Where oh Where Wednesday: Manhattan

As we were traveling from Muscatine, Iowa up to Minneapolis, Minnesota where we would take our last continental flight, we saw all sorts of familiar names. Iowa was full of place names which had clearly originated in Europe: Klein Quarry, Waterloo, Waverly (with Wartburg College), and Geneva. But we also passed places who had clearly taken their names from the native people living there: Owatonna, Nashua, or Hiawatha. 

We fly out today to New York City and will be staying on the island of Manhattan. This is one of the 5 boroughs of New York and has a population of 1.7 million. The name is said to have come from the Manna-Hatta tribe who had lived on the island. It is also said that this could come from the dialect of the Lenape Indians, meaning “island with the hills”. Others say that it comes from the Delaware or Mohican tribes. In any case the name comes from the native tribes. 

It was however Henry Hudson who in 1609 came to map out this area for the VOC (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie) - the Dutch company which was traveling all over the world. Hudson has a river named after him. In 1624 the first permanent dwellings came on the land and the area, after a purchase of 60 guilders, was called New Amsterdam. You may have heard of the various places that have a Dutch background: Wall Street, Broadway, Brooklyn, Harlem. 

Of course this all changed when later in the century the city and area came into the hands of the English. They promptly renamed it New York. The English were only finally pushed out of New York by George Washington during the Revolutionary War (the war of independence) in 1783. Since then the names have taken on all forms and backgrounds. We will look forward to discovering some of them while we are visiting there. 

Whodunit Wednesday: What’s in a name?

My last name is usually either pronounced incorrectly or written incorrectly. If I say “r-ah-b”, people spell it ROBB. If I say “r-aaa-b”, people write it as RABB. If I spell it out “R-A-A-B” people hear “R-A-B-B”. And I have understood that my experience is not that unique. Many people have difficulty in sharing their name and how it should be spelled. 

My last name is German. It originally comes from the word for ‘raven’ which is why this blog site is called the Raven’s roost (the place where all the ravens sit). The double “a” in the middle is very common in the Dutch language, so the name is often spelled and pronounced correctly here. But then my first name gets the treatment, being uncommon here (and usually only getting one “t” at the end). 

Names can be very important. But the spelling and writing down of names has not always been a thing. Until there is some sort of registration or formal record of names, spelling is really not that important. Even after we have records, misspellings are common and cause all sorts of interesting stories. But keeping good records can help in some things, especially in collecting taxes. 

In the Bible we read about Joseph and Mary having to return to their home town to register for the census. This was held so that taxes could be levied. So, as we have always suspected, taxes have been around as long as death (the other certainty in life). But in the area of Maastricht, it was Napoleon who brought some of this “certainty”. 

Maastricht has always been a strategic city. It is at the crossing of the river Meuse and has always been a fortified city. The Romans first settled here with a barracks and soldiers. The Spanish and the French fought each other constantly in this area (d’Artagnan died here fighting for the French against the Spanish). So it is no surprise that Napoleon also took an interest in the area. 

Of course Napoleon took an interest in the whole of his realm. And he brought a formal administration to the areas he conquered which did not have such. This would make it easier, in the end, to collect taxes. So in Maastricht, where you might have simply had “Peter on the Straight Street” before, you suddenly needed a last name for Peter. All people had to be registered - according to the way Napoleon wanted it done. 

This brought about some very interesting names in Maastricht specifically. You see, the people of Maastricht are rather proud. Maastricht is not much more than a large farming town, but they consider themselves much more. After all, the Romans settled the area. And it is the provincial capital. So they are much more than simply a large farming town. 

This meant that when the French under Napoleon starting forcing people to give last names, some of the people thought it might be funny to “kick against the goads”. They gave silly, strange names. The French had no way of knowing if these were typical local names and registered them. 

The French had the last laugh though. Now, centuries later, there are whole families stuck with a name that some ancestor thought would be a good joke against the French. And the spelling has stuck as well. And the taxes are still owed. 

The French under Napoleon brought some order to administration throughout the area. But with order comes the inevitable red tape and bureaucracy. This has never left (as we all know about red tape and bureaucracy). And in the end it doesn’t really matter if you are called “angry fly” (what became a fairly common name here) or “raven” as long as the government can find you when they want to. 

Whodunit Wednesday: Biblical names in society

The first two days of this week I was off with a group of Catholic kids and leaders and had the opportunity to talk about faith in work and about what we find in the Bible. Religion and faith are words on many peoples tongues, but concepts which are often far from the heart. As a matter of fact, the news stated this past week that trust in religion is in Belgium the lowest of all Europe. People in Belgium feel that religion is dangerous.
Faith, on the other hand, is something that most people still talk about. During these two days with these teens, they took a quiz (using QR codes and their phones). Questions popped up about how many apostles there were, what the name of Jesus’ father was (nice trick question) and more. Another activity looked at what they say to believe and if they truly believe it. A third activity looked at what the names of the children meant and where they came from.
In all of this it was amazing to me how important names are. Pontius Pilatus was a real historical figure. Some of the kids’ names came from names in the Bible: Mathis from Matthew, Thomas (with an ‘h’), Maria and Marit (both from Maria) and more. In Belgium and the Netherlands we have lots of names that come from this biblical history and culture, even if they do not always immediately sound like it.
Maria is, of course, a well-known and well-used name in Catholic Belgium. It may show up a bit less in the Netherlands (mostly in the south where we are), but versions of it will still show up. Remnants of the Roman past also show up in normal everyday names. Some are Roman and Biblical at the same time.
My younger brother’s name is Marc - with a ‘c’. This was very different when we were growing up. But here in Belgium it is very common. In fact, Mark - with a ‘k’ - jumps out immediately as different. This is because in Belgium they are working with the name ‘Marcus’ - the Biblical name of the 2nd gospel and a typical Roman name (i.e. Marcus Aurelius).
There are some differences between the countries. Take, for example, Luk or Luc. The Dutch will more likely use the ‘k’ where the Belgians will use the ‘c’. The Dutch language version of the name is ‘Lucas’ but this can also be spelled ‘Lukas’. And then there are all the varied versions of Peter: ‘Peter’ (pronounced ‘pay-ter’), ‘Pieter’ (pronounced ‘pee-ter’) and of course also ‘Pierre’. These kan all be shortened: ‘Peet’, ‘Piet’ or otherwise.
When we named our son, Sean, we thought to be right on track. Sean was born in Belgium (Stephan was born in Abilene, Texas, just before we moved here). There are various versions of ‘John’ here: Johan, Johannes (which can shorten to ‘Hannes’ or ‘Hans’) or Jean (the French spelling and pronunciation). You could also use Ian, John or Johnny (or Jonny) here.
We chose for more Anglicised version, but one we thought most people would recognise, since the actor Sean Connery was well-known. It turned out that many people pronounced ‘Sean’ as ’see-un’. The way we were pronouncing Sean was closer to the pronunciation of ‘Jean’. But it was even closer to ’Sjaan’ (pronounced ‘shaan’ with a long, open ‘aa’ as one would do at the doctor). This name, however, is a girl’s name, so it obviously did not fit Sean.
In the end, people get used to using your name if they get to know you. That is also what we try to get across to the young people we work with. It is possible to get to know the people in the Bible, even if we can’t quite hear how they might have pronounced their names. Then the question is whether we will share in their faith or not, live as they lived in trustin God.

Whodunit Wednesday - Fashion

(The picture is of Sean and Jill's dog, Pierre)

I remember when I figured out that Haägen Dazs ice cream was not some European brand (it sounds somewhat Danish), but simply American. It was at that time that I realized that things aren’t always what they sound like. 

This is also true when you think of fashion. Perhaps there are some (real fashionistas) who have heard of the “Antwerp Six” and know that Antwerp is a Belgian city. Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulenmeester and Walter Van Beirendonck were all part of the Antwerp Six. Others, like Diane von Furstenberg (who was born in Belgium) and Liz Claiborne, simply sound German or Amnerican. They are Belgian, as is Raf Simons, the head of Dior. 

Even brands can sound like something else. Scapa, which has an English aesthetic, is a Belgian fashion brand. America Today, G-Star Raw and Scotch & Soda, despite what they might sound like, are Dutch brands. Viktor & Rolf are two Dutch fashion designers

It reminds me of how beautiful I have always found the idea of a melting pot in the United States. People come from everywhere. You cannot tell from a last name where someone might be from. When we first came to Belgium and The Netherlands, our last name helped. Raab is originally a German name and the double “a” makes perfect sense in the Dutch/Flemish language. Even better, in the family of God, we can come from everywhere and still belong, no matter what your name sounds like. We just want to wear the right fashion. 

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.    Galatians 3:26-29