Unusual (first) names (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Laurence Horn]

At 1:19 PM -0400 8/27/08, Baker, John wrote:
>         Napoleon Chagnon, in Yanomamo:  The Last Days of Eden, tells of
>how the Yanomamo gave him scandalous fake names, such as "Hairy Cunt"
>and "Eagle Shit," because a name taboo made them reluctant to give real
>names.  Maybe something similar was going on here.
>
>John Baker

Aren't there a number of cultures in which such unappetizing "public"
names are bestowed on children to make them less attractive as prey
to the demons or whatever?

LH

>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
>Of Mullins, Bill AMRDEC
>Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 1:00 PM
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>Subject: Re: Unusual (first) names (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
>Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
>Caveats: NONE
>
>Anyone interested in unusual names should see the list of American
>Indian names I posted last year:
>http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0712A&L=ADS-L&P=R11898
>&I=-3&m=72854
>
>I haven't figured out if these terms weren't taboo in Indian culture, if
>they were but were given by Indians to people with intent of mocking
>them, or if they were transcribed by white people with the intent of
>mocking them.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org