What’s in a name?

I am going to focus on the chapter in Indian Women in Early Mexico concerning the naming of Nahua women postconquest. It seems thematic that naming has been quite indicative of the Spanish conquest, not only during the Indigenous conquest we first learned about, but in the African slave trade that we discussed a week ago. As soon as the slaves arrived to the Americas, thier names were changed. And how were they changed? To something “Christian” related. So, of course, the Nahua men and women postconquest really express this change due to Spanish invasion, as they too take on Christain names. Interestingly so, as the article really points out, Nahua naming patterns were based more on order of childbirth, with no sense of surname, although male names were more unique than female names. Identity wasn’t at this point as much in a name as it was on kinship, another major theme we really discussed in class concerning Indigenous culture. After the Spanish arrived, however, Christian names were the dominant form found in Nahua men and women, except this time, patron saints were the names of choice, and surnames were also more popular. What does this point to? The fact that private property, a Spanish/European way of life, had infiltrated native culture, and in many ways taken over it, the idea of who was to own land or inherit it became a concern, thus, leading to the importance of naming.

It’s interesting how again there is such a difference between the Indiginous culture and focus on kinship versus European/Spanish/American. It seems that alot of effort went into upholding the church and its ideals, even down to using saints’ names for identity, but the very cultures that it dominated seemed to actually act out a much more Christian, kinship community. Also, this shift to naming as a clear identity for people really reflects the importance of the family over the community. With more focus on inheritance patterns due to land ownership, it was important to be identified throughout one’s family, and not necessarily through the outside community.

The Spanish clearly had a looming power dynamic, with its ability to uproot these cultures and change their ways of life even down to naming patterns. Also, it feels as if all of this always goes back to the Catholic church and Spain’s significant tie to the upholding of its values. I could even argue that the church is the sole reason that these conquests occurred; hence, when discussing power and politics, even gender roles, you cannot overlook how important the church’s role is! Again, though, these seemingly simple changes, like in naming patterns indicate so much more than we really think. Identities and roles were changing, too…..