黑料社

HARARE 鈥� Zimbabweans head to the polls next week, with the opposition claiming the electoral register is riddled with irregularities.

But what鈥檚 not contested are some of the quirky names on those voter rolls.

Some names certain to pop up on the register鈥攚hich has not yet been made public鈥攁re Beatthem, Hardlife, Norest, Lovejoy, Hatred, Wisdom, Nomatter, Luckmore, Doubt, Thinkwell, and Guarantee.

Zimbabweans have some of the most unusual names on the continent, most steeped in events around their birth or parents鈥� personal experiences.

Zimbabwean Pride Ndlovu, 32, a car guard at a Johannesburg suburban shopping center in South Africa, said his parents would not reveal their secrets, but they hinted relations between them when his mother was pregnant saw him named Pride. His sibling is named Happyson.

Another Zimbabwean expat working at a Johannesburg wine bar, Desire Ndlovu, recalls a customer telling him he found it difficult to call him by his name in the presence of his wife.

鈥淢y wife can鈥檛 be calling you 鈥楧esire鈥� at 10 pm at night,鈥� he quoted the customer as saying.

鈥淚 love my name, I wouldn鈥檛 have named myself better,鈥� he added.

鈥淚n our culture, a name tells a whole story and the motivation to give a child a certain name can be a statement which the namer wants to make,鈥� Charles Pfukwa, a names expert and dean in the faculty of social sciences at Zimbabwe鈥檚 Bindura University of Science Education, told AFP.

Background, convictions

In the early years of independence, the joy brought by the end of British colonial rule saw Zimbabweans give their children such names as Freedom and Liberty.

Then there are names associated with life鈥檚 tribulations such as Godknows, Nomatter or Anyway.

A father unsure about the paternity of a child would name the child Doubt, said Pfukwa.

Memory Chirere, a university of Zimbabwe English lecturer, may have taught hundreds of students in a career spanning more than three decades. But some students remain etched in his mind for their funny names.

鈥淚 remember students who had names like Comment, Eventhough, Fatness, Thinkwell, Atmosphere, Beatthem, Guarantee, Domuch, Laughter, Attack and Agreement,鈥� he said.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 forget them. It helps you notice even their absence. You tend to give them more attention,鈥� he added.

Most names are influenced by the parents鈥� social and cultural background as well as their convictions.

Footballer Hardlife Zvirekwi told AFP that his parents were going through tough times when he was born. They had just moved to the capital Harare from their rural home.

鈥淟ife was not easy in the city. My father who was a street vendor was struggling to make ends meet and when I was born life was hard so my father called me Hardlife.鈥�

鈥楴ot a joke鈥�

Misery Chiwati changed her name to Mutsa (Shona for grace) after her third grade school teacher explained its meaning.

鈥淚 doubt that my parents knew the meaning of my name when my mother named me Misery,鈥� she said.

In his book 鈥淲hat鈥檚 In A Name,鈥� Alec Pongweni says employing English adjectives as names has connections to traditional use of Shona adjectival clauses as part of names.

鈥溾�橨ealous鈥� was probably born in a polygamous marriage, where jealousy was rampant among competing wives,鈥� he wrote, while 鈥楶sychology鈥� 鈥渨ould seem to have been picked because it sounds learned.鈥�

The country鈥檚 agriculture minister is called Anxious Masuka.

At Johannesburg鈥檚 Sunninghill shopping center, another guard proudly wears a high visibility jacket with a name badge printed 鈥淢y name is Perfect Size鈥攇lad to see you.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 not a joke, that鈥檚 my real name,鈥� he said.

He was adopted by a man whose surname is Size after his mother abandoned him at a hospital in northwestern Hwange town.

鈥淗e named me Perfect because he wanted everything in my life to be perfect. At school I was an A-student. Unfortunately I can鈥檛 find a better job,鈥� said the 28-year-old.鈥擜FP

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