By Jane achieng
Worldwide, different communities have systems of naming babies according to their observed norms. Naming systems according to the time of the day is not unique to the Luo community and it is one of the most common systems used worldwide. In the Luo community, the baby was given a name according to the time of birth. Both the male child and female could be given names under this system with the baby boy having his name starting with the letter ‘O’ while the baby girl’s name started with an ‘A’. The names were derived and reflected the time of the day round the 24 hour clock as shown in the diagram below. It is important to note that the Luo clock was different from the traditional Western clock because time was a range and not an exactitude.
Below is an illustration of how time was divided. There was a separation between day and night and within those two, there were smaller subdivisions of the time ranges and how they are described.
Fig 1.The Luo clock
Within the day, odiechieng, time was divided into okinyi, the early morning, onyango, the mid- morning up till about midday. The afternoon, odiechieng, and evening, odhiambo till sunset and just before dusk.
The night was divided into otieno which referred to the early part of the night, dierotieno or chunyotieno referred to the midnight time range that started just before midnight and after and ran into the time past midnight heading into the cock crow time, kokgwen.
The dawn on the cusp was also referred to as okinyi which is that part of the early morning and before daybreak. Typically, the names given to babies born under this naming system followed this clock
Fig 1. Luo naming convention: Time aspect
The morning names fell into three categories covering the time from cockcrow to just around 9-10 am in the morning. The first category are babies born at cock-crow, kokgwen; the second are those born at dawn and the early morning before sunrise, the third are babies born at sunrise and early morning to around 9-10 am: the fourth are babies born in the later morning between 9am-noon.
Okinyi is that time in the morning when day breaks from the dusk. This is the time after dawn and into the early morning hours. Okinyi is the name given for a baby boy and Akinyi for a baby girl born in the morning when day breaks. Sunrise symbolizes birth and rebirth and awakening of a new day.
This was the time ranging between 9.30 – noon. This time is associated with the time when the sun was just beginning to gather strength to dissipate the morning chill and was ideal for basking in. It is also around the time when new born babies are usually taken out of the house to be sunned. The word ‘Onyango’ comes from the word “oonyango” which means basking in the sun. A baby born at this time is called Anyango for a baby girl and Onyango for a baby boy.
This was generally taken to be the open daytime and it was closely connected with the sunshine such that the names Achieng for a female baby and Ochieng for a male baby was associated with the strength of the sun and its full sovereignty in the sky. It was a name that was normally given to a baby born in the daytime only when the sun is shining bright and strong because the name is derived from the sun.
A baby born at night after sunset but before midnight was given the name Atieno if a baby girl and Otieno if born a baby boy.
A baby born at midnight was named Awuor or Adiwuor for a baby girl and Owuor or Odiwuor for a baby boy. The Odiwuor version was mainly used by Luos from Central Nyanza. One may want to know how they knew it was midnight. Midnight was detected by the appearance of the star that stood right over the sky at midnight.
This is a very early morning name given to a baby born just when the cocks begin to crow which would be around 3am in the night moving into the morning. For a baby boy, he would be called Ogweno and Agwena for a baby girl. This is derived from the word ‘kokgwen’ which means when the cocks begin to crow.
Roosters are usually most active in the morning. But they can also crow throughout the day. Most crow when it is day because the change from dark to light stimulates and encourages crowing. Even then, they will typically crow just before or at the crack of dawn. Roosters crow because of an internal clock that helps to anticipate sunrise. and they crow in a daily cycle. And that is when most people notice their crowing. However, the names Ogweno and Agwena is only given at the first cock crow hours.
Dawn is an important time in naming children in terms of definition of what dawn is and what it portends. It is widely recognized that dawn and dusk are important hours because these are the times when portals to other worlds can be entered or created. Dawn is stated as being the twilight period before sunrise. It refers to the transition from night to day as the sky gets brighter which heralds the onset of a new day. Dawn reflects hope and illumination, the beginning of a new day, and a chance for happiness and development. It signifies life.
Omondi/Amondi is that baby who must come in the wee hours of the morning – jamondo. Such a baby was named Amondi if a baby girl and Omondi if a baby boy. Another name which could also be given for such a time isOru for a baby boy or Aru for a baby girl.
Odhiambo is the transition period from day to night. As the night moves in, dusk has the elements of excitement and thrill. Dusk signifies the end of the day and the transition into the night.
The twilight hours before to sunset was referred to as ‘godhiambo’ and therefore, a baby born around this time is called Adhiambo for a baby girl and Odhiambo for a baby boy.
There are evident gaps in the names in the time naming convention system. For example, the name Akinyi is very common for the girls while Okinyi is almost totally absent. Another name that is missing is Agweno for a baby girl while Ogweno for a baby boy presents more frequently. These gaps indicate certain facts about the birth of the male and female baby.
Boys did not present in the morning, okinyi, rather they preferred being born in the dawn and pre-dawn times and if this was missed, they would present and be born when the morning was more decisive, the sun was up and there was warmth. Onyango denotes a time range but it also explains the act of sitting out in the sun to sunbath in the hours of the morning just before midday. It also corresponded to the time when new born babies were taken out to the sun for the first time after birth.
Baby girls on the other hand avoided the cock crow hour, kogwen and presented much later in the morning after dawn to be named Akinyi.
In the other time ranges, Onyango, Ochieng, Odhiambo, Otieno and their corresponding female names, there is equal presentation equally among the sexes.
Keywords: Luo naming system, Odhiambo, Adhiambo, Atieno, Otieno, Akinyi, Okinyi, Ogweno, Agwena, Onyango, Anyango, Ochieng, Achieng, Luo culture, Birth rituals, Baby naming systems, Luo, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, East Africa.
© Jane Achieng, 2021
