Henua names
As in much of the precolonial world, personal names on Henua were informal and lacked strict rules before contact with colonial powers. Names were standardized in 1879-1880 when Japan conducted a census of its new protectorate on Easter Island. The names of the Henua were recorded in the Japanese fashion: family names followed by personal name.
Family names
Henua society is divided into a number of kin groups of different sizes. All are patrilinial. The entire nation is divided into seven mata, usually called "clans" and consisting of over a thousand people. Each clan is divided into large sub-clans or lineages, called ure, which are further divided into extended families, mohingo. Traditionally, mata are endogamous while ure are exogamous; that is, one wants to marry someone in one's own mata, but not in one's immediate ure. In today's rebellious times, of course, young people are running off with all sorts of folk from different clans, frustrating their elders to no end.It should be noted that "ure" also means "penis" and is common as a personal name among non-Christians. In the field of Henua written and stage comedy, the obvious pun has been utterly worked to death
The original Japanese census assigned people four names: mata, ure, mohingo, and individual name, in that order. Use of the mata name never really caught on, if only because the name of a person's ure tells the name of his or her mata to anyone familiar with the island's social structure. Everyone knows that the Hahai are part of the Miru clan, for example. So Henua names today follow the order: ure name, mohingo name, personal name. Henua's current Chief Advisor is Kino Rano'ika Pa'oa. Kino is her ure, Rano'ika her mohingo, and Pa'oa her personal name.
For day-to-day interactions, most Henua use only ure name plus individual name. The ure name suffices for most interactions and, importantly, helps identify whom one can seek as a potential mate. The brother-in-law of the Chief Advisor, Kino Rano'ika Ure, is usually known as Kino Ure.
People in the public eye often use only their mohingo names and not ure names. Chief Advisor Rano'ika Pa'oa, for example, comes from the Rano'ika mohingo and seldom uses her ure name for public purposes. This allows public figures to be readily identifiable by their family names, as in, "Advisor Rano'ika's an idiot."
In this patrilineal society, married women take the family names of their husbands.
The status of immigrants to Henua remains unclear. Some newcomers over the years have been absorbed into clans, but all seem to have kept their own surnames, except of course for women who marry and take the family names of their Henua husbands.
The original Japanese census assigned people four names: mata, ure, mohingo, and individual name, in that order. Use of the mata name never really caught on, if only because the name of a person's ure tells the name of his or her mata to anyone familiar with the island's social structure. Everyone knows that the Hahai are part of the Miru clan, for example. So Henua names today follow the order: ure name, mohingo name, personal name. Henua's current Chief Advisor is Kino Rano'ika Pa'oa. Kino is her ure, Rano'ika her mohingo, and Pa'oa her personal name.
For day-to-day interactions, most Henua use only ure name plus individual name. The ure name suffices for most interactions and, importantly, helps identify whom one can seek as a potential mate. The brother-in-law of the Chief Advisor, Kino Rano'ika Ure, is usually known as Kino Ure.
People in the public eye often use only their mohingo names and not ure names. Chief Advisor Rano'ika Pa'oa, for example, comes from the Rano'ika mohingo and seldom uses her ure name for public purposes. This allows public figures to be readily identifiable by their family names, as in, "Advisor Rano'ika's an idiot."
In this patrilineal society, married women take the family names of their husbands.
The status of immigrants to Henua remains unclear. Some newcomers over the years have been absorbed into clans, but all seem to have kept their own surnames, except of course for women who marry and take the family names of their Henua husbands.
Personal names
As in most of Polynesia, individual names on Henua are not gender-specific. Pa'oa, for example, means "soldier", which in other cultures might be an uncommon name for a female. Many personal names are restricted to certain mata or ure.Before 1808, certain royal names were restricted to firstborn sons in the royal Hinga ure of the Miru clan. Since the clans were declared equal in 1808, the chiefly families in each mata have named their sons after past Henua kings, in a sense to advertise their potential to become king. The current King Nga'ara III, for example, has a name that once was restricted to the Miru, although he himself is of the Marama clan.
Some Christian missionaries to Henua had their converts adopt Christian (Western) names upon baptism, but this practice was not as universal as it was *here*. However, many Henua Christians choose to give their children biblical or saintly names to express piety. Christian names, unlike traditional names, are gender-specific. They are of course "Henuafied," as in Tepano (Stephen), Tamu'era (Samuel), and Repaka (Rebecca). Some Christians have devised gender-neutral names based on Christian concepts such as Grace or Holiness.
Some Christian missionaries to Henua had their converts adopt Christian (Western) names upon baptism, but this practice was not as universal as it was *here*. However, many Henua Christians choose to give their children biblical or saintly names to express piety. Christian names, unlike traditional names, are gender-specific. They are of course "Henuafied," as in Tepano (Stephen), Tamu'era (Samuel), and Repaka (Rebecca). Some Christians have devised gender-neutral names based on Christian concepts such as Grace or Holiness.