Christianity and the Gendering of Personal Names among the Bette in Southeastern Nigeria

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3933240
AutoresR Aboh (0000-0002-4804-9968, Department of English & Literary Studies, University of Calabar Calabar Nigeria), E Mensah (0000-0001-5838-0462, Department of Linguistics, University of Calabar Calabar Nigeria), Idom T Inyabri (0000-0002-4875-195X, Department of English & Literary Studies, University of Calabar Calabar Nigeria), Lucy Ushuple (0000-0001-8733-8140, Department of Linguistics and Communication Studies, University of Calabar Calabar Nigeria)
Año2022
Volumen53
Número1
Páginas53-77
Fecha de publicación2022-10-10
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Religion in Africa (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0022-4200 • E-ISSN: 1570-0666
EditorialWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/15700666-12340246
OpenAlexW4307285977
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas14
Referencias citadas10

Contributing to extant debates on the juncture of naming and gender(ing), this study interrogates naming practices among Bette-Christians of northern Cross River, Southeastern Nigeria, and how they enhance understanding of the relation between naming and the enunciation of religious identity as well as how gender is enacted. With analytical insights from socio-onomastic theory, which explores the relationship between names, culture, and society, we interrogate naming practices as essential cultural currency for identification, categorization, and connectedness. Data were obtained from 40 participants through semistructured interviews and participant observations. We focus on the intersection of naming and spiritual sentiments to argue that the contemporary reality of naming among Bette-Christians illuminates a practice that negates traditional Bette cosmology and cosmogony. We illustrate how the emergence of Christianity has altered the naming patterns and practices of the people, and how these names embody multidimensional connotations that range from religious identity to stereotyped gender ideologies

Aesthetics · Christianity · Identity (music) · Ideology · Linguistics · Masculinity · Onomastics · Sociology · African history and culture analysis · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Names, Identity, and Discrimination Research · Philosophy · Religious studies