Dear English-speaking readers, this page is an automatic Google translation from a post originally written in French. My apologies for the weird sentences and the funny mistakes that could have been generated during the process. If you can read French, click on the French flag below to access the original text:
Français In Bali, all people seem to have the same name. You cross three Nyoman and five Wayan during the day. Bizarre.
It sounds like a joke made to tourists ... But not at all! The Balinese actually have a system of their own for the first names of the children.
The eldest and the following
No difference between girl or boy, the name we receive is simply the order of arrival in the family!
The eldest will be called Wayan, the second Made, the third Nyoman and the last Ketut. For the fifth and the following, if there are, we start from the beginning with Wayan, and so on.
As a result, everyone there is called Wayan, Made, Nyoman or Ketut! With small variations according to the castes: Wayan can also be replaced by Putu and Gede, Made by Kadek and Nengah, Nyoman by Komang. Some also have diminutives and nicknames, sometimes forged from the family name, to distinguish themselves.
Prefixes make it possible to distinguish between the sexes: I for boys, and for girls. There is also a slew of ceremonial titles for high caste families.
During my last stay in Bali, this summer, I took the fold. I forged a name composed in the Balinese style, in relation to my senior status, to make my interlocutors smile. When the inevitable «What's your name? ", I stumble proudly in Indonesian: "Nama saya Wayan-Corinne. " Success guaranteed!
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