Kilmppaju (Nonlit. 'Embrace Me')

Public anthropological record
Property of the Royal Atheneum of Hövnís, Eörpe

This tradition details the ritual acquisition of an individual’s personal name.

Etymology & Definition

The name of this tradition is formed from the gjevasudit pronoun ‘aju’ for ‘I’ and ‘me’ and the root word ‘kilmpa’ for ‘to embrace’ or ‘to hug’. Taking the context into consideration it’s most commonly translated to ‘embrace me’.

History

Origin

Its origin has been traced to one of the early permanent settlements in the boreal grenn forests, where an above-normal population led to a need to better distinguish individuals. The concept of personal names was slowly introduced and the previous way of addressing each other by familial relationship was gradually phased out.
Many of its ritual components are thought to have been stripped from a much older tradition called Ruuhn Hyssna. This rite of passage entailed “finding” once’s place and purpose in the world once entering adulthood, which more or less encompassed picking your primary role (or occupation) within the tribe.

Modern Practice

This tradition, as well as the concept of using personal names, appear to be fairly new practices. They’re thought to have appeared less than fifty years ago. The tradition sees predominant use in the boreal regions but has managed to spread to some nomadic tribes along the northern temperate band. Both of the known permanent settlements situated near highland lakes have also adopted this custom.
Nomadic tribes appear to still prefer the use of familial relationships to refer to each other rather than personal names, and most have yet to even adopt the idea of making use of personal names at all.

Observance

Participants

The prime participant of this tradition is a child that has yet to receive a personal name, usually between the age of five and ten. The child is supposed to do most of the work involved with the ritual themselves but will always be accompanied by at least one parent.
Usually, it’s one or two of the tribes’ hunters that will take responsibility over the child as they’re considered the most capable of defending them from any dangers found out in the wild. They’re also expected to guide the child through the ritual’s steps if necessary.

Preparation

A child will typically not be introduced to this ritual until they, on their own, express a want to obtain a name for themselves and start to inquire on how to do so. If the child is considered old enough to travel outside the tribe’s camp in the company of adults and show a measure of understanding of the dangers away from home, an elder may sit them down to explain the steps involved in ‘finding their name in the sun, wind, and water, and embracing their selves’.
The child is expected to listen carefully to what the elder explains to them and then make a careful decision whether they consider themselves ready or not to go out and find their name. If they do, the tribe will plan around letting the child go through with the ritual the next time they plan on settling camp. This typically involves ensuring that they can keep the camp for at least two days.

Tools & Components

While waiting for the tribe to find a location to camp for long enough to go through with the ritual, the child is commonly tasked with creating at least two tools that they’ll need.
The first is a rudimentary knife that a toolsmaker will teach them how to make. It’s typically not suitable as a weapon. The second is a textile or leather pouch a weaver or tanner will teach them how to make. They’re usually encouraged to dye or decorate it to make it personal and unique.

Execution

Accompanied by at least one capable parent, the child wanting a name sets out past their tribe’s camp to explore the surrounding wilderness at their own pace. While out there, they’re tasked with finding objects in nature that they feel a connection to and collect that in the pouch they’ve made for themselves.
The objects can be anything that catches their eye, such as colorful flower, a shiny stone, a curiously shaped root, soft feather, or whisker. They’re expected to be able to collect it without any significant aid from the accompanying parents which puts some limits on what they can pick up. The child may continue to search for objects for as long as they want or until their pouch is full.
After coming back home, they’re instructed to leave the pouch by the head end of sleeping spot until the next morning. After they wake up, they’re asked to bring the pouch with them to one of the tribe’s elders who’ll ask them what they dreamt that night. If the child answers they didn’t have a dream, the elder will ask them to open the pouch and carefully choose one object they want to remove from their collection, and then put it back by their sleeping spot again.
This process is repeated until the child responds that they experienced a dream, at which point the elder will request that they regale what they dreamt. The elder will patiently listen for as long as is needed until the child consider itself finished, and next will ask them to open the pouch and put down their collection of objects in front of them. With the interpretated meaning of the child’s dream as guidance, the elder will then help them to find their name among the objects.
Once the child appears satisfied with the name they found, they’ll get to collect their objects again and the elder will help them sew the pouch closed. And if they want to, also help them add a string to it so they can carry it with them.

Using a Name

Going through with the rite of finding one’s personal name appears to be voluntary in all bieggjan tribes but those permanently settled in the boreal grenn forests.
Similarly to their clothes, their sleeping spot, and the tools they carry on their person, a name is among the few things considered possible to be owned by a single individual in a tribe and is usually treated in a similar manner. Especially among the nomadic tribes that practice the tradition it’s often emphasized that it’s entirely voluntary if and when an individual chooses to share their name and let others use it.
A common decision is to let other tribe members freely refer to them by their personal name instead of by familial relation, but a few tribes have developed a custom to mainly make use of personal names in special situations such as during rites, ceremonies, or when life mates refer to each other.