This section is a column about a farmer philosopher. As a series, it is periodic, exploring various aspects of his life in each episode. Readers are welcome to study the subject’s lifestyle and what he stood for. The column ends when everything is exhausted about him. Until then, I hope you enjoy it.
Geswani Series 2
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HIS NAME
There is everything in a name. Our names indicate our true personal, cultural, and legal identity. There is history, meaning, recognition, and status about names. That is why in every tribe, there are several ways to name a child or to take a name in adulthood.
Kporfor, a twentieth-century farmer, announced to close relatives one day that his foreign name was Geswani. No one understood the name or the reason except him. He might have been thinking about it for a long time, as those who went to school took foreign or Christian names in addition to native ones. In Google’s world, the name Geswani is from a country in Asia, not Africa.
In his native Ewe language in West Africa, Kporfor denotes masculinity. It means “the awakened tiger.” The appellation goes that when the tiger was asleep, animals that would normally fall prey to it thought it was dead. But when he woke up, they all scattered.
‘Let the tiger arise, and the smaller animals scatter.” Geswani, a name of unknown etymology, could not replace the meaningful, Kporfor. So, the former remained in the minds of his daughters and sons. Kporfor’s appearance also lingers on in the memory of his children.
I can’t wait to get to the end of the series
Will it ever end? Keep on reading