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Re: "Negative" names
in reply to a message by E.W.
In Mongolia it used to be common with negative names for a child born after you had lost one. You could for example call a child Nergui (no name), No-one-there, Not-this-one or that like. This also used to be common in China, where children (usually boys which were seen as better) were called ghastly things like Swine Urine and Cat Vomit - or got girls' names...
This was to prevent evil spirits from taking the child and make them think that it was unloved and hence not very "fun" to take.
In some African cultures this is still common and a child can be called "Will not live for long" or "Plague". Caprice - The Phantom of the BTN
Addicted to Joni Mitchell...
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