Topic summary
Praise names
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Praise name.
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. Yoruba praise names (oríkì) serve as titles which can be given by friends, though are usually given by drummers. In Sotho culture, it is common for someone to compose a praise name for themselves. In Dogon culture, children receive a praise name (tige) which serves as a personal motto. In Southern Africa, praise names for someone's clan are used on formal occasions (eg. mokzvena (based on kwena which means "crocodile") can be used for anyone belonging to the TswanaKwena clan).