GENDER IDENTITY THROUGH THE EKEGUSII NAMING SYSTEM

Abstract

This paper analyses Ekegusii names and how they relate to gender
identity. It shows how the naming system is basically based on the
premise that a male is socialized to ‘gather wealth’, hence the term
omosacha (‘man/husband’), while a female is socialized to ‘take care
of (the wealth)’, hence the term omokungu (‘woman/wife’). The
names that are analysed in this study show the different crafts and
activities, such as blacksmiths and herbal dispensers, which males
engaged in traditionally in an effort to gather wealth. With the arrival
of the colonizers and missionaries in the in Gusii land (in Kenya), the
Abagusii people devised “modern” ways of wealth gathering and
ended up with names relating to education, white collar jobs and
money. The study also shows that males bear a number of borrowed
names, while women bear only one such name. Some of the names
given to the females describe their physical features, characteristics
and ornamentation, while others portray them as the carriers of the
community’s migration history. Both the males and the females bear
names derived from different types of crops and clothes, although the
former bear more of them than the latter. Finally, there are crossgender names borne by both the males and the females, although not
in the same proportions. The paper concludes that the assignment of
gender-specific names is not arbitrary, as names socially define
maleness and femaleness, besides constraining gender behaviour.