ANTHROPONYMIE ET SANTE INFANTILE EN AFRIQUE: EXEMPLE DES COMMUNAUTES ETHNIQUES DE LA COTE D’IVOIRE

Abstract

The name in Africa does not only aim at identifying the person. Its attribution also helps to solve the problems and daily concern of the givers. Two of these multi pleconcerns interest us in this article in keeping with the irpreventive capacity of infantile health: names like means of survival of the child and names like searches wellbeing or happiness. In the context of the unhappy successive childbirth, the ethnic communities all otto the new-born babies of the names to fix the mormaintain the minlife. Several forms of dationexist: reified or standardized names, names of disappointment and names positive. When during the pregnancy or with the birthof the child, the parents have a happiness, this oneis called after recognition or of thanks to the supreme, creative god of the world.These spiritual names are door happinesses for the family and the carriers: they get health, blooming, radiation, chance, happiness to them. Within the framework of the wishes granted following the entreaty of the divinities compared to a delay of childbirth, to difficult maternities or a desire of child, the newborns by divine convocation bear names of the solicited divinities. Concerning the order of birth of the children at baoulé, the children called hissan (3rdof the same child sex), blou(10th child), n’da(twin)are feared and honoured. These names numerologic are accompanied by worships and furnace bridges to prevent diseases and to bring happiness to the carriers and to the parents. By what precedes one can affirm that in many circumstances of child birth and infantile health, the dation appears among the strategies of parade of the illness and deathand especially of fixing of the child. The name appears a survival and equilibrium condition for the child.