Names and their cultural identity in Maake's novel, Mme: a psycho-cultural perspective

Abstract

African names exhibit far greater creativity than it is seen in European cultures because the important thing in naming is its meaningfulness. Among Africans and the Basotho in particular, names are not arbitrarily chosen or fortuitously given. Their meaning encapsulates a person's cultural identity. Cultural identity is the set of personal traits by which a character is recognisable as a member of a group. This paper examines the use of literary names in Maake's novel Mme, as they relate to social phenomena. "What is the meaning in the name?" is the question Africans ask when referring to what ultimately concerns them. A name is the key to reading their souls. It is the signpost to an individual's self-understanding, to the dreams which an individual aims to realise and to the aspirations an individual has set for him- or herself. A psycho-cultural framework underpins this study. Character names in both the title and text of Maake's novel Mme, offer the researcher the psycho-cultural key to discussing the Basotho cultural heritage.