Have you ever taken the time out to analyze the many nicknames found across the Caribbean region? If not, please give it some consideration having read this article. On the other hand, if you have ever questioned the use of nicknames within the region’ then I’m guessing that you would find this article to be quite stimulating.
Over the past months, I expelled a vast amount of energy, time and resources trying to understand the origins and practice of nicknames used within the Caribbean culture. Nicknaming is a common occurrence across the Caribbean and it can be deemed a surprise to find natives who would say they don’t have or had a nickname at some time in their Caribbean existence.
But the bigger question to ask is why is it such a common occurrence throughout the Caribbean? Are there any historical facts, myths or cultural beliefs associated with such a practice? In an attempt to satisfy my cultural curiosity while at the same time attempt to better understand the concept of nicknaming, I went in search of answers.
My journey included chitchatting with elders, compiling a list of worst-nicknames ever heard and getting acquainted with the many youths who are only known by their aliases. While having a nice chat with an elder from the village of Newton Ground, my curiosity became even more aroused when the former sugar worker told me that nicknaming in his time was done as a way of identifying members of a work group.
He alluded to the many aliases that became commonplace as a result of working together during the ‘crop time’, as the sugar harvesting season was called. Even more astonishing was his seventy-year-old memory as he opened his mental archive of crop time nicknames for my listing. “Bore Man” was the name given to the person who cut the leading rows of sugar cane during harvest. A few guys would answer to the name “Crab Eye” based on their ability to spot ground crabs (or ‘cane crabs’ as they were more familiar known), lurking below the dried sugar cane leaves.
If you worked as an assistant to the tractor drivers who took the harvest to the train-siding, then you would respond to the name “Brakes Man”. My appetite was now open for more and that led me in search of other seniors. “Nicknames have always helped me to remember something funny”, said a sixty-five year old grand mother as she sat in the shade of a mango tree. “Shitta Pang” was one of those funny memories that she alluded to.
Another was “Pond Bird”, given to those with skinny legs. Whatever the name was, it meant something that resembled or was in some way closely associated with the person to whom that nickname was tagged. But that was then. Today nicknames are almost completely without merit, flavour or meaning. Nicknames such as “Gun Child”, “Bullet”, “Bad Boy” “Rebel” and “Saucy” are just a few of the many aliases that jump out at me.
The reasons for such types of nicknames are unclear, but connotatively speaking, these names reflect the negative mindset associated with today’s youth. Can it be that in order to gain group acceptance the type of nickname becomes important? Or is it a fact that the type of name directly tells the story of the characteristics of the individual? Whatever the final answer might be, it is no denying that our culture of nicknaming lives on.
The main difference between yesterday’s nicknames and now, is the message that lies beneath the surface. Another aspect of our nicknaming culture that still stands out is the fact that males are more associated with aliases than females. As I close out this article that served as a cultural mind teaser, it is only fitting that we do so with a sense of humor.
To do so, I have decided to offer up a few funny names that formed my compilation of researched information. “Small Gub-Gub” and “Big Gub-Gub” are two of the funnier names that immediately come to the forefront. “Monkey-Bum”, “Body-Slam”, “Dumpling Shortage”, and “Bag-A-Mouth” are quite a few of the funnies that will stick with you mentally. Nicknames are commonplace among Caribbean people and have become such a common practice that it is almost impossible to remember the given name of most males.
It is also rear to find North Americans and Europeans practicing such a cultural norm. This article was written with the intention of jump starting cultural awareness among my people and to kick-start social dialogues that can better help us to understand and appreciate each other.
