The Representation of People in the Ibibio Anthroponymic System: A Socio-Onomastic Investigation

Abstract

In the African cultural context and beyond, personal names are not just unique forms of identifying and individuating their bearers; they also provide relevant windows that resonate with the people’s worldviews, values, and cosmology. From a socio-onomastic perspective, this article examines the representation of people and their description in the Ibibio cultural namescape, which is a source of their traditional epistemology. Personal names are symbolic linguistic resources that contain information about the Ibibio universe of meaning, where people are placed at the centre of every social relationship. Drawing on ethnographic data sourced through participant observation and semi-structured interviews with 30 participants who were name-givers, name-bearers and name-users, this study reveals that the Ibibio naming tradition provides a medium for the dissemination of its traditional cultural scripts, which capture community solidarity, support, security and a sense of belonging. This article concludes that the Ibibio anthroponymic culture reflects people as sources of empowerment. People provide the foundation for understanding the past and a path for reaching one’s life goals. This study offers significant entry points into the way the Ibibio act and react to the strength of its community and reinforces the belief that for the Ibibio, people-related regime of names is an important resource used to foster a positive sense of community and well-being.