When Absent Names Become Absent Character: The Erasure of Identity Through Colonization
Abstract
Throughout history, colonization has not only conquered lands but also dismantled the identities of the people who lived on them. One of the most effective tools in this process was the erasure, alteration, or replacement of indigenous names. Because names carry cultural memory, lineage, social meaning, and spiritual identity, the loss of a name becomes a loss of character—both individual and collective. This paper explores how colonial systems used naming practices to reshape, suppress, and redefine the identities of colonized peoples, and how the absence of ancestral names results in an absence of historical self-understanding.
1. Introduction
Names are more than labels—they are containers of identity. In many societies, names reflect:
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Family lineage
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Cultural belonging
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Spiritual significance
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Geographic origin
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Personal history
Colonization disrupted all these connections. By imposing foreign names on indigenous peoples, colonizers severed ties between the individual and their cultural past. When names became absent or replaced, character itself became absent or redefined through the colonizer’s framework.
2. Names as Identity Markers
Names shape how individuals see themselves and how society perceives them. In traditional cultures, a name often signifies:
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A moral expectation
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A spiritual purpose
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A relationship with ancestors
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A connection to the land
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A communal story
When such a name is removed, the meaning behind a person’s life-story becomes obscured. This is particularly evident in peoples whose identities were reshaped by forced cultural assimilation.
3. The Colonial Strategy: Renaming as Domination
Colonization frequently involved systematic renaming:
3.1 Enslaved Africans
Enslaved individuals were stripped of their African names and given European names. This served several purposes:
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To break their connection to African heritage
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To deny their humanity and treat them as property
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To impose a new identity aligned with colonial dominance
The absence of original names created generational identity loss that continues today among African diaspora communities.
3.2 Indigenous Peoples
Across the Americas, Africa, Australia, and Asia:
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Traditional names were replaced with European Christian names
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Tribal identities were erased
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Geographic names of sacred lands were overwritten
The colonial assumption was that native identities were inferior and needed to be “civilized.”
3.3 Religious Colonization
Missionaries often renamed converts:
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Erasing native religious identity
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Replacing it with European religious identity
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Creating dependence on colonial-approved norms
This changed not only personal identity but also spiritual character.
4. The Absence of Names as Absence of Character
When a name is removed, several aspects of character become compromised:
4.1 Loss of Self-Definition
Without ancestral names:
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Lineage becomes unclear
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Personal roles within the community become ambiguous
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The individual becomes disconnected from inherited values
4.2 Loss of Historical Memory
Colonized peoples often cannot trace ancestry past a few generations because renamed records created breaks in lineage.
4.3 Psychological Fragmentation
The absence of original names contributes to:
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Identity confusion
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Cultural disorientation
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Feelings of inferiority
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Internalized colonial worldviews
The individual becomes a fragment—someone shaped by the colonizer’s narrative rather than their own heritage.
5. Renaming as the Construction of a New Colonial Character
When original names are removed, colonizers replace them with names that:
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Reflect the colonizer’s culture
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Reinforce social hierarchy
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Promote assimilation
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Reassign identity based on colonial expectations
The result is a “colonial character,” an identity constructed through systems of domination rather than through cultural continuity.
Examples include:
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African Americans named after slave owners
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Indigenous children in boarding schools renamed after Christian saints
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Colonized subjects required to adopt European surnames for legal recognition
This was not accidental—it was a systemic re-engineering of identity.
6. Recovering Names After Colonization
Today, many communities attempt to reclaim lost names:
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Reviving indigenous naming ceremonies
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Re-learning ancestral languages
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Replacing colonial surnames with traditional ones
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Correcting place names that were overwritten
This restoration is not merely symbolic—it is a reclamation of character, history, and dignity.
7. Conclusion
Colonization did not simply conquer land—it conquered identity. By erasing names, colonizers removed the cultural, spiritual, and psychological foundations of the people they dominated. When names are absent, character becomes absent. When ancestral names return, identity begins to heal.
