Figure - woman

Each Dogon child is given three names given by different people and used in different circumstances. A few days after birth, he is given the name boy toy, which is given by the head of the big family (ginna bana) on his father's side. Boy toy is the official Dogon name that the child will use most often. A few days after the first name is given, the child is given another name, boy na, chosen for him by ginna bana on his mother's side. The name will be used by the child's mother's relatives. The heads of both families, when naming the child, are guided by factors such as the sex of the child and the order and circumstances of the birth. They also often choose a name that has appeared in their families before. The third name (boy dama) is given to the child 35 days after birth. It is given by the priest of the binu (Binukedine) cult - the first ancestor of the father's family. It is a secret name, used only by the priest during rituals. Traditional male names usually begin with the letter a, while female names begin with the prefix ya, which in the Dogo-so language means woman. Among the male names popular are: Adie (first son), Assegue (second son), Atana (third son), Amene (man of god), Ana (son born after twins), Amagana (thanks to god). The most common female names are: Yadie (first daughter), Yassigi (second daughter), Yatanu (third daughter), Yanai (fourth daughter), Yasere (daughter who came, for a girl who was born shortly after marriage), Yana (daughter born after twins). There are a great many Dogon names. French anthropologists conducting research among the Dogon in the thirties of the twentieth century collected as many as 797 of them. Nowadays, in the era of advancing Islam and the presence of Christianity, Muslim and Christian names are often encountered. And although it is under these names that children are registered in offices, each of them also has a traditional Dogon name.

Ewa Prądzyńska