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Scraping Chohwora off the wheel
We've seen some bad, bad names. But some just defy imagination. Today, I'm perusing the biography of a chief from Delta State in Nigeria whose birth name was Ukomomwonmwonchohwora which means "may my womb not host an evil foetus". Seems his mother had seven miscarriages before he was born. I mean, it's great that he has such a meaningful name, isn't it?
Of course, the Urhobo are not an impractical people, so for ease his name was shortened to "Chohwora". I don't know anything of Urhobo grammar, so I can't say what this chunk represents. Is it "foetus"? "evil foetus"? "may it not"? "womb of mine"? Did this name even stand out at school? Or was "Foetus" the "Jason" of Egini High?
The imperialist chauvinists at the Church Missionary School called him "Wilson".
Of course, the Urhobo are not an impractical people, so for ease his name was shortened to "Chohwora". I don't know anything of Urhobo grammar, so I can't say what this chunk represents. Is it "foetus"? "evil foetus"? "may it not"? "womb of mine"? Did this name even stand out at school? Or was "Foetus" the "Jason" of Egini High?
The imperialist chauvinists at the Church Missionary School called him "Wilson".