Names, Naming and the Code of Cultural Denial in a Contemporary Nigerian Society: An Afrocentric Perspective

This article explores the rejection of indigenous African (first) names and the preference for European and westernized names by some Nigerian youth, especially those living in Calabar metropolis, Cross River State, South-eastern Nigeria. The article investigates the personal, cultural and social motivations for foreign names adoption and the subjective interpretations of both rejected and adopted first names. The study is rooted in the Afrocentric paradigm which is grounded in the historical and cultural reality of the African experience to express its core principles of cultural assertion, self-pride and Africa-centered identity. Data for the study was sourced through participant observations, semi-structured interviews and metalinguistic conversations with participants who have been involved in name-changing practices in the last 5 years. The study discovers that young people adopt foreign (first) names to challenge their stereotyped ethnic identities and to contest existing traditional norms about naming. This phenomenon tends to be propelled by additional social, personal and religious factors including, style, personal taste, creativity, religious conversion and the flow of other social capital. This often results in a dramatic drift in African traditional naming practices which tends to erase or subjugate African naming protocol and identities.

African/Afrikan-centered Psychology

Psychology, as it is taught in most universities on the African continent, is an extension of the Eurocentric psychological paradigm. This article argues that colonization has not only led to the loss of land, it has been accompanied by the eradication of complex, interdisciplinary knowledge traditions that comprise the subject of Afrikan Psychology. The article goes on to outline the inclusive epistemology and transdisciplinary methodology that undergird Afrikan Psychology. The orientating concepts in Afrikan Psychology are introduced. The urgent need to develop interventions that are informed by the Afrocentric paradigm is highlighted. The article concludes with a call for the study of Afrikan languages to unearth the psychological concepts that are embedded in them.

The Cultural and Historical Significance of Kalanga Place Names in Midlands Province of Zimbabwe

The discipline of onomastics is still at its infancy yet it constitutes a very important aspect of the day to day survival of a people in the society. Naming is part of oral tradition in African societies, people were never used to write and record things but rather their names. This means that names are a historical record that would carry some aspects of a people's way of life which include their history, beliefs and customs among others. On the same note, Midlands Province constitute of people from different backgrounds mainly Shona and Ndebele. Of interest to this research is the presence of the Kalanga people through some toponyms that are found in the area. In light of this view, this study therefore seeks to identify and unlock the culture and history embedded in these names by looking at the significance of Kalanga place names in Midlands Province. The study argues that place names or toponyms of any people carry with them a history, meaning and significance to particular people that name the places, thus studying the place names in this community can be a valuable tool of unpacking the history surrounding the Kalanga people in Midlands Province in Zimbabwe. Guided by the Afrocentric paradigm, specifically nommoic creativity tenant, the study seeks to explore the cultural and historical significance of Kalanga toponyms in Midlands Province.

African Identity and the Provenance of the Centre for African Literary Studies: A University of KwaZulu-Natal Special Collection

Drawing on Asante’s Afrocentric idea and the importance of location and agency in an Afrocentric paradigm, this article explores African identity. The study is located in the Centre for African Literary Studies (CALS) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Pietermaritzburg, which was established to house the Lindfors private collection of African literature. This article also draws on Polak’s 2016 study, which explores the role of CALS as a UKZN special collection and the question as to whether CALS is able to fulfil its role in facilitating African studies at UKZN and in the broader community. In seeking to define African identity, the researchers conducted an in-depth literature review and, in attempting to elucidate the provenance of CALS, they relied on the findings of in-depth interviews with its founders and directors. The study was underpinned by an historical research approach. The article concludes that there is no definitive description of what African identity is. It throws light on the role of CALS in advancing African scholarship and Afrocentric research, and makes recommendations for policy and practice.

Afrocentric Thought in Adult Education

The failure of the American education system to teach African American students has been well chronicled. This chapter draws attention to the history of Eurocentric pedagogy and its ineffectiveness to educate African American students. The principles of Afrocentricity are presented as a plausible way to counter ineffective, hegemonic, and ethnocentric curriculum planning for all students, with particular emphasis on students of color. Differentiated instruction offers adult educators a way to vary instruction and integrate an Afrocentric paradigm and content into student-centered curricula. This chapter concludes with two Afrocentric application activities.

What’s in the Stomach is Used to Carry What’s on the Head: An Ethnographic Exploration of Food Metaphors in Efik Proverbs

Food and foodways are essential components of the Efik biocultural system, as the Efik people of Southern Cross River State, Southeastern Nigeria, are famous for their rich dietary history and cuisine tradition. Food and foodways are, therefore, quintessential aspects of the Efik cultural history and social structure, which are intergenerational. This article explores the use of food symbolisms (embedded in rich metaphors) in Efik proverbs, which are perceptual frameworks or conceptual grids that highlight fundamental cultural values and mores as well as reinforce and instill acceptable social behavior. The study is rooted in the Afrocentric paradigm, which re-asserts the interpretation of Efik proverbs based on African values, perspectives, and narratives, and adds relevant ontological and epistemological analytic dimensions in operationalizing the collective and contextual understanding of Efik (African) proverbs. In this context, the Efik view the world through the lens of food, exploring the role of food and eating correlates as means of addressing their society’s psychodynamic challenges, which paradoxically are not about food.

Beyond Euro-Western dominance: An African-centred decolonial paradigm

In search for Africa’s solutions to solve African-centred problems, an African-centred paradigm provides a starting point towards knowledge generation. Africans continue to be confronted with models and paradigms that are export-oriented in a quest to serve as import substitutions for explaining obstacles prevalent on the African continent. Faced with this realisation, hegemonic discourses abound, which only serve to misdiagnose prevailing problems. Thus, when African scholars compare realities with Euro-Americans, there is a glaring consensus to move towards an adoption of more centred paradigms to respond to the poverty of existing theoretical formulations. This article therefore proposes an African-centred decolonial paradigm in response to Kwasi Wiredu’s call for ‘Africa, know thyself’. Though albeit not prescriptive, the author seeks to map out the contours of an African-centred decolonial paradigm predicated on three existing paradigms. Firstly: the Afrocentric paradigm proposed by Molefe Kete Asante. Secondly: the pillars of Africanity as a combative methodology and paradigm proposed by Archie Mafeje. Thirdly, Afrikology is discussed, which emphasises a universal transdisciplinary approach. Based on these three paradigms, the author posits that if Africans want to play a much larger role in knowledge generation that is responsive to human needs and existential problems, an African-centred decolonial paradigm offers a multi-transdisciplinary framework, which may be used to foreground African scholarly endeavours.