Wado: Why?
"Wado" is how my daughter Uma called me when she couldn't pronounce my entire name; the nickname stuck and now my younger daughter, Roma, also calls me the same.
Among the Karajá, a man is rarely called by his name after the birth of his first child. Therefore, I am also Uma tyby, 'Uma's father'. In many cultures, name changes mark special events in a person's life (rites of passage, etc.). Being renamed by my babies, therefore, is only natural to me. (Note on pronunciation: a long, stressed /a/, with slight laringalization).
"Wado" (和道 'way of harmony') is also a Japanese karate style.
page revision: 11, last edited: 02 May 2012 13:22
