Kipsigis Cultural Values in Birth Names

Abstract

The present study investigated cultural values in Kipsigis personal names of the birth name category. The study was done in Kericho and Bomet counties, Kenya, from December 2022 to August 2023. A total of 20 personal names were collected and analyzed using the anthroponym-pragma-semio-semantic decompositional theory which proposes that a name is first broken down into its various morphological components so as to arrive at its meaning. The birth names were analyzed and sub-categorized into time birth names, season names, location names and ancestral names. Each name is broken down into its various morphemes and the literal meaning is established. From this analysis several morphological processes are noted such as prefixation, compounding involving several word classes and deverbalization. From the process of prefixation, the feature of gender is brought out whereby names of boy begin with kip- and girls’ names beginning with chep-. Several cultural implications were brought out which include the need to mark history surrounding the birth of a child, herdsman culture and belief in the supernatural.

Keywords: meaning, cultural implications, values, herdsman culture