Genghis Khan - Fashion Statement
I have been restless lately, and in my restlessness, I have pictured myself in far-flung places. Like Mongolia. Last summer an amazing cultural event took place there, one that hardly made a splash in the news in the U.S., but that I haven’t been able to get out of my head: everybody named themselves. What a powerful thing it must have been to label oneself, a pronouncement of who you are condensed into a few syllables or less, and to do so en masse.
The facet of language constituted by names is fascinating. In my own heritage names are very convoluted. For one thing, my mother’s maiden name turns out to be my grandfather’s mother's name, not his true patronymic surname as was used by his brothers. Meanwhile, all of my dad's male siblings share one last name, the same one that I bear, but his sisters all claim and share the same maiden name as one another, but one that is different than their brothers’ surname. The boys were long on grudges and refused to carry a name of Portuguese origin, a name that for them is too much a reminder of Portuguese colonialism.
I was shocked some years ago when my Portuguese cousin Montezuma (who, after spending a few years in England now goes by Monty, spelled Monte), told me that in Portugal, parents must choose names for their children from an official list of government-sanctioned first names. In other words, in Portugal it's possible to have an illegal first name. This new knowledge put his first name in a whole new perspective, not to mention those of his siblings, Anastasia and Boaventura.
The cultural significance of names cannot be understated. MAR (Minorities at Risk) "tracks 284 politically-active ethnic groups throughout the world from 1945 to the present—identifying where they are, what they do, and what happens to them. MAR focuses specifically on ethnopolitical groups, non-state communal groups that have 'political significance' in the contemporary world because of their status and political actions. Political significance is determined by the following two criteria:
- The group collectively suffers, or benefits from, systematic discriminatory treatment vis-a-vis other groups in a society
- The group is the basis for political mobilization and collective action in defense or promotion of its self-defined interests."
Article comments
1 - EddieGrrl
WOW! Great history lesson and rumination on the weight of names. Thanks for the read.
I have been not been going by my birthdame for years but even a nickname can be tricky: it always amuses me when somebody asks "isn't that a boy's name?" or pronounce it "addie."
I guess I use it instead of my birthname for a lot of the same reasons you mention in the Native American belief structure -- plus after 26 years I am sick and tired of hearing people butcher the beautiful name my parents gave me to guide me through life...so now its more of a sign of how well people know me and how close to me they are, by which name they call me...
sorry for the ramble -- thanks for getting it started though!
2 - Dave Nalle
Yep, fantastic and informative.
Dave
3 - Jasper
Very interesting. My girlfriends Mongolian and I think her culture is one of the most interesting I've come across, I'm also researching it for my Society and Culture focus study
4 - gonzo marx
Naming is a VERY powerful "thing", and not to be taken lightly
thank you very much for sharing this one with us...
Excelsior!
5 - EddieGrrl
WOW! Great history lesson and rumination on the weight of names. Thanks for the read.
I have been not been going by my birthdame for years but even a nickname can be tricky: it always amuses me when somebody asks "isn't that a boy's name?" or pronounce it "addie."
I guess I use it instead of my birthname for a lot of the same reasons you mention in the Native American belief structure -- plus after 26 years I am sick and tired of hearing people butcher the beautiful name my parents gave me to guide me through life...so now its more of a sign of how well people know me and how close to me they are, by which name they call me...
sorry for the ramble -- thanks for getting it started though!
6 - mpho
"tired of hearing people butcher the beautiful name my parents gave me to guide me through life...so now its more of a sign of how well people know me and how close to me they are, by which name they call me..."
EddieGrrl, funny, I have that too! At the age of 8, I discovered that my first name was, according to my birth certificate, actually my middle name--which gave an easy out to a schoolkid tired of hearing her name butchered regularly. However, my "real" first name has always been for the public and my middle name, i.e. the name I first encountered, has always been my private name--for family and closest friends only. I am quick to correct anyone who uses the wrong moniker, though the "rule" of usage sometimes gets blurred. I've also found that as I get older, the persona each name represents to me, are becoming more distinct in certain ways and yet the overall effect is that of more successful integration. I am one and I am other, not so much like a split personality ... but sort of :)
--
"Naming is a VERY powerful
"thing", and not to be taken lightly." With a name like Gonzo Marx, you oughta know!
Nalle and Jasper -- thanks for your comments as well. Society and culture--my favorite topics :)
7 - Chris
Your name is that which you are called not that which you call yourself. If I declared that I was to me known as "Chris the magnificant" and everyone called me Dork then Dork would be my name no matter how much I protested.
8 - bstani
Then I guess you should stop protesting, Dork.
9 - Victor Plenty
Now, now. That's not very nice of you, bstani.
You really should be more considerate of other people's feelings. Besides, people have the right to protest if they want to, even if it won't do them any good.
It would be wrong to try to take that right away from poor old Dork.
10 - Nancy
some study was done a few years ago showing that people w/perceived "dorky" names actually ended up being less successful, either socially or in their careers. Whether this shows the 'power' of names, or the nastiness of people, could be debated. Why should someone be put down just because his stupid parents decided to name him 'Elmer', because they thought the cartoon character is too cute for words? Why should someone be given preference because her shallow idiot mother thought 'Brittani' is just too cool to move? People attach too much significance to names. It's entirely a psych thing, & related to our pre-paleolithic sympathetic magical thinking. That said, I'm ashamed that I think that way, too: I'd be prettier/more popular/more powerful/more successful/more whatever if I had just been named Frances, or India, or Arwen. Yes - I know someone who had parents cool enough to name her ARWEN! My own naming was rather typical: My two grandmothers were at standoff over What To Name The Baby (me). Annya vs Henrietta. Formidable women, both, and in the middle, my cowering mother & a 3 week-old infant. On the day of the christening, the pastor found my mother out in the lobby, weeping & clutching the source of contention. He asked her what was the matter, and she confessed her terror of being between Annya the Rock & Henrietta the Hard Place. Either way, she was toast. He comforted her & told her not to worry - the Lord would provide, & neither woman would be angry with her. When the time came, he simply took the baby, and without bothering to ask what they intended to name the child, he went ahead and named me for HIS mother & grandmother - Nancy Anne! He was right: both grandmothers were so furious with him they didn't even bother w/my mother, but there was no way to back out of a baptism, so there I was, stuck with the same name twice, since 'nancy' is a diminutive of 'ann'. *sigh* There's a lesson for us all here somewhere, but I don't know what it is. Just an anecdote I thought was amusing about how NOT to name the baby.
11 - Penny L. Richards
And don't forget the question of marital name changes. Lucy Stone in the US is usually recognized as the first feminist to refuse her husband's surname as a political statement--at her wedding to Henry Blackwell in 1855, it was announced that she was not changing her name, and that announcement also went into the newspapers. Women who followed her example were, for a time, called "Lucy Stoners." Today there's a Lucy Stone League dedicated to "naming freedom."
12 - Reisa L. Gerber
In the beginning of time as we now know
it-before our two rebellious kids made
sure the suicide bombers were not "them"
Saddam offered to debate Mr. Bush,
our president, and he refused it.
Apparently he had more gore in mind!
He was after blood, right? yeah...
And of course, Mr. Bush gave the man
48 hours to do his little thing and
split his country, and like any rebel
at all, Saddam Hussein refused to go...So...i know a good pal of mine
who just said, "All those lies and
murders......Reisa, when do we bum it
out and cross the line?"
Anyway, that's about it. He's alive
in prison and Bush is impaled on a
ragmop, like Eddie Vedder's little
joke....i can't tell anyone what to do.
I don't know!
Thankyou.
Reisa L. Gerber
13 - Reisa L. Gerber
"We all gang up on pastel mist
Because that just isn't how we live...
you know...like a cliche-"us"...
But "hey, give me money, mama,
hey, give me money..."
You know, "Cinammon Girl"?
Just keep it honest...and don't sucker
Those soft shoe taps! You can "con"
"sounds the same" anytime you like,babe.
Reisa L. Gerber aka ???GENGIS KAHN????
14 - Reisa L. Gerber
I've been countin' up the blogs I laid down since
yesterday afternoon when I had to break off...my
creative resources...I now realize I have a bunch
of them!
They are alot of fun to critique some area's of my life's reactions to these things we hear and
see and talk about.
Firstly, I made a joke about that "48 hour"
rebellion against Saddam Hussein...and his
natural response to "resist"..et al..ugly things
about America. Of course, "war" is what happened!
Next, I spoke about Mr and Mrs Bill and Hillary
Rodham Clinton. I admire the way they pick up
and go right on. The height of their "fun" came
the night of Bill's last evening as President.
He kindly pardoned a few good friends! I can't
say I wouldn't...
The, Neal Young's song, "Cinammon Girl"*
"he needs some money, please...send him money..."
As I do exist, those are lyrics from that song.*
And, finally, I owe serious apologies to a
certain country artist...The band is called
"Trick Pony", and if I don't agree with the
lyrics, it is my priviledge NOT to hear her
pretty voice "eating eggs and drinking coffee",
in a diner..."but, oh, what her man heard about
her!"...THis is silly...
The morning may be dawning in pastel mist, but,
this little "Black Rose of Calcutta" by Reisa,
me, needs "A way to exist" because "that's no
way to exist"!...You people have been MORE than
kind. I will check later on about my status
with you.
Reisa L. Gerber
November 16, I think, 2005
15 - Reisa L. Gerber
la de da da....I'm sittin' here for two hours waiting for the works of my entire life to attain print!
Now I'm going to sleep! I hope it's ready in the
morning, because I'm clicking those things all night!
People tend to think it's harassment or reactions
to rejection....spam and you know...Nah! Just
impatience! NOONE'S HERE NOW, Reisa L. Gerber.
Hold your horses!
Thanks.....Reisa L. Gerber
November 16, 2005
16 - Reisa L. Gerber
I wrote an article; firsthand, to comment, and
second hand, to connect...insofar as the rock group Motley Crue...I can think of at least two
reasons! Anyway...Katrina seemed to be the
especial subject in hand-however, this is my
second year down in Florida, and I have to learn
to cop, I mean, cope, with the weather in these
conditions and parts of the country!
I went to my mom's in a nearby town, and we held
ourselves hostage for about three days this year!
Electricity-OUT
Phone service-OUT
Refrigerator and microwave-OUT
Good water-OUT
Legal Curfews-like-6:00 - 8:00 p.m.!
I had to move the furniture in with mom, from the
patio, and the wind and the rain on the glass
panes were, like, so unreal, I'm surprised that
the windows didn't crash. My brother-in-law's
mother...withstood a crash-in of her glass window,
and had to hole up in the bathroom!
We stocked up on batteries, because the outlets
weren't available! We made it! A couple days,
a few arguments-well, I'm 49 and she's in her
early seventies...what can you ask of two women,
alone, in a neat condominium...with nothing but
those neighbors of hers, which are all senior
citizens? We made it...I live in a Rehabilitation
Center about 10 miles down from Boynton Beach,
called...nothing I can share! Right? Good!
Over!
No floods like New Orleans, thank G-d, but bad!
Trees fall and stuff...I'm trying to get up
Five bucks or something so I can publish my
articles and not be impatient when my money
situation needs to be a little more...um...
intact...But I hope you print this...Because
when I came home to my Residential home, there
was someone sleeping in my bed....I love
mattresses, you know?
So, mom and I are still friends, and the
laundry is workin' and there's hot water...
and everything is back to "normal"-Look-I can
only try. If you need the money before I print,
then....it's okay. But maybe down the road, I
can have a small reporting job...who knows?
Right? I'm sorry about badmouthing your
organization in my Website for not printing my
last letter. It's a compendium of my blogwork....
If you won't print this, I'll just save up some
bread down the road and use you to speak!!!
It must be the medication makes me blabber so
much!!!
Reisa L. Gerber
November 21, 2005