African Onomastics: Animal Psychology and Zoonyms in the Cognomen of the Alaafin of Oyo

Abstract

This study extracts some zoonyms from the cognomen of the Alaafin (Owner of the palace) of Oyo, Nigeria to demonstrate their cultural cum extralinguistic consequence among the Yoruba. Traditionally, Alaafin is the titular name for a paramount ruler among Oyo people. He is an offspring of Oduduwa and has a plethora of cognomens with which he is praised. They are performed by his royal chanters and queens who commemorate his and forebears’ accomplishments through songs, recitations, and chants. Our data comprised ten (10) purposively selected zoonyms from a recording of the Alaafin's cognomen. Meanwhile, the Hallidayan contextual models functioned as our theoretical construct. The study is predicated on the transliteration of two (2) vocal performances on the monarch notably, by his royal chanter, and a prominent presenter at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Oyo. It was concluded that zoonyms are cultural/historical/psychological devices for documenting the monarch’s peculiarities and leadership dispositions.