Talk:Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla

Latest comment: 1 year ago by Rutsq in topic Name

Name

edit

I be interested to hear from other editors about the name "Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla". It seems he is most often referred to as "Archbishop Ameyu". How is his name parsed? I know what the Holy See Press Office uses, but in my experience that's not the most reliable source. Rutsq (talk) 13:49, 12 July 2023 (UTC)Reply

Some web research--mostly Twitter!--leads me to believe that Sudanese do not have surnames or family names. That is necessarily a generalization that ignores the fact that there are multiple tribal traditions, all now affected by the cultural assimilation associated with religious conversion.
In general, the Sudanese have a given Sudanese name, in this case Ameyu, followed by father's (Martin) and grandfather's (Mulla) names. A Christian name is sometimes prepended. He's called most commonly Archbishop Ameyu because that name is particular to him, while Martin and Mulla indicate his lineage, but are not family names. I think this means he is called "Stephen Ameyu" while the most formal version of his name is "Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla". How the Vatican will list him alphabetically by surname when he lacks a surname is likely to be some odd compromise that doesn't acknowledge any of this. And where will they insert the title Cardinal, which in Vatican usage precedes the surname? Rutsq (talk) 21:33, 12 July 2023 (UTC)Reply
But I just came across a reference to him as simply "Mulla" in the Sudan Tribune, but just one instance. Rutsq (talk) 21:56, 12 July 2023 (UTC)Reply