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A '''praise name''' is a figurative or descriptive name that is given to either a person, animal, clan, deity, or inanimate object. They are usually laudatory and refer to a quality or action, though in the pursuit of essentialising something they can be derogatory. They often comprise the basis for praise poetry, serve as permanent titles, or as terms of formal address that reinforce status.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Bakossi names, naming culture and identity|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41428151|journal=Journal of African Cultural Studies|date=2011|issn=1369-6815|pages=111–120|volume=23|issue=2|first=Ivo|last=Ngade}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite book|edition=1|chapter=Panegyric|chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5vjsmr.15|publisher=Open Book Publishers|title=Oral Literature in Africa|date=2012|isbn=978-1-906924-70-6|volume=1|first=Ruth|last=Finnegan}}</ref>{{rp|pages=111, 118}}

== Description == Praise names are most often given to people, and royal courts tended to have a professional poet or group of poets who composed and sung them for the ruler. They can be metaphorical and draw comparisons to animals and natural phenomena.<ref name=":0" />{{Reference page|page=|pages=111, 116-7}} Yoruba praise names ({{Lang|yor|oríkì}}) serve as titles which can be given by friends, though are usually given by drummers.<ref name=":0" />{{Reference page|page=112}} In Sotho culture, it is common for someone to compose a praise name for themselves.<ref name=":0" />{{Reference page|page=115}} In Dogon culture, children receive a praise name ({{Lang|dds|tige}}) which serves as a personal motto.<ref>{{cite book|edition=1|chapter=Oratory, Formal Speaking, and other Stylized Forms|chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5vjsmr.26|publisher=Open Book Publishers|title=Oral Literature in Africa|date=2012|isbn=978-1-906924-70-6|volume=1|first=Ruth|last=Finnegan}}</ref>{{rp|page=461}} In Southern Africa, praise names for someone's clan are used on formal occasions (eg. {{Lang|tsn|mokzvena}} (based on {{Lang|tsn|kwena}} which means "crocodile") can be used for anyone belonging to the Tswana Kwena clan).<ref name=":0" />{{Reference page|page=118}}

In Acholi culture, praise names are often given to long-horned cattle.<ref name=":0" />{{Reference page|page=139}} Hausa praise names ({{lang|hau|kirari}}) can be given to inanimate objects, such as the {{lang|hau|molo}} (a three-stringed lute).<ref name=":0" />{{Reference page|pages=111-2}} Praise names can also be given to deities, such as the Somali names {{Lang|som|Bogsiiye}} ("the Curer") and {{Lang|som|Baahilaawe}} ("He who is without need or want") for Allah, the Igbo name {{Lang|ibo|Chukwuemeka}} ("God has done well") for Chukwu, or the Shona name {{Lang|sn|Dzivaguru}} ("Great Pool", in reference to rainmaking) for Mwari.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Names of God in Northern Somali|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-the-school-of-oriental-and-african-studies/article/names-of-god-in-nokthern-somali-8/0B62F62BE1C723A6B436739C1A4A524B|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies|date=1959|issn=|pages=|volume=22|issue=1|doi=10.1017/S0041977X00076205|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20180614004710/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-the-school-of-oriental-and-african-studies/article/names-of-god-in-nokthern-somali-8/0B62F62BE1C723A6B436739C1A4A524B|archive-date=2018-06-14|language=|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=What's in a Name?: An Ibani Example|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23816369|journal=Cambridge Anthropology|date=1985|issn=0305-7674|pages=59–62|volume=10|issue=2|first=Alicia T.|last=Jewett}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Auret|first=Diana|date=1982-01-01|title=The Mhondoro spirits of supratribal significance in the culture of the Shona|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00020188208707585|journal=African Studies|volume=41|issue=2|pages=173–187|doi=10.1080/00020188208707585|issn=0002-0184|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Among Fulani, praise names are known as ''jammoore''.{{sfn|Riesman|1998|pp=23, 107}}

== List of praise names == {{Dynamic list}} {{Expand section|date=February 2026}} *"Dicko" or "Dikko": All members of the Jelgobe noble lineage, part of the Jelgooji Fulani, are granted this name. According to researcher Paul Riesman, Dicko as a praise name "suggests fierceness, resourcefulness, and self-sufficieny".{{sfn|Riesman|1998|p=23}} *"Siise": This praise name is associated with a few Jelgooji Fulani families which are traditionally deemed to be ''moodibbo'', i.e. people esteemed for their learning. Usually, people become ''moodibbo'' only by studying, but the members of families with Siise praise names are always regarded as ''moodibbo'', even when they do not follow a scholarly pursuit.{{sfn|Riesman|1998|p=107}}

==References== {{reflist}}

===Works cited=== * {{cite book |last=Riesman |first=Paul |translator=Martha Fuller |title=Freedom in Fulani Social Life: An Introspective Ethnography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5UWYEifbDo8C |year=1998 |publisher=University of Chicago Press | isbn = 978-0226717432}}

Category:Panegyrics Category:Speeches by type Category:Poetry Category:Names