Live style : Giving a name

Naming a Lisu Child (“Chajuaduer”)
The Lisu people hold a name ceremony for newborns as they believe that newborns must be named within three days being born. If a family fails to name their child in this time, a spirit will name and claim the child as its own. The child’s life would then be in danger.

The Lisu Child-Naming Ceremony (“ChaJuaduer”) The Lisu parents prepare an offering of boiled pig parts that they take to the village shrine. The offering is presented before the shrine together with joss sticks, two glasses of water and two bowls of cooked rice.     The joss sticks are lighted to announce the child’s birth. The parents then ask that the shrine god protect the child. A coin is tossed and lots cast to select the child’s name. The family presents the same offering to the shrine in their home following which, every family member of the newborn child places money in a water bowl to bless the child. This is done in the hope that the child grows up to be healthy. The elaborate ceremony concludes with family members tying the child’s wrist with a holy thread.

The Six Names of a Lisu Each Lisu individual is given multiple names. Unlike one’s nickname, these names must stay with the individual for his or her lifetime. Using a newborn Lisu female for example, The Lisu will choose her name during the HleeJeeMe Saelee ceremony (this translates to the “Name Sirname” ceremony). The first name is determined by the child’s status in her family. If she is the first-born child, her first name would be “Amee”. If the child is adopted, her adoptive parents will name her after a wild animal. The child will then be named after either her strongest or weakest character trait. In addition, she will have a nickname determined by a noticeable character trait such as bravery. The Lisu word for bravery is “Awosuema” which literally means “to like to catch butterflies”. Finally, this newborn child will have a government name such as Kamolrat.

	Examples of Lisu names. Names that are listed at the top are used more frequently than the names listed at the bottom.
	Male Lisu names ABePha ALepha AHsaPha AHseePha AHwuPha AHluPha ASuePha APhaPha	Female Lisu names AHmeeMa ALeMa AHsaMa ASeeMa HwuMa AHluMa ASueMa APhaMa

http://lisu.hilltribe.org