Giriama Nomenclature

Giriama people speak Kigiriama, or Kigiryama, a sub-language of the Mijikenda. Kigiryama like all the nine tribes closely have related languages belonging to the Bantu language that forms part of the more prominent Niger-Congo language family. Giriama are amongst the largest (or the second largest after Digo) of the Mijikenda

There is politics behind the Giriama names as we will see an overuse of “ka” in our nomenclature. We are yet to establish the reasons behind this overuse. This includes people’s names and also places.

Traditionally, when a child is born, he/she will be given a temporary name as they wait for the naming ceremony. The newborn will be kept indoors awaiting the naming ceremony. The ceremony usually takes 3-7 days later after the child is born and the name chosen depends on the day of birth or circumstance. For instance, Charo is a name given to a newborn when the father was on a journey.

The naming ceremony is called Vyalusa in Mijikenda and it is regarded as one of the very important ceremonies in the Mijikenda community and is usually attended by all the clan members. The naming of a child in Giriama is pre-known, the first-born boy and girl are named after their paternal grandparents, and the second-born is named after maternal grandparents and normally the grandparents are the ones who perform the naming rituals.