Chief Indian Long Name – How Indians Derive Their Names
A little
Indian boy asked his father, the big chief and witch doctor of the tribe,
“Why is it that we
always have long names while the white men have shorter names - Bill, Tex or
Sam, for example?”
His father replied,
“My son, our names
represent a symbol, a sign or a poem for our culture. Not like the white men who
live all together and repeat their names from generation to generation. Also, it
is part of our make-up that in spite of everything, we survive.
For example, your sister's name is 'Small Romantic Moon Over The Lake' because
on the night she was born there was a beautiful moon reflected in the lake.
Then there's your brother, 'Big White Horse of the Prairies' because he was born
on a day that the Big White Horse who gallops over the prairies of the world
appeared near our camp. It is a symbol of our capacity to live and the life
force of our People.”
“It's very simple and
easy to understand. Do you have any other questions ‘Little Broken Condom Made
in China?’ ”