria. He was a veteran Journalist teaching Media Law and Ethics in the Department of Mass Communication, University of Calabar, Nigeria. His publications have appeared in many scholarly journals including LWATI: A Journal of Contemporary Research.

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Published

2020-02-20

How to Cite

Akung, J., & Abang, O. (2020). I cannot baptize Satan: The communicative import of Mbube death-prevention names. Sociolinguistic Studies, 13(2-4), 295–311. https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.37823