Customer Reviews

Kinyarwanda and Kirundi Names: A Semiolinguistic Analysis of Bantu Onomastics (African Studies)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kimenyi, in this book, uses academic application to prove his point that onomastics (the study of names) is a crucial aspect to understanding African society. Detailed explanations are, in this book, accorded the names of the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa who primarily live in Rwanda and Burundi, but are found in sizeable populations in the neighboring countries Uganda, Congo (Zaire), and Tanzania. Kimenyi ventures deeply into the linguistics, this to some extent making the book quite academic. He illustrates how the names get to be structured, including prefixes employed to form gender-specific names. The relationships of the names to such aspects as war, clanship, proverbs, poetry, praises, royalty, and social class is examined. At the same time, the reader gets to absorb so much about the much highlighted issue of friction versus harmony amongst the ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi. Indeed many see the violence between groups in Rwanda as a result of an artificial creation of classes in the colonial era in a racist classification and divide-and-rule technique. Kimenyi has a new book out that goes much deeper into that. The main shortcoming of Kimenyi's master volume on African names is the por editing as illustrated by the many typographical errors and unnecessary repetition. Furthermore, this hardcover book is library- and research-oriented, therefore it is not readily available to the general public. The book deserves to be rewritten and re-edited, given the magnitude of important information provided. But the book remains a must for those interested in African names. The Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa have a highly sophisticated and intriguing system of names and naming. No doubt, I made extensive reference to Alexandre Kimenyi's book in my books on names that include "Traditional African Names," "African Ethnics and Personal Names," and "African Names and Naming."

Dr. Kimenyi uses academic application to prove his point that the study of names is a crucial aspect of understanding African society. Thorough explanations are accorded the personal as well as some place names of the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa peoples of eastern and central Africa. Kimenyi ventures deep into the linguistics.This, to some extent, renders the book as very academic. Kimenyi exemplifies how the names get to be structured, including the prefixes used to form gender-specific names. Relationships of names to such aspects as war, clanship, proverbs, poetry, praises, royalty, and social class is examined. And the reader gets to absorb so much about the much highlighted issue of friction versus harmony between the ethnic groups. The main shortcoming of this master volume is the poor editing, illustrated by several typographical errors and unnecessary repetition.