THE MYSTERY OF MY NAME (Personal) [AWOTIKU] By Awotiku Akinlayo David
THE MYSTERY OF MY NAME (Personal)
By Awotiku Akinlayo David
Name! Name!! Name!!! I am so impressed that everyone has
been given different names as a means of identification, it is advisable to
have more than 2 or 3 names since names can be given in remembrance of someone
dead, or the mode of birth, the place, the time, the day or what was given
birth to with the person, and especially what happened at the time such person
was given birth to. These are memories
that affect parents either positively or negatively and sometimes it affects
the name bearer if peradventure he understands why he was given that name.
This is what prompted me into writing about my name and exposing the mysteries
hidden therein. We will be considering my names one by one as I unveil the
mystery behind them both physically and spiritually, just follow keenly.
AWOTIKU
Most people who come across
my name have pronounce this name wrongly, amongst them were Yoruba natives
despite the fact that the name is still a Yoruba name, they would pronounce it
as Awotiku (meaning-Cult is dead), I quietly laugh on such occasions because they
can be positive with their own meaning but the thing is there is a story behind
the name which I would quickly brief us of.
The story started long ago back in a small village in the
western part of Nigeria, a village called Ise-Ekiti (Ekiti State). There lived
a powerful warrior in the land who is always victorious in every wars he fought
(according to the story teller, lols). There was a time he was promised to be
given a post that would make him 4th in rank to the king but due to
the fact that he was too powerful, the king’s committee couldn’t keep the
promise because they feared the post would make the man become uncontrollable
so they gave the post to his younger brother. Out of annoyance, the man left
the land and prepared for a journey back to Ile-Ife (Osun State).
On their way they passed through various villages as you
all know that trekking was the only means of transportation in those days. On
their way, they reached a town called Ijare (Ondo State). Before the arrival of
the man in this town, there has been a prediction by their gods through the
chief priest that a powerful warrior is coming, that they should hold him down
and not let him go. It was not new to the king when he came so they urge him to
stay with them and help them in fighting wars. He gave them the condition to
give him the post he was looking for in his town which is a 4th rank
to the king, they agreed and gave him, so he decided to settle in Ijare with
those who joined him from his village.
He kept fighting wars as usual and kept his unbeatable
victories for the town. He was given a land opposite the king’s palace to build
his own house so that when the enemies wage war against the village and try to
attack the palace, he won’t be far from the palace and he can easily defend the
palace since the king’s palace is always the first target in every war. He
fought with a very special and sacred sword of those days, it is believed that
the sword was the key of his power. Overtime, he got married and gave birth to
a son who was also trained to be a warrior, he took over the sword as well as
the post when the father died at old age, and this son kept the victory of the
town intact even after the father was gone.
One day this son got sick even to the point of death,
people thought he will die in that ailment because it was a strange one (I
don’t know it anyway). They rushed him to an herbalist, and the herbalist
prepared some concoctions from herbs and recited some special incantations into
it. The man took the concoction and fortunately he was healed perfectly, he
lived happily ever after.
He later gave birth to a son
and this same sickness befell this child at a very tender age, in fact he had
not been named yet so you can imagine how small he would still be. In the midst
of the people’s depression, a suggestion came up by someone to take the child
back to the herbalist if there will still be some leftover herbs that was used
for the father, they did exactly and fortunately there was some remaining, so
they used it for the baby and the baby was totally healed. This is what prompted the elders to give the child the name ‘Awo-ti-ku
(meaning -the herbs used for the father’s treatment was remained for the child’s
treatment)’. I hope after reading this story you wouldn’t have a
misconception or misinterpretation or even mispronunciation of my surname
anymore.
...to be continued...
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