After the collection of the personal names, they were sorted into some form of classification.
The same procedure was done by Pfukwa (2007), Makondo (2009) and earlier on by Kabweza (1979).Holland (1990) and Leslie and Skipper (1990) also advocate for the need of some
131 classification when looking at data which involves names, and they came up with tentative classification models on names. Pfukwa asserts that there are as many classifications of names as there are of authors. Every researcher who studies names is likely to come up with his or her own classification which best suits his research.This study borrowed a lot from the classifications done by Makondo (1997) andPfukwa (2010), but proceeded to add some aspects on these classifications to suit the needs of thestudy. The criteria used by the previous researchers are very similar in that they look at meanings of personal names, but Pfukwa (2007) deviates a little because his study looks at war nicknames. Thecommon thread in these studies is that they all look at the meanings of the names. The present study benefited from these previous studies because it also looks at the meanings of personal names, but goes further by looking at the extent to which the meanings of these personal names reflect the gender status of the name bearers. The name categories given by Makondo (2009) and Kabweza (1979) are the same in that they have five categories:
The first category is /Zitaremudumba/ (maternity home name).A name which is given to a newborn baby just after birth, and before the child can come out of imba or dumba (birth room) (Kabweza, 1979).This is the first name every Shona child is given.
The second category is made up of imitative or emulative names /chenza/ (Roberts 1931:90).
Children with emulative names are named after other family members or famous national personalities.
The third category is of ancestral spirit names /mazita egombwa/ (Bourdillon 1976:216;
Aschwanden 1982:38). Names in this category are chosen by the spirits of the deceased and passed on to the family by diviners.
The fourth category comprises of /Mazita edzinza/ (lineage names) These names will have been used successfully in a family genealogy (Makondo 2009:207).Fortune (1988:43) refers to lineage names as titular names of chiefs/headmen like Mangwende and Svosve of Mashonaland East. The personal names in this category are also gendered because most of the chiefs were men, and on very few occasionswere women given the opportunity to rule as chiefs.
The fifth and final category is of diviner-suggested names /mazita ejemedzwa/. According to Kahari (1997:125), these names come as a result of some supernatural interventions that caused the child to refuse to suckle from the mother, to sleep badly, to cry unnecessarily, or to fall ill (Makondo 2009:210).
132 Holland (1990) also proposes the following classification of personal names:
a) Physical or personal characteristics b) Habits
c) Geographical or place of origin d) Lineage
e) Events f) Occupation g) Traditions
h) Cultural stereotypes i) Other associations.
The two classifications given above greatly influenced this study and shaped the classification that was developed for the study. The classification used for this study borrowed some aspects from the two classifications. It borrowed most from Holland’s (2000) classification but its primary focus was on the aspects which point to gender as reflected in Zezuru names.
Table 5.5.1 CATEGORY OF NAMES CATEGORY
NUMBER OF NAMES
% OF TOTAL
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE 56 11.2
HABITS 65 13
OCCUPATION 25 6
HISTORICAL EVENTS 70 14
BIBLICAL INFLUENCE 50 10
FLORA AND FAUNA 55 11
AMBITIONS/ASPIRATION 60 12
REGRETS 44 8.8
PRAISE 45 9
PREJUDICE 30 5
In the table above, category 1 is constituted by names which point to physical appearance.
Names such as Chiedza (light), Runako (beauty) and others seem to top the list and will be discussed further in the next chapter.
133 Category 2 has names which point to the habits of the name bearer, such asShupikai (be in trouble) and Nekairai (be active).
Category 3 has names which point to occupation such as Mukoti (nurse), Dhokotera (doctor), Tera (tailor) and others.
Category 4 has names which reflect historical events such as Hondo (war), Chimurenga (liberation struggle), Rusununguko (independence) and others.
Biblical influence is category 5 and names like Tsitsidzashe (mercy of the Lord), Tafadzwanashe (the Lord has made us happy) and Rudorwashe (love of the Lord) feature frequently.
Category 6 is occupied with names which are influenced by the surrounding environment.
Names such as Ruva (flower) andMagen’a (hare) are found in this category.
The personal names in category 7 point to ambitions and aspirations. Names such as Pfumai (get rich),Tonderai (remember) and many more will be discussed in the next chapter.
Names which show regrets in life are found in category 8 and they include names such as Takarwireyi (why did we fight), Makaiteyi (why did you do it) and others.
Category 9 is occupied with names which reflect praisesuch as Tafara, Tafadzwa, Tanyaradzwa and more.
The tenth and final category constitutes of names which show prejudice such as Sarurai, Semai and others which will be analysed in the next chapter. Names which fall in this category are very few compared tonames in other categories.
It is worth noting that some of the names fit into more than one category.This made it difficult at times to draw a clear line between some of the categories.Thus, certain names werevery difficult to classify because of the overlap between categories. These names however, remained very relevant to the study because they do reflect gender stereotyping in the Zezurusociety, and were therefore looked at independent of the abovementioned categories, and referred to as miscellaneous.
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