Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí and the philosophical (enunci)ation of yorùbá names

Abstract

This article investigates the philosophical (enunci)ation of Yorùbá names based on the thinking of Yorùbá philosopher Oyérónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí, who understands names not only as mere linguistic expressions or words used to designate people and things, but as externalization that determine and situate being in their familial, genealogical, ancestral, and social contexts. Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí points out that, prior to British colonization, Oyo-Yorùbá society was not organized by gender, but by seniority. Consequently, names, pronouns, nouns, activities, functions, and terms designating characteristics did not have gendered markings. The emergence of gendered names is understood both as a reflection of the colonial processes that transformed ways of thinking and social practices and as an indicator of Westernization. This process had a profound impact on the Yorùbá peoples and their naming practices. Methodologically, the article draws on references from African philosophy in arguing that reflection on names constitutes a fertile field for broadening the conceptual horizon of philosophy itself.