Afanwi: Gift From God

 Steve's insurance includes a home visit from a nurse. We didn't get around to asking exactly what level but it didn't seem relevant. She came Saturday morning, convenient for us. We both were impressed by her competence, her sense of humor, her warmth, and her willingness to answer questions. And then there was her name: Afanwi. 

I'd never heard it before, so I asked her if there was a special meaning to the name other than it being a beautiful word.  (Even my name means more than the name of a flower. Mine has other meanings, not that I ever knew that growing up, but had to learn them from baby names books when I was pregnant. Google added more. My parents picked it looking for something different, which it was back then.) There is a meaning to her name as well. It means "Gift from God".  Imagine how much parents must love their new baby to give her such a wonderful name!

I wrote it down so I could remember it and look it up later. I have to since I'm terrible with recalling names until I get to know people well.  I'll have to refer to this post to keep it in my mind. At my age, names are some of the first things to slip out of my ears or nose or however they escape my brain. (Who can tell? I never see them go.) After making sure I had the spelling right, I googled it after her visit ended, wondering where on the planet it was in use. It confirmed the spelling and the meaning, adding it is a Bafut name, coming from the northwest area of Cameroon, and further, commonly a masculine name or a surname.  I hadn't known an American name with that meaning, though that should be chalked off to personal ignorance, since further research shows I have a bunch of relatives whose names mean that, including my own father, an aunt, and several friends!  Hmmmmmm.....

 I wonder if the typical masculine use of Afanwi has any connection to any patriarchal cultural bias, where males are more valued / important then females and named accordingly. Does giving a masculine name to a girl show more value of that particular child? I might consider asking if we see her again next year.  Google doesn't seem to answer that gender bias one, however I try to phrase the question.

I will say to all those out there who think this country ought to be closed to immigrants, she is the exact example of why we benefit from more of them.  Of course I'm a bit prejudiced on that  question, since my heritage comes from immigrants from 8 known different countries to this continent. Mitochondrial DNA shows a much richer background then even that. I appreciate my existence, and embrace the many many humans who made it what it is. Far enough back, we probably share an ancestor. Possibly with those of you reading this as well, and yes, Blogspot puts you readers all over the globe, and thank you for stopping by! You are each a gift as well, whatever and who ever sent you over here.