Title:
How does my personal name experience from birth till now reflect wider Assamese
society?
Introduction:
It is very universal to
have names for a human being. The link between a name and a person or
object/thing denominated by it is an association and a bond which unites the
two in such a way that we cannot deny the inherent folklore related to it. The
naming convention is very much influenced by the culture of the society where
different kinds of beliefs, secrets are adjoined to it. In fact, many people
regard their name as a vital portion of themselves and take care of it
accordingly. Anthroponomy attributes the study of personal name where Given
names, Surnames, Clan names, Matronyms, Patronyms, Teknonyms, Nicknames,
Ethnonyms are elongated. My personal names never drawn any attention towards my
experiences or any other ideal bond related to the culture and society until I
was given to manipulate it here as an essay. Being an Assamese in particular
and an Indian in general, I was crossed by the traditional naming convention
which is much influenced by caste system. In Assamese society, elderly persons including
teachers are never called by their name. Here, in this essay it is tried to
summarise the naming experiences further added the informal, humorous
addressing with variety of phonetic variation.
The
Assamese society:
Assam which is also
known as Pragjyotisha and Kamarupa in Early period, is an anglicised form of
the name of the premier state of North-East India, a region very strategically
situated, close to India’s international borders with the four countries-
China, Myanmar, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. She can be broadly divided into three distinct
physical units, the Brahmaputra Valley in the north, the Barak Valley in the
narrow protruding south and the hilly region separating the two valleys. The
Term ‘Assam’ or ‘Axom’ is interpreted by some scholar as a formation of
Sanskrit derivation which means unequalled; as an undefeated or low country.
But the more widely popular and accepted opinion is that the term has come from
the word ‘Ahom’, the people who migrated to the Brahmaputra valley in the early
13th century and gave shape to the Assamese society today after
ruling about 600 years till the annexation of Assam by British. Assam has had
links with Aryan Civilisation and culture since ancient times. This land has
been the meeting ground of diverse ethnic groups and cultural streams since time
immemorial. Various tribal communities-at different level of acculturation,
integration and assimilation vis-à-vis the Assamese Hindu society-live in the
hills and plains. Assamese is the most widely spoken language throughout the
state. Roughly, from the ten century and onwards the Assamese language both as
a medium of literary expression and as a vehicle of diffusing Hindu religion
and culture played a vital role in the evolution of Assamese society. In spite
of the assimilative power of Hinduism and the increasing influence of Sanskrit
and the newly emerging Assamese, the ratio of tribal population speaking their
own dialects and observing their traditional customs and rites must have been
greater during 13th and 14th centuries. Naturally,
therefore tribal dialects exerted some influence in shaping the Assamese
language through the unusual process of evolution. While there is a small but
significant Assamese Sikh, Christianity has been adopted by a section of local
people specially tribal group. Muslim population is also present in sizeable
proportion. They together contribute to the scenario of socio cultural Assamese
society.
The term Assamese is
used to refer to those who are citizens of Assam, indigenous or long settled inhabitants
of the state. The language of the native people is called Assamese too. The
state has a larger no. of tribes and castes within their variety of tradition
and culture. Through the decades of different kingdom like Ahom, Koch, Chutia,
Barahi and Kachari, Assamese was remained the language of common people. The
bond of unity sponsored by the adoption of Assamese as the common speech
contributed, in lesser way, to the emergence of Assamese society with its
distinct ethos.
The
naming convention and ritual:
The Assamese synonym word for
name is nām. Like all other Assamese
family, I have a naming convention of Shri (initial) Purabi (given name) Baruah
(sur name).This is given by the family with a no. of rituals and beliefs on the
day of initiation rite and soon after my marriage one more sur name and initial
has been added into my name. Also the initial has changed. The given name Shri Purabi Baruah is considered as my
good and official name. which is not the real name. The real name is considered
to be Secret and it is known as Gupta (secret) nām. There may be many good names but
real name should be only one.
 |
| Birth chart according to Hindu faith. Source:Internet |
The
naming tradition and ritual is known as Gananā
which means to count. In this ritual, almanac, the birth sheet or Kusthi is made soon after the birth of the child where a mere
future life is predicted as-the child’s interest and nature as accordance with
the position of the moon and stars, longitivity of life; bad affects in the
life period etc. And most importantly calculated Horoscope as well as Zodiac
sign; the birth chart-Janma lagna (A
floral diagram indicating the positions of planets, stars and moons); Assamese
calendric year, time and place of birth. The Hororscopic chart or
birth chart (Janma lagna kundali) is
a representation of the planets in the sky at the time of birth of a person. It
depicts the rising sign (Lagna) and
position of planets in different zodiac sign (rāshi) or houses.
My
zodiac sign is virgo which should contain the letters P (Pa) and Th (Tha). My
mother used to tell me that they did not find any name starts with ‘Tha’.
Therefore, all names were taken by P including the Secret name. The real
name and the good names are oriented by zodiac sign.
The
Personal name studies and analysis:
1. Official Good name: As we
can see the good name consists of three parts. The first part Shri is a title
prefix before a person’s name used in Indian context. Shri is used in most languages of the Indian subcontinent
both for male and female gender. The specific initials for Assamese people in
its gender perspective are Kumari (unmarried girl), Sriman (male), Srimati
(female-married). The term ‘Shri’ is a Sanskrit word which means radiator or
diffusing light. Typically, it is a title to give respect, honour and esteem.
In very lay terms, it means Mr., sometimes it may mean Sir, and seldom means
‘The Great’. When it is used before the name of a respectable or venerable
personage, it is repeated twice, e.g.- Shri Shri Shankardeva who is honoured
for his greatness and contribution to Assamese culture. Its usage is also
common with Indian classical music (rāgas),
either as a prefix or postfix such as Shree, Bageshree, Dhanashree, Malashree,
Jayantashree, Rageshree, Shree Ranjani, etc. It is used to address gods in the
Hindu pantheon, elders and any individual. Holiness and divinity are attached
to the word when written or spoken. But it is not limited in use only for persons
and musics but also Gods, scriptures and divine structures (yantrā). The influence of Shri is also
seen in the name of town like Srinagar (India), Srirampur (Assam) and south
Asian country like Srilanka. For every formal cases, the utterance of Shri before
one’s name is profound in Assam may be because of the Sankrit origin and
Hinduised culture. Some of the eastern part of Assamese inhabitant specially
the Ahom community use ‘Chao’ as initial before individual which has equivalent
meaning as Shri. Chao is a word of Tai language (Tai-Kadai), which was spoken
by Ahom kingdom.
Accordingly, my full name can be split into three parts-Shri+Purabi+Baruah. So, Shri may be signify as wealthy or
honoured. ‘Purabi’ has no dictionarial meaning. But this word may derive from Purab
or Purav, a Hindi word which means the east direction. Also it might get its variation
from the Sanskrit word Puravi which refers an Indian classical musical piece (Purvi Rāg/Rāgini). The sur name Baruah
is my patronymic association and large in no. in Assamese society which is
considered as royal class. Originally the title ‘Baruah’ was
conferred for most of class of officers in the Ahom
kingdom of
medieval Assam
and belongs to Ahom noble family. The Ahom appointed officers with various
titles and the title ‘Baruah’ means a ‘Leader of 3000 men’. The Baruas / Baruahs / Barooahs of Assam are Hindus by
faith and have been a key contributor to the growth of Assamese community. They
are not specific in class and caste system. In fact, there are found different
classes among Baruahs.
It can be mentioned here that Family names in North-East and
East India are most commonly and originally derived from professions in the
caste system. More particularly, other terminology like Gotra (family or clan), Varna
(classes) are also associated with Ancient Indian naming tradition. Gotra
broadly refers to the people who are descendants in a male line from a common
male ancestor. Again, a basic division of Indian society can be observed as a
Priesthood (Brahmin), warrior class (Kshatriya), Commoners/Traders (Vaishya), augmented by a class of unfree
Serfs (Shudras). This
was a socio economic category in ancient India known as Varna based on the responsibilities or duties towards the society
and not restricted to Hinduism as well. Known
by Khastriya as a class and Koch as a caste (jāti), I can put the observation of my sur name such as there
might be a chance of ruling warriors by my forefathers under Ahom kingdom with
the grade of Baruah who is the leader of 3000 warrior.
2. Other good names:
There were granted other good names by the elderly people of my family as they
have their own point of view of naming the child. Among those names some
are-Poly, Plawan, Padmalaksmi, Purvasri etc. It can be noticed that all names
start from the letter P which signifies they are under same zodiac sign. Among
these names, Poly has no significant meaning; Plawan means to float, and
Padmalakshmi is a name of goddess Lakshmi which means goddess of wealth sitting
in a lotus. It is believed that by keeping the name of a god and goddess the
child is protected by him/her and able to captivate the moral value. It is also
believed that by uttering the name of such person considered as equivalent as to
take the name of that god and hence free from miseries. By the name of goddess,
I, therefore, as Padmalakshmi, am always ensured to be protected and wealthy by
Goddess Lakshmi in my thoughts and beliefs.
3. The Secret Name: In Assamese society every man, woman, child has, besides a
personal name which is in common use or official use, a secret or sacred name
which is bestowed by the older men or priest upon him or her soon after birth,
and which is known to none but family members. This secret name is never
mentioned except upon the most solemn occasion such as marriage. But this name
is never used in daily social life. Thereby I got also my secret name ‘Pramila’
which is not known by anyone except my parents and now the reader of this
paper. Being an offspring of a lineage (Gotra) of Kashyap, the analysis of my
secret name can be illustrated as follows–
Pramila, a prominent female character from Indian Classical epic
Rāmayanā, is the wife of Meghnad who is not human but demon-like (Asur) and daughter of Shesha who is the
king of Serpent (Nāga raj). She was
very bold and regarded as Sati. Meghnad
is the son of king Ravan who had his kingdom in Singhal (present day Srilanka).
Now giving the secret name as Pramila is significantly related to unmarried
daughter of Shesha who is a son of sage (ṛsi)
Kashyap and Kadru. So, undoubtedly she is the descendants of Kashyap. It can be
noted that traditionally carrying the information as the descendent of Kasyap Gotra
in the birth sheet of my forebear helped the Ganak to place the proper secret
name. This way of naming might help the child to grow up with prosperity, protection
and characteristics of its forebear. It is so strange to know about this naming
that unconsciously I was intended to select my research topic which is related
to Serpent goddess Manasa that bounds me to believe today on the secret name
has been protecting me as well as intended to understand about her (Manasa’s) descendent,
her role and powers.
It has been also noticed that nonetheless the tradition Ganana is executed by ‘Ganak’, a class (kula) of Brahmin, the highest hierarchical caste. Because, he is
the real educated and knowledgeable one, who has depth insight into the human
ancestral chronology. But, the source of giving the secret name relevant to the
ancestral is not definite as the source of justification is self-limited
because of its name belief.
An Assamese society influenced by Hindu religion believes in
naming magic and witch craft. Assam is very much influenced by tantra practise which is practised in
Kamakhya temple in Guwahati and some of the villages. Mayang village of Nagaon
district is still practising some of the white magic for well-being of local
people. The tradition of gupta nām or
secret name might be going forward of this reason. The native thinks that a
stranger knowing the real name would have the special power to work him/her ill
by means of magic. Though this name tradition is very common in Assamese Hindu,
there also may be observed that folks believe on the Brahmin or Ganak-the
priest such as the latter never harms and performs magic upon other and always
ensures the public come to him in distress. There might be a scope of belief
that they are of high caste and do not pertain the kind of magic and mischief
which is considered as low.
4.Nick names:
I must say about the nick names which are very dearer, humorous and sometimes
meaningless too. Precisely, very much related to the psychology of religious
beliefs. From the very childhood, I was taught to stand and pronounce properly
and loudly my good name as ‘Sri Purabi Baruah’. I repeatedly practised. Instead
of this name, my parents used to call me as Mājani which means ‘my dear little daughter’ from where the sounds
of endearment of affection can be felt. I am still called as Dāngār Āi by my other relatives because
of the eldest amongst all other first cousins in the joint family.It has been
illustrated the meaning of Mājani in two different way-
First
of all, Mājani may be parted as Mā+jani where Mā means mother who gives birth
and jani is the post suffix uses for female. Mā is the word originated from the
Sanskrit word Mātri. So, the word may represents the mother or from the mother.
Secondly,
Mājani can be parted as Māj+ani where Māj means central/insight/middle leading into the meaning of very personal and
therefore assumes as very dear to heart. Ani again is the Assamese suffix for
female.
Almost
all the new born baby girl is called as Mājani specially in the eastern part of
Assam. But conversing as Mā to a girl by their parents is common almost
everywhere in Assam.
On
the other hand, Āi signifies a motherly lady. Sometimes it is also used in
addressing the wife of a Guru (god father) or teacher, mother-in law to
daughter in law or vice versa. It is an affectionate term used in calling one’s
daughter. The name Dāngār Āi means elder daughter which is more than a name and
address a polite relational being. It’s also presumed an identity and position
in the family. If my grandmother noises this name in front of the other, it’s
quite obvious to understand them to know that I am the eldest of this family.
But my grandmother herself never introduces me to other by this name too. And
the nick name remains in its own boundaries of affection. Even the grandmother
is called as Āita which has the noun Āi too. In the reign of Ahom kingdom, there
were many terms for girl, wife, daughter, queen as well as princess like
Āijani, Āiti, Āi deuta, Āideo, Āikan, Āi kuwari etc. for which it can be said that the usage
of the Āi affects and contribute the
Assamese society.
It
is very significant to understand the importance of Mā or Āi in Assamese context.
From the view point of ritual practice and other beliefs, it can be mentioned
that female are honoured in the society in the form of goddess. Also they have the
right to choose their groom and can live with him. Marriage however is
performed and dominated as Social marriage (Prajapatayah)
in the society. On the other hand, the term Āi or Mā is used to address the
goddess/local deities for their power and pride performing many rituals,
worships in temples. There are very many sanctums or shrines found in ancient
Assam where traditionally rituals had been fulfilling, for e.g. the Kāmākhyā
Temple of Kamrup. Traditionally the śākta cult is considered to have its centre
in Kāmarupā with its chief temple at Kāmākhyā. It is the most holy and famous shrine
of the sect, and with its worship was associated the various rites, mantras,
mudras and sacrifices. There is a myth behind this shrine-
The
name of the hillock where the shrine stands is Nilācala (Blue Mountain).
According to the Kālikā Purāna, a religious text of 10th century, the
genital organ of Sati (the first consort of Lord Shiva) fell here when her dead
body was carried hither and thither in frantic sorrow by her husband Shiva. When
Sati’s genital organ fell on the mountain, it turned blue. The goddess herself
is called Kāmākhyā, because she came here secretly to satisfy her amour (Kāma)
with Shiva. When Narakāsur (a demon who likes powerful seeking deities) founded
a kingdom in early Assam established himself
as the custodian of this Goddess and made her the presiding deity of the
state. Later religious history also centres on her and other goddesses
recognised as her varied manifestations. The Shrines of different goddess are
initiated in Assam indicates the religious faith of the people. The worship of
śakti goddess is completed to the sacrifices of animals and by divine
possession Deodhani till today. They pronounce
every goddess as ‘Mā’ or ‘Āi Gukhāni’. Now, ‘Gukhāni’ is a primitive Assamese
term used to indicate goddess prior to Vedic cult. So, it might have a
possibility of adding Āi before the term Gukhāni in the reign of Ahom Kingdom.
The
philosophy behind the worship of goddess in the form of woman is that she is
the base of all power through which the earth is balanced. The nature or world
(Prakriti) and man (Purush) are consumed by the power of
śhiva and śhakti and unite such a way that they forget about time and gender
differences.
 |
| Kamakhya temple, source: internet |
The festival Ambubāchi, the menstruation of Mother Earth is celebrated in Kāmākhyā temple where huge no. of devotee gathers. The Sanskrit term Ambuvāci, from which the local Assamese word Ambubāchi or Ambubasi is derieved, literally means ‘the issuing forth of water’, referring to the swelling of the Earth’s waters from the beginning of monsoon. People also believe that this festival is a celebration of Kāmākhyā’s menstruation, but in fact, it is the menstruation of the entire Mother Earth, and Kāmākhyā is the seat of her yoni becomes the focal point for related festivities. The goddess here being intimately connected to the matriarchal tribes of the hills for thousands of years, it’s no wonder that this powerful and uniquely female cycle would be celebrated and venerated here. For devotee, specially amongst Tantrics at the temple, Ambubāchi is a time of tremendous power and celebration. People believe that Mother Earth cannot be impure, and that this is a time of potency and reflection. It is a time to celebrate the gifts that Mother Earth gives to earth-food, shelter, the very foundation of life striving towards oneness with Mā. Devotee wait for hours to receive a small piece of the red-silk ‘blood- cloth’ upon which Devi (goddess) sits during her menses. This piece of cloth is said to be very auspicious and powerfully beneficial if tied onto the body.
The
Assamese people also symbolize the disease Small pox as Āi which they mean the
form of goddess Śītalā. She
is the goddess of wounds, boils and diseases in Assamese Hindu mythology. Śītalā is represented as a young maiden
crowned with a winnowing-fan, riding an ass, holding a short broom (either to
spread or dust off germs) and a pot full of pulses (the viruses) or cold water
(a healing tool). Among low-caste Hindus and tribal communities, she is an iconically
represented with slab-stones or carved heads. Sometimes, she is said to be
carrying a bunch of neem (Azadirachta
indica) leaves, an ancient herb that
is very much an effective remedy to most skin diseases even today. Even today
the Assamese folk rarely use medicines curing small pox. The women folk perform
ritual Āi xabhā, a meeting for the
goddess Śītalā where they sing Āi nām for
praise of her.
Also for interjection of pity, exclamation of
terror, wonder or pain in a sudden state the words āi-ou!, āi-oii!, ohh mā! are
come out automatically.
Hence, the child daughter is
resembled to Mā or Āi which has an inherent meaning may be related to woman
dignity and power. This words are considered to be very religious, sacred,
pure, powerful and central and so significantly important.
Another
interesting name Indumati or Inda by my sister is very much famous
among her friends and colleagues. Indu and Indumati have dictionarial meaning
in Assamese i.e., Moon and a mythological female character respectively whreas
Inda has no meaning. Generally mati
is a suffix used in terms of female in Assamese literature, for instance Srimati. I have asked few years back
about this name and its context. But she was completely unaware of these
meaning said above. But, she has mentioned a context saying that she tried to
repeat my nick name Mājani along with bā (bā or bāidauo is a word used for
elderly sister in Assamese society) i.e., Mājani bā as shorter as she could and
finally it produced the sounds like Inda and hence the name ‘Inda-Indua-Indu-….Indumati’
was arrived. And co-incidently the name is a mythological character. I have
tried to do many times like she did. But this pronunciation inda/indumati could
not come.
5.Playful Names:
Later on, in school, colleges and university life had adjoined different and
playful names which are related to my look, my nature, my physics, my hobbies
etc. For my look all my school and college friends use to call me as Xukāni, Ketengi which means pencil-thin
and hence ugly. The other name in Hindi is Hasina
2-foot ki means beautiful lady of 2 feet. This is quite similar to the
Escape mechanism where people evade unpleasant realities and present it in an
attractive way. All other names, for e.g. Kanduri
for crying and emotional girl, Polā
for running away as because I was talkative and people used to get bored, Nāsoni for dancing girl etc.
And
then when the University life had begun folks started calling me as Puu , the short form of Purabi and they
stress on the letter u, and it sounds like ‘uuuuu’ and variant or vibrant. I
got in my year the best dancer award and university folks started calling- Dhintāk, Satriā, Amrapāli and so on.
Now Dhintāk is a rhythmic syllable, Satriā is a traditional performing art form
of (15th century) Assam whreas Amrapāli is a historical female
courtesan who was a spiritual practitioner. All these are connected and specify
to my particular performing form of practice with attainments.
During the higher study level, in its urban context, scholars used to call me as the
name Deodhani my research title
‘Deodhani’. Deodhani is a devine lady
who can possess power during the time of Shakti
ritual which is supernatural. People believe her sacredness and
responsibilities but deny her existence. They never allow their children to
become a Deodhani possession. In a
rural Assamese society, Deodhani is
not considered as a good term to be used for good lady. However, Purabi becomes my identification and
during all of my travel and research period till today in the Tartu University
has been continuing where sound variation is observed.
6.Name, being a Married woman:
Marriage which brought a big change into my life from the name to the life
style, has also significantly influenced by the culture in which I have grown
up. From the journey of my name Sri
Purabi Baruah to Srimati Purabi
Baruah Talukdar, it was acquired the way to find out flexibility about the
terminology Gotra, Jati, Varna within the culture. To become
Mrs. Talukdar or Talukdārani leads me
to know about what Talukdar signify in the history of wider Assamese society. In
the society, the wives once married have no longer use their name informally
and call as surname title of their husband like other society has, for e.g-
Baruahni, Dasani, Nathani, Kalitani etc. where Baruah, Das, Nath, Kalita are
the sur names of their respective husbands and ni is the Assamese suffux for female. Thereby I also began to
address as Talukdarani in an informal
way. The more formal way to call me is ‘Srimati Talukdar’.
Conclusion:
In Assamese society
various names are found as Devine and Non-devine. Among the divine names the
names of omnipotent gods and goddess –Brhma, Vishnu and Maheswar who are the
main gods and their consort as main goddesses. But they have various
manifestation of identifying themselves according to their incarnation to the
earth to fulfil proclaimed purposes. So, naming tradition accrues by events and
deeds that these divinities perform. There is a plethora of lesser gods also in
the form of rain, fire, water and they may have wives, son, daughters and their
creation. Thereby, the name related to nature or beauty of nature, name of
rivers, trees, intangible divine creation like light, shadow, dawn/morning are
counted which touches aesthetic pleasure of sounds and mind. Naming a mythological
character from ancient past is also seen in a large no. The significant purpose
is to get power and protection from the particular name. Among the non-divine
names animals name like Mayur
(peacock), plants like Dubari (a kind
of grass use in local ritual), Lata
(orchid), ornaments like Hira(diamond),
Mukta (pearl) etc. can be observed
which are gender specific. There may unlimited names in one’s life which have
some significant meaning, sometimes adjacent to ancestors, society and culture.
Sometimes meaningless and often has nothing to do with surrounds but related to
emotions. In Assamese society most of the personal names are related towards
magic: it is a name of preventing a black magic either god or goddess name or
name of some sages, some ornaments, gems etc. The personal naming tradition is
helpful to understand the religious text and context in Assamese society. Through
this Anthronomy, it is found names and phrases addressing my cultural identity,
it also helps to understand the relational being. Personal names may be varying;
it may be one or many. I have a collection of 20 opersonal names of my own most
of which are phrases to address. Though all are not related to wider Assamese
society but have essence of Sanskritised and Indianness. The experiences are
indeed counted a deep philosophical insight.
Bibliography:
Barua, B.K. 2003. A Cultural History Of Assam. Bina
publication: Guwahati, India.
Baruah,
Hemchandra. 2007. Hemkosha: Etymological
Assamese words and Idiomatical phrases done into English. Hemkosh
Prakashan: Guwahati-03, India .
Baruah, Purabi.
(unknown). Personal Diary.
Unpublished.
Bordoloi, Nirmalprabha.
1989. Devi. Sahitya Prakash:
Guwahati-03, India.
Frazer, Sir James.
1996. The Golden Bough. Wordsworth
Reference: Great Britain.
Leeuw,
G. Van. 1963. Religion in Essence and
Manefestation (vol-I &I). Harper & Row Publishers: New York.
Paul,
Amar Krishna. 2005. North –East
Encyclopedia. General Publication: Guwahati-03, India.
Sarma,
Satyendranath. 2001. A Socio-Economic and
Cultural History of Medieval Assam. Bina publication: Guwahati, India.
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