Proverbial Nicknames among Rural Youth in Nigeria

Among rural youth in southern Cross River State, southeastern Nigeria, proverbial nicknames foreground dimensions of power relations, especially hegemonic masculinity, tell stories about past exploits, and accentuate locally relevant values that emphasize conformity to societal norms. Indexical and emblematic meanings of nicknames in the social contexts where they are given and used are investigated, as are the sources, social significance, and perception of these names with reference to Paul Leslie and James Skipper’s claim that nicknames reflect processes of social action that provide meaning and guide the transmission of cultural knowledge. Nicknames are not ordinary social emblems of identity, solidarity, and group dynamics; they also mirror cultural assumptions and reflect a wide range of value categories and moral codes in the rural space.