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African Baby Names by Simon Starr
One compiled this book of baby names in order to help the descendants of the wondrous continent of Africa to reconnect with their native ancestral heritage and traditions. Africa is not only the birthplace of humanity but also of complex customs, oral traditions and diverse peoples. The continent is home to several language families and hundreds of languages. The people can be divided into over a thousand different ethnic groups. Traditional African given names often reflect the circumstances at the time of birth. Names such as Mwanajuma "Friday", Esi "Sunday", Khamisi "Thursday", and Wekesa "harvest time" refer to the time or day when the child was born. Other names reflect the birth order of the newborn, for example Mosi "first born", Kunto "third born", Nsonowa "seventh born", and Wasswa "first of twins". In order reflect the diversity of this magnificent continent, one has compiled names from the land of ancient Kemet (Egypt), Zulu peoples, Youroba peoples, Swahili peoples and Ethiopia (Amharic).