Sunday, May 4, 2014

The Last Of Your Last Name

     Recently, I attended our first clan reunion.  It's supposed to be a gathering of all my relatives from my father's side.  Some showed up, some didn't.  But one of the main purpose of this gathering is to know the huge family tree.  Our ancestry, our lineage, our legacy, whatever you call it. When I got back home, there was one thing that shocked me.  My dad and his brothers are the last ones to carry the name "Man-a".
     My grandmother was the only child of Mr. Man-a.  During that age, people didn't have a last name.  When someone get's married or born, they don't carry or pass-on someone else's last name because they didn't have any.  My grandmother may be called, "Maxima 'Langsa', daughter of Man-a".  Mr. Man-a may have some siblings.  But since they only have a first name, they would have been named differently.  Time came when my parents were born.  At that time, everyone had a first name, a middle name, and a family name or last name (I have a blog about how they got such names).  My father was named, "Lucio Man-a Dawayen".

     It goes to say that when my dad got married and bore children, we carry his last name as ours and my mother's maiden name as our middle name.  Currently, I got cousins who're carrying my middle name as their family name.  But realizing my dad's history and family tree, it dawned on me that my dad and his siblings are the last ones to carry the name Man-a.

     I find it unfortunate that such a name was short-lived.  Most of the men here believe that passing on their name is one of the biggest reasons of bearing children, along with the deep desire to bear a son.  With this thought, I wonder how my great-grandfather (Mr. Man-a) feels right now.  I wonder how other men would feel if they realized their name will seize to exist.  

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