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“…names given in an Indigenous naming ceremony are honored names and are meant to enhance the person’s sense of identity” (Overmars, 2020)
Most indigenous peoples from around the world named their children after things found in nature. We are familiar with this practice through the names of Native Americans like Sitting Bull or Crazy Horse. These names have obvious sources in nature, but did you know that many other names have their origins in the natural world? My middle name, “Bruce,” means “brushwood thicket.” The name “Glen” originally meant “from the fertile valley,” the name “Mary” means “wished for child,” the name “Ann” means “merciful one,” etc.
Cultures throughout the world engaged in naming ceremonies, and still do.
There is literary and archaeological evidence that Norse cultures had naming ceremonies, as did Celtic and other European cultures dating back to the Bronze Age and earlier. The header picture for this page shows a Norse naming ceremony in 2002. Such ceremonies have been practiced in Iceland for over a thousand years. Most cultures have naming ceremonies even in modern times. In some religious and cultural celebrations even today there are christening ceremonies where names are given. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all have their own forms of naming ceremonies, as do most of the other world religions. The naming ceremony is a time-honored tradition from around the world.
As you begin your journey into the world of ecotherapy, you may wish to select a new name for yourself that is symbolic of your new identity.
To do this, first go outside to a natural place. The wilder, the better. If you have the time and the opportunity you may wish to do this activity in a national or state park.
Prepare yourself by taking several deep breaths, and by grounding and centering yourself. Once you feel prepared, go into the forest. Keep your attention open and accepting. Set your intention on the activity.
Continue to walk in the forest until you find something that appeals to you. This could be any natural object, animal or plant that your find yourself attracted to. This thing that caught your attention shall be your new name.
Once you have found your new name, you may wish to have a small ceremony where you announce it to your family and friends. This ceremony may be as formal or as informal as you like. This is your own rite of passage, so you may craft it to meet your needs and expectations.
At our Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy program workshops, selecting this name is one of the first things we do. Workshop attendees are addressed by their “nature name” for the duration of the course. This helps to reinforce the idea that attendees are becoming new people as they progress through the workbook and the course.
Doja, Albert (2006). Rituals of Naming and Exposure: Meaning and Signification in a Name.
Onoma: Journal of the International Council of Onomastic Sciences, 2006, 41, pp.237-270.
ff10.2143/ONO.41.0.2119618ff. ffhalshs-00629438f
Fryxell, David A. Naming Traditions Across Multiple Cultures, Family Tree
Ohaja, Magdalena, and Chinemerem Anyim. 2021. Rituals and Embodied Cultural Practices at the Beginning of Life: African Perspectives. Religions 12: 1024.
https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12111024
Overmars, Danika (2020). Diagnosis as a Naming Ceremony: Caution Warranted in Use of the DSM-IV with Canadian Aboriginal Peoples. First Peoples Child & Family Review, 2020, Vol. 5, pgs. 78-85.
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