”For a long time child bearing amongst the Tswana has been a very important phenomenon, and still is in the present Botswana, for the society perceives the child as the one who carries the family name forward, and stands as the final hope of societal regeneration and sometimes as a perfect reflection of the past; for in the child the society believes, is the reincarnation of ancestors” (Otlogetswe, sundaystandard.info 2012).
I (we) have often vocally criticised various Tswana names that signified negativity to me, or rather to those without any idea, such as myself.
According to my dear mother, (born in 1954) and according to my dear grandmother (born in 1925), these ’’negative’’ names have a profound meaning, to the naming parents and family. For example, my late paternal grandfather (pictured) was Leselekwane Kgasa. I have been told with great interest that the “foreign” name of Leselekwane rightly means a ’’small rat’’, yes, rat. Because names are believed to have limitless spiritual powers: they confirmed that it was very popular, in any unfortunate event that the child preceding the newborn had died, often, the newborn’s name was believed to scare or put-off the spell that killed the baby before. Hence in this example, my grandfather’s elder sibling died a baby. Therefore, my grandfather, the small rat, was meant to scare away the very same death that snatched his baby sibling.
Of course, that is one example. As Liseli Fitzpatrick has remarked: ’’some names and naming among African peoples on the continent bore spiritual, psychological, and physical significance’’ (2012:4) – names such as Blessing, Kgosietsile, or Pelotshweu.
Blessing Kgosi e tsile Kgasa 