The birth of children comes with some difficult occurrences as well as strange situations and because of these, parents give children names to point to the various situations that surround their birth. This is one very common practice among the Ewes and to be looked at briefly will be examples of such names and some meanings associated with them.
Megbenu - Given to a child whose mother died immediately after he or she has been delivered.
Lumor - A male-given name that indicates that the child was born with the face looking downwards.
Lumorshie - A female-given name that also indicates that she was born with her face looking downwards.
Awumeshie - This is also a female name which means that the child was born with a covering like a cloth.
Eklu - Given to a child who was conceived through the help of lesser gods.
Afetorgbor - In traditional homes especially, there are old men who have a lot of experience in many of the traditions and they are normally the lords of the house or in another way family heads. If after the death of any of this kind of old men not long after which a child is born and who happens to be a male, this name is given to show that the lord of the house who died has come back.
Dotse - Given to a male child born after twins.
Dofui - Given to a female child born after twins.
Ashimenu - The delivery of a baby can be a very urgent happening at times and when it happens that a child is born in a market which happens in the olden days due to insufficient health facilities, the child is given this name.
Zanu - A child who is given birth to in the night is called by this name.
Dzikuidzkui Names
These names are the ones given to a child in situations where the parents have been giving birth but the children keep dying. They are literally names of laughter or names without any prestige because the belief was that with these names, death will find the children unattractive and wouldn't take them away.
Some of these include:
Adukpo - This literally means refuse dump.
Gangui - It refers to used cans, tins of containers that have been discarded.
Yegawoe - It means that I have done it again. This creates a communication to death as the people believe and it is like being ready for whatever will happen without being too dispirited even after it occurs.
kutsorge - This means that death will take it.
Yegadzikpor - This one means that the delivery of a baby has happened again.
Logbededzi - This means pouring rubbish on it and it is referring to the child as the one the rubbish is to be poured on.
Yegavakpor - This means that I come again to see.
Months of the year in Ewe
The Ewe calendar has thirteen (13) months and all exhibit different characteristics.
They are:
Dzove - This month is characterized by intense heating of the earth and its atmosphere.
Dzodze - In this month also there is a lot of heat because the sun shines all day.
Tedox3 - This is the month where yam is planted so it is a month of farming in relation to this particular crop yam.
Aforfie - This is also characterized by the intense heat of the earth's surface where because people do not have footwear in those days, as you walk around, beneath the foot is also hot due to the heating of the surface of the earth.
Dame - In this month rains fall considerably well for farming activities.
Mansa -
Siamlorm - In here the major food crop of the people which is maize is cultivated and this is the month of drying the corn. It happens that the sun shines small and rain showers so when the crops are dried and it starts to rain, it all has to be gathered back and it continues in that way.
Dasiamime - The month of harmattan where the natives have to smear their body with enough shear butter in order for the skin to remain fresh.
Anyornyor - Mostly, there are showers of rain in this month and hardly that heavy rainfall.
Kele - In this month also there is a lot of farming that goes on but the only thing is that it can rain on a nearby farm and not rain on the other. No one knows how it happens but it is a natural occurrence.
Adamekporx3 - crops flourish this month.
Dzome - Another month of severe sunshine.
Foave - The last month of the calendar in which farmers clear their lands for the next farming season.
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