The Rich Cultural Practices Of Africa - 966 Words

favoured, and having a loud voice and well spoken† (Equiano, 30-31). In this quotation, Equiano is discussing the rich cultural practices in Africa, when it came to naming. Equiano’s narrative offers some great insight to Africa before his village was invaded, the journey through the middle passage, and the harsh realities of enslavement. Yet, Equiano still chooses to be referred as Gustavas Vassa. In his narrative Equiano refers to how he received the name Gustavas Vassa by his captive against his will. As he went from master to master, they named him whatever they chose, as if he was a pet, going from Olaudah to Jacob to Michael to Gustavus. When Equiano’s master told him he would be called Gustavus Vassa, he refused and told his†¦show more content†¦Africans had names for many things around them, the physical and spiritual world. Someone wasn’t considered to be whole until they were bestowed a name, which relates to the importance of naming ceremonies in African culture. From an Afrocentric perspective, â€Å"naming bears spiritual, psychological, and physical significance in the realities of their everyday existence is revered in the African worldview† (Fitzpatrick, 35). In Fredrick Douglass’s narrative, Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, An American Slave, he discusses naming briefly. He was born as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. He mentions that as he traveled from city to city he would change his name, â€Å"I started from Baltimore bearing the name of ‘Stanley.’ When I got to New York, I again changed my name to ‘Frederick Johnson,’ and thought that would be the last change. But when I got to New Bedford, I found it necessary again to change my name† (Douglass, 96). Although he mentions that he felt the need to change his name again because there were too many Johnsons in New Bedford, so he sought advice from his friend Nathan Johnson on what he should change his last name to. â€Å"Johnson had been reading Sir Walter Scott’s epic narrative poem The Lady of the Lake . . . [and] picked the name of the leader of the Scottish clan Douglas, one of the poem’s key figures† (Do uglass