Naming System And Gender Construction In Safwa Ethnic Group

ABSTRACT

This research aimed at exploring the naming system and gender construction in Safwa ethnic group. The study was conducted through the interviews and focus group discussion which provided the primary data, where by the semi structured questions were administered to the respondents who gave the required information concerning this study, and library reading which gave the experience on how other researchers have discovered in issues related to my study. The study area was Mbeya rural specifically in the two divisions which are Usongwe and Tembela. It was guided by three questions: (1) what are common names in Safwa ethnic group and how do these names relate to gender construction? (2) What is the relationship between the meaning of the name and the behaviour of the person called that name? (3)What is the relationship between the naming system and language? Research findings show that Safwa people give names which are typically meaningful and are depending to a certain reason. It was also discovered that, there is a big relationship between the meaning of the name and the behaviour of the person called that name, especially when the name is given during adulthood. Apart from this it was revealed that naming system and language can not be separated because there are no names without language and through names one can get a certain meaning and know the culture of the area where the name is used.