GIVING NAMES AMONG THE AINOS.
By Rev. J. Batchelor
Last March in Japan I admitted an Aino to the church of Christ by baptism. She is a girl of thirteen. Before the baptism took place I had great difficulty with regard to the choice of a suitable name for her. Such a selection is a very hard matter among the Ainos. It is true, indeed, that they only have one name each, like the ancient Greeks, but then they have so many superstitions and curious customs connected with this subject that the choosing of a fitting name for a person is quite a formidable task. The chief difficulties, then, connected with finding names for children come from this fact. No one may be called by the name of a person who has passed away. When anyone dies, his or her name must die also. Should the name of a dead person be applied to a boy or girl, it is supposed that it will grieve the soul of the departed, and be likely to call forth his or her displeasure. Some evil would be pretty certain to follow, for the spirits of the dead can, it is thought, act upon the living for good or evil. No person can, therefore, take the name of his dead parent779friend, or ancestor. They always try to banish the very idea of death from their thoughts. It will easily be seen, therefore, that there must always be a great want of Aino proper names, and that naming a person is a matter of great difficulty. Names in themselves are supposed by the Ainos to be lucky or unlucky, and to bring fortune or misfortune on a person, as the case may be. The people appear to invest them with power for good or evil, so superstitious are they. In short, the Ainos appear to live in a great whirl of superstition with regard to this as well as every other subject. Thus, for example, a child is of a weakly disposition, and is consequently always ailing; this is often thought to be because the name is an unfortunate one. It has, therefore, to be changed. I have repeatedly been asked to name or rename persons, varying in age from four to eighteen, for this very reason. I know of one sickly child who is continually ill, and whose name has been changed by her parents and friends no less than four times, and only to-day I was asked, as a great favor, to think of a new and more fortunate name for her. This superstition is very deeply fixed in the mind of the Ainos, and it will take a long time to get rid of it, for such ideas among such a people die very hardly. I mentioned above that a person must not be called after his or her ancestors or deceased relations. In the same way he must not take the name of his living neighbors. Should such a thing be done, it would be looked upon as a kind of theft, and treated accordingly. This fact probably arose from the idea that names bring good or evil, and a person needs all the good his name can bring, and does not care to have it divided up with another. In trying to find the name of a person I have several times been asked not to use such and such a name, because someone else at another village has one which sounds very much like it. Again, the name must have a good sound and meaning. That seems reasonable enough. Choosing a name for the person I lately baptized, I suggested several before I could hit upon the right one. Thus, Rhoda would not do at all because the first syllable sounded too much like the Japanese word "ro," a prison, and is a word often used by the Ainos for "prison," so that Rhoda or Rota would mean, as the Ainos use it, "to be in prison." It was not the slightest use telling them that the Scripture word Rhoda had another meaning. A name with such a sound could not possibly do. I next mentioned Sarah at a venture. But even that would not do by any means; it sounded too much like the Aino word "sara," which is the word for an animal's tail. Such a name could not be thought of for a minute. I next tried Eunice, but it was thought best not to take that name because it sounded very like "junin," which means "pain," and to "suffer pain." At last I tried Rebecca. Yes, that would do very well indeed, for in Aino the word "Reipeka," which sounds very like Rebecca, means "a fitting name." Well, I certainly thought I had got over that trouble. But, lo! about five minutes before the time appointed for the service, word came in that "Reipeka" would not quite do; could I kindly change it? I asked why, and found that her mother, who had died some six years ago, was called "Rerura," the first syllable of which was very like "Rei" in "Reipeka." In sheer desperation I therefore coined a name on the spot. It was "Tom-un-mat," and that means "the shining female." To my surprise, all parties were highly delighted with it, and so she was named by it. After this I intend to devote some little time in thinking out and coining Aino names, for the naming of the people constitutes a real difficulty, so many knotty points have to be avoided, and delicate and perplexing crotchets humored. God grant that "Tom-un-mat," "the shining female" or "girl," may, indeed, henceforth shine to the glory of her Saviour, and be a bright jewel in his crown.—Gospel in All Lands.