Shona Sentential Names

written by Jacob Mapara

A Brief Overview

This book draws on the case of the Shona and other Bantu people of Africa to argue that names are not mere identity tags. Names are an important cultural symbol of the people who give and bear them. The book challenges linguists and other social scientists to pay particular attention to the significance of names in the study of language use in society. Equally, it demonstrates the importance of names as part of the distinctive repertoire of Shona cultural heritage. Each Shona sentential name is a statement about that reality of being Shona. Carried in each name are sentiments that reflect on prevalent social, economic and political relations. The book focuses in particular on social names, religious names and war names inspired by such events as Zimbabwe’s war of liberation.

Jacob Mapara

Jacob Mapara is an Associate Professor in the Department of African Languages and Literature at Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo, Zimbabwe. His research interests include indigenous knowledge systems, onomastics, the Shona Short Story and the Shona Novel. He has published several papers, co-authored and co-edited books on these and related themes.