Re-naming: A forgotten tradition?

My second-born, often called by his middle name, Adi, literally the second of three words that form his full name, is for now to be called Mohamad.

I 'sold' him for S$1 to my own mother on the 14 of Sept '07 because there was a major incident that day. He is now, 'her' son and she has asked for him to be called as such.

Mohamad Adi Putra Bin Mohamad Azman, who had for the last 29 months been called Adi, is somewhat still in a state of confusion when he is hollered by this name..but thank god for the other version of his old name, 'Adik', literally, 'little sibling'..he still seems to know it is him we're referring to.

What prompted this?

The older Malays practised this culture of re-naming a person, especially if they've been hit by some untowardly calamity. Seemingly the older name may be too 'heavy' for that person to 'bear'.

I, too, at the age of five or six, had been renamed Khatijah, much to my dismay, simply because I was always falling ill. I was sold to some relative for a few cents, I think.

On that fateful Friday..Adi's left middle finger was amputated due to an accident at the exercise park..I can't for now, write a description of how that happened...and I shall also not relate the hysteria experienced by all that day..

It suffices to say that part of the sutured finger seems to be 'alive', though there is a small portion that is blackened/dead.

Another visit to the specialist's this Thursday will tell, but for now, saddened and traumatised as I am, I'm only glad that he is still alive.

The thought of ever-losing him and the frailty of all life is unbearable, in light of how everything changed in a mere flash that day.

So for now, I'll pay the price of a re-ordering of his name.

I shall call my second-born by the first in his list of three names.