Ìkómọjáde · the Yoruba naming day
On the seventh (girls), ninth (boys), or eighth day by family practice, the Yoruba child is carried out and named before family, with symbolic foods placed on the tongue and the oríkì declared.
The names it answers to
- ÌkómọjádeYorùbá · "bringing the child out"
- ÌsọmọlórúkọYorùbá · "naming the child"
What happens
- 1
The gathering at dawn
Family and neighbours assemble at the parents’ home; an elder presides.
- 2
The symbolic tastes
Honey (sweetness), salt (savour and preservation), kola (long life), alligator pepper (many descendants), water (peace, "may the child be like water, without enemies"): each touches the child’s lips with a prayer.
- 3
The names
Names are announced in order: the circumstance name (àmútọ̀runwá, if born with one, like Táíwò for a first twin), the given names, and the oríkì (praise name); guests may add names with a gift.
- 4
The celebration
Feasting and prayers close the day; the child now exists in public.
WHY
A Yoruba name is a compressed prayer and biography: Babátúndé ("father returns") records a grandfather’s passing; names place the child in the family’s story.
The tasting items are the community’s wishes made edible: the child’s first experiences of the world are the blessings themselves.
WHYs are plural by design: your family may hold another. Dispute or add below; disagreement is recorded, never erased.
Who practices it
Provenance
- generated: 2026-07-04
- source: Model-knowledge aggregation pass (2026-07-04); unverified, awaiting community affirmation.
This entry is a hypothesis awaiting its people. If your family does it differently, that difference is exactly what we want recorded.
Nearby in the library
Imbeleko · introducing the child to the ancestors
The Nguni rite in which a goat is slaughtered at the family homestead to introduce a newborn (or a person never introduced) to the ancestors and formally place them in the clan.
🇿🇦 🇿🇼 🇸🇿Xhosa · Zulu · Ndebele +2
Ịgụ aha · the Igbo naming ceremony
The Igbo child is named before kin, often on the 7th or 28th day market cycle, with kola nut broken, the circumstances of birth honoured in the name, and the paternal line affirmed.
🇳🇬Igbo
Outdooring · the Akan and Ga eighth-day naming
On the eighth day the newborn is brought outdoors for the first time, shown to the sky and community, and given names including the day name that every Akan and Ga person carries.
🇬🇭 🇨🇮 🇹🇬 🇧🇯Akan · Ga · Ewe