The Covenant of Love

In the West, we’re eager, even anxious, to choose names for babies before they’re born. In other parts of the world, the naming process unfolds differently. The Yoruba people of southwest Nigeria wait for a child to arrive before considering a name. There’s a need to meet the new being, to keep company with the child, before sensing the name the child carries. After the first three days of life, the infant is brought into a community circle, where the child’s feet are held to the earth. The elders then receive the name the new life has revealed, fully expecting that in time this being will fulfill and transcend his or her received name.