by NEB Naba Iritah Shenmira

It is likely that some ideologues, philosophers and spiritual masters of ancient and present times have already considered the tripartite aspect of the human species. Even if some of them in their immaturity or ignorance at some point in the history of mankind have refuted this tripartite reality, (so real that it does not hide its face) others have been able to address the questions and challenges of human nature to the point of concluding the very subject of this article. In the Mystery Schools of Kemetic Philosophy & Spirituality, it is written somewhere that “... my Body, my Spirit just as my Name is ME”. This inscription and its teachings have convinced many who refuted the concept of tripartite (Body - Spirit - Name). Even though the Soul comes to make it a Quadripartite, it was proven by the high priests of those mystery schools that the human being Soul does not transcend, meaning the Soul does not have an Identity. 

Truly, no human can in all sincerity give himself/herself the right or a possible reason to deny the importance of the name in the life of an individual. The name is what identifies people in society. This aspect, undeniably common to every human being is somehow getting less and less consideration and value in nowadays life of modern societies to the point where children receive names from their parents who in most cases don’t know the etymology or meaning of their choices. 

Ask modern parents why they name their child this or that and they will spend energy proving their ignorance of the name, and in the worst case scenario, they will only lay out their emotional attachment to the name just like if they were the one to answer to the name. In the cultures where people are evolved and live in accordance with the principles to the principle of nature and existence, this kind of attitude of a parent will be treated as irresponsible and barbaric. Whether in the social or spiritual arena in the existence of an individual, the process of choosing and imposing a proper name should be a time of communion, rituals and celebration. But only a few parents will understand this and agree. And of course, those who agree with this approach will probably be marginalized and looked down upon by the majority that has the illusionist sentiment that they can name their babies whatever they feel like. 

Among the peoples and societies, where the human on Earth represents more than a mass of muscles and bones, this moment of communion between the newborn and society marks a major turning point for that newborn’s re-initiation into life. For a long time, a certain discipline or series of customs has always been accorded to every birth in these societies that are still today regarded as savage or uncivilized. Nevertheless, would you as modern humans have the kindness and the intellectual honesty of admitting that these societies have been uncivilized to such an extent as to give remarkable importance to the meaning behind the names they bear or give to their children? 

Among the Dogon and many other traditional societies, it is commonly understood that every birth (new life) must be reinitiated into life on Earth in order to achieve the destiny that’s bringing that specific spirit back to this physical existence and that the choice of the name must be done carefully with tact and ultimate spiritual wisdom. This is because the destiny and the well-being of the individual as well as society depend on the choices made. But also long before the Dogon people, the mother of all civilisation also has proof of records and archives illustrating the importance of the name in every individual life. From the healers, carpenters, masons, and farmers to the priests, kings and pharaohs, all carried names that identified them, their goals in life and state of mind. It’s been recorded that the name is the only part or reality of an individual that remains after death. 

So, trying to refocus the mind on the dualistic concept and the principle of indivisibility of the human spirit (non-physical self) and body (physical self), will it make sense to conceive or perceive possible divisibility of the spirit and the name or the body and the name? A possibility of a spirit in this realm without a name attached to it will instead be an inexistent spirit. Just like how a body needs a soul to have its vitality and how a spirit needs a body to materialize itself, every spirit in a body needs a name to identify itself in the cosmos. The name that will reflect or project that spirit’s ultimate goal in existence. A name that will translate the communion between the human and other humans or between the human and other material and nonmaterial existing entities. 

This clearly illustrates how the name of an individual can highly be the main energetic core of their ability to harmonize with the self and with the life that the self aspires to live. People more often wonder why they are facing problems of stress, depression, instability and all kinds of addictions while forgetting that maybe the resonance and vibration their names make can only affect their life as they are. If for instance your name calls upon or produces sounds that carry the energies or vibrations of melancholia, anger, violence, disturbance,...etc your actual life could not be any different from what you respond to. 

Now let’s imagine a name that is chosen at random and does not even make sense or have any possible meaning in any of the languages (system of signs, symbols and sounds intended for the expression of thought and communication between people and between them and their natural and cosmological environment) that one could speak or understand. The name is the ID (identification) of the Spirit (Entity). It should at least translate the manifestation of the principles of becoming in the existence of an individual, as every human spirit is the only aspect of them that transcends time and space. 

This is why the expression <<Nomen Est Omen>>, the Name Is Destiny. Let’s assume your name is your destiny and the destiny being the knowledge and understanding of one’s place in time and space, who are you and what is your destiny then? Don’t you think your name, the vibrations and sounds you always respond to should at least match what you came on Earth for? There is millions of people around the world who walk thinking they should be counted as human beings dreaming of a certain destiny, whereas their names call on different energies and destinies. Some for sure have not even thought about changing their slave master’s name or their oppressor’s (colonizer’s) name, a name that they carry and had probably been carried by their fathers and before them their fathers. Breaking this cycle should be the starting point of those individual trying to achieve the destiny life imposed on them. 

Now, in the same light, if being civilized in the modern sense has a connotation of not knowing one’s place in time and space or not understanding the fundamental requirements of being Human, it is obviously not surprising that humanity is suffering the worst dramatic evils in its history. Even dogs have meaningful names in almost every supposed uncivilized culture. But since they happened to be tagged as uncivilized and savage no one takes chances to understand how they live and that maybe their savage ways of life could bring about positive solutions for some of the increasing socio-emotional, psychological and spiritual problems of the ‘’civilized’’ societies. 

Many of the spiritually evolved tribes, after thousands of years of study and research on this great aspect of human existence, have been able to develop guidelines, techniques and technologies that have always allowed them to choose the best way to impose the name on a newborn. Of these facts, it should not be forgotten to mention also that in these same societies, an individual may have two births resulting from two impositions of names. The first imposition of the name normally takes place from the 8th day of birth to the 40th day. The second imposition of the name most often marks the transition of the child to adulthood: the rite of passage or initiation into life. This second imposition of name upon initiation or rite of passage marks the individual’s ‘’spiritual birth’’ or ‘’real birth’’ into life. This rebirth leads the individual to march towards a life of divine discipline and principles. 

For the sake of not encouraging the readers in their loss of focus from the above matters, let’s hang on the importance of the name hoping that everyone will offer the self an opportunity --but mostly the courage and dignity– to get out of the ice box they have been living in and try hard to fit the exigencies of nature and the universe as to why they were born. The next article in the rubric will focus on the many ways the Dogon tribes and Kemetic (ancient Egyptians) people choose their names and why the different types of names.

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